Fishless Cycle

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railer20

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Uh oh, you're losing fish already? I bet the clown pleco is just hiding, they're very good at that...

The gouramis, not so hiding...what size were/are they? Can you give us a tank pic? I'm worried about them...
the guoramis seem to be hiding in the rear plant. They came out a couple times when my noisy kid wasn’t around. And they are smaller....1-1/2” or so

AF0167DC-0DF6-400B-8D6C-4491CAD8B6D3.jpeg
 

fishorama

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Whoo, that's a relief! Give them some time to adapt to your tank & household...It looks good, I like it!

& then we need to talk about real plants pretty soon...The fakes look nice, for now...& you thought cycling was the big issue, lol...but wait, there's more to learn...baby steps my friend...

Congrats on cycling, all your new fish & good luck! We'll help with the next part, yeah, it's always something...& I'll tell you about my moss hate...when you're ready...
 
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Apr 2, 2002
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You are welcome for the help. I have been doing the cycling help thing now for about a decade. I pride myself on never having failed at this with anybody who followed the directions in the article to which I referred you and which I applied here. The cycling method was designed to be fail-safe. I am just sorry about your nitrite test colors. This was a new one for me. But for most problems there is usually a solution. And I have to confess, I am always happy to see a new fish keeper get their first tank going. This is an amazing hobby in that the possibilities are endless. When I began a lot of very patient folks gave me a lot of help. I am just doing the same thing.

Bear in mind what your new fish have been through. Most were likely born on a fish farm. This may have been on the other side of the world. And some may have been captured from the wild. Consider what life was like for them then. Suddenly they are scooped out of their world, bagged and sgipped, often in stages, until they end up at the store, Conditions there are not ideal as well. Finally, they take their last trip to your tank.

Between the stress and the "shock", they are not exactly in a good frame of mind. They are likely underfed and in parameters which have changed a bunch of time. They are in a small box. So what do you think is their likely response? They will tend to hide. And let's not forget that while your tank is safe from ammonia and nitrite, it will not become fully established for a few months. It will take time for the fish to become settled in their new home.

I would not have chosen white clouds. I keep them. They need cooler water. Sterbais, on the other hand, need warmish water up to the low to mid 80s F. These fish may not do well for you if your other fish are doing so.

The clown pleco, Panaqolus maccus , is basically a wood eater. Here is some info re them from Planetcatfish:
FeedingA wood-eating fish, the tank should be decorated with several different types of driftwood. These fish really like to have something to chew on. Squash, cucumber, and other vegetables should be readily available to them (yams are a favourite). Supplement two to three times weekly with frozen foods.

A peaceful fish well suited to the community tank provided it has driftwood. The tank must have good mechanical filtration as these fish produce lots of waste from their steady diet of wood.
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=734
If it is a male, it would like to have a small cave.

Harlequins are an under-rated fish. I have had some in at least one tank for about 16+ years now. They can tolerate temps that both the white clouds prefer and that the sterbai prefer.

The pearls will like the same temps as the sterbai. I hope you got 1m/2fm? 2m will eventually end up fighting over territory more than likely.

The merite is an hernbivore: " Nerite Snails are herbivores and are widely known as one of, if not the most, voracious algae-eaters out of any snail. If there is not enough algae present in the aquarium, their diet can be supplemented with algae wafers or blanched vegetables (such as kale, zucchini, carrots, etc.)." Hikari makes a good algae wafer. The same veggies should be liked by the clown pleco as well

Have you fed the tank yet? Even a scared fish gets hungry. Most of them should come out when food is made available. You need different size/types of food for your fish. The white clouds need tiny food. I will grind up a pinch of flakes with my fingers for mine. I also feed them frozen cyclops and daphnia. Sinking foods are best for the sterbai and they can be fed at lights out. They can find food in the dark as can the pleco.
 

railer20

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I need to find a piece of driftwood to throw in there for the Pleco. Not sure if Petco or PetSmart sell real pcs or not.

We did our best to pick 1m/2fm on the pearls based off info we found online looking at dorsal fins and body shape.

