(I know I can't have them in the tank).... and when I do cycle it (and I find a spot for the fish in the meantime), do I want these fish back, or are they going to be sick because of what they have been living in already??? I feel awful cause I am a rookie at all this, and I had no idea about the cycling etc... can anyone help with this!?!?! Thanks!
Don't panic ( as it says on the front of the hitchhikers guide)
You can do a cycle with fish in the tank, It's not the preferred method for a lot of reasons, but it can be done with some careful attention and without harming your fish. Obviously if you have somewhere to house the fish in an estabilished tank this would be good, but isn't an absolute requirement. Given your current situation, you need to look at the best way to get through the cycle without permanent damage to your fish. Read the cycle sticky, I might even suggest that you print it and highlight important points.
First things first: Water changes are your best friend, make sure you have plenty of dechlorinator on hand, and adjust the temp of your new water to match that of the tank. It is not a bad thing to do big daily or even twice daily changes if the situation requires it.
Get test kits for ammonia and nitrite, eventually you'll want these two plus PH, Nitrate, and KH at least. but during the cycle the first
two are really the most necessary
Ammonia and nitrite are fish killers. Try to keep both below 0.5 ppm at their highest. Ammonia will show up first (probably already there) and then nitrite will start to climb after a week or so. Ammonia attacks the gills and causes permanent damage, nitrite blocks the bloods ability to cary oxygen. Keep them low through water changes, to protect your fish. The cloudiness could be many things, Ie. bacterial blooms (nothing to worry about) too much food etc. Feed very very lightly, I'd suggest whatever amount you are feeding 4 times a day feed the same amount every other day for now. Your fish will always act hungry no matter what you feed them. Clean your filter media weekly or more often until things clear up.
Aftyer the ammonia and nitrite levels stay at 0 on their own, your cycle is done (3-6 weeks depending on many factors) your concern then is keeping nitrates low through weekly water changes etc. Nitrates are not harmfull at low levels, I target 20 ppm max some people are happy with 40 ppm or below. Either way if you do regular water changes and filter media cleaning Nitrates are easy to keep low. Nitrate testing in an unplanted tank is a great indicator of maintenance. if a weekly water change keeps the level at 5 ppm then drop back to every twoo weeks, just do enough wwater changes to keep the levels low and you will be fine.