I did feed this morning and actually started another thread for that. I think I need to crush my flakes up more, and I also have some Xtreme Nano "slow sinking" pellets for the White Clouds. But with my cannister filter and spray bar it pushes the food around like crazy. Should I shut the filter off for 10 min or so while feeding? The fish came out (except the pleco) to try and eat but with the tank light off I couldn't see how much they were actually eating vs falling to the bottom. I know the sterbai's were going crazy eating on the bottom.
 
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Plecos are mostly hiders, especially in a new tank. The tank bn strains are actually more social. Once you get some real wood, the pleco may become more visible.

White clouds live in streams, they are used to some flow.

If you shut off the filter when feeding make sure you do not forget to turn it back on.
 
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railer20

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Plecos are mostly hiders, especially in a new tank. The tank bn strains are actually more social. Once you get some real wood, the pleco may become more visible.

White clouds live in streams, they are used to some flow.

If you shut off the filter when feeding make sure you do not forget to turn it back on.
Do they make a driftwood that won't release the tannins and stain my water? And I know most of the time wood doesn't just sink, do I just boil it for a couple hours then it will sink?
 
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Boiling wood will cause it to break down much faster. Some wood lets tannins out and others do not. Carbon will remove the staining. Over time the tannins will be used up and all will be fine.

I use Malaysian driftwood which sinks. I have some cyprus which doesn't until it is water logged. I used tiles to hold it down when new, You can pre-soak wood in hot water from the tap to help get out tannins. But this takes time.
 

fishorama

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I'm with TTA on the Malaysian wood. Carbon in the filter can help remove tannins, Purigen can too. Replace cabon when it quits working, maybe every week or more. Soaking even several days in hot water helps some, but it can take more than a month or 2 to stop releasing most tannins. I like a little tannin stained water but not when it's like strong black tea. Petco/smart used to sell it, maybe in the reptile area. I don't care for Mopani wood nearly as much, it's the 1 that's tan on top & dark underneath...& I don't think fish like it as well either. There are pleco foods that have wood in them, I can't recall which 1s. (Plecocaine? Hikari wood grazers?) Anyway real wood is a nice addition & good for attaching plants to...(yes, we are going to go there!! but not just yet, lol, it's coming!)

Clown plecs are nocturnal but they may come out after lights out in the tank with room lights on. They like wood but need some other foods too. Repashy Soilent Green is good, my corys eat it too. Try feeding a bit after lights go out in the tank...but corys will find it too...so don't get carried away.

Rasboras of a few kinds are among my all time favorites, harleys are classic! For temp, I'd go with 77-79F. It's a compromise, whiteclouds may not live as quite as long, but they're pretty adaptable & I think your other fish will be fine too.

The whiteclouds, rasboras & gouramis will get used to feeding with food swirling in the water column. I don't advocate turning off the filter, you may remember to turn it back on...most of the time...You may be feeding too much at a time, each fish only needs a couple bites of food at a feeding. More is either cory food or filter pollution. With younger fish, 2 small!! feeds are better than 1 big...feeding "the right amount" is a learned thing, go lightly! The old saying is feed the size of the fish's eye. They may strike food but not really eat it after they're full, don't be fooled! They also learn you mean food & beg even if they aren't truly hungry. It's cute to be "loved" but not a healthy fish behavior to be indulged every time...sometimes we're just looking or cleaning...

I learned a different way of cycling from TTA & your tank, you both worked hard to get it done. I understood the principle but not all the details. Thanks to both of you for sticking it out!
 
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railer20

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No Ammonia still this morning.

blanched a few pcs of zucchini and threw them in.

question on other food (flakes and pellets)...do you just do tiny tiny amount and then add more if needed. I didn’t put a bunch in but felt like a lot fell to the bottom before eaten. I just don’t want to overfeed or have a bunch of food on the bottom. The corys are going to town on the bottom though.
 

FreshyFresh

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If flake food is hanging around ~5 min later, you're likely putting too much in. Pellets, wafters, etc, will take longer to get consumed.

I've never kept plecos that need wood to rasp on, so that will add another dynamic for you. I had various drift wood attached to slate tiles over the years and still have a chunk of mopani (sp?) wood in one of my tanks that's 8-9yrs old and looks like it did the day I bought it. I believe Mopani is too hard for plecos to rasp on.

Too bad we're not about a million miles away from each other. I'd give you a bunch of anubia and java fern that may do OK with the lighting you have. Probably have pleco appropriate driftwood somewhere too.
 
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