fishless

[russjet]

woke up to dead fish

nemo has gone to meet his friends in fishy heaven

so now i think i am going to scrub everything and start over

if i do this it should get rid of anything lurking and then wait for my biospira to start from scratch.

is this the most sensible thing to to or should i just gravel vac and water change and carry on with the cycle but with no fish to damage or kill

i am really quite upset about this my four year old said to me dont worry mum we can go and buy some more from the shop

but i am feeling like a total failure

my sister came round last night she said oh i dont change water unless i get to much algae then i just rip it apart and scrub it out.

i have never bought a water test she says what are you talking about the nitrogen cycle (I wouldnt mind she has brown hair i am the blonde one)

she doesnt even know how to clean her filter she has had it for years

that is so not fair she should have dead fish

i look forward to a successful tank with healthy happy fish that grin at me

i also feel really angry at myself for not doing enough research in the beginning before i killed ten beautiful fish by trying to do a fishy cycle with them

:sad :sad :sad :sad

 

[Laylah]

I feel your pain

Hi :sad

Don't worry I lost one (at first and then two) just after I started, The first one died (due to my ignorance) during cycling (didn't know about fishless cycling back then) and the next died after a simple thing like tank cleaning (he got stuck between the pump and glass) so from what started out as three became 1 in less than 2 months (not good for one's ego). But my tank is a happy one for now, but they're in for some stress in 2 weeks (moving day) so we'll see I hope they last (kinda attached the blighters)

 

[russjet]

my ten neons managed to leave in under two weeks

fish store said they were hardy for cycling

guess their stupidity has cost them the money i would have spent there stocking my tank and buying the continuing sundries that go with fish keeping.revenge is a dish best served cold

:mad2

am going to start a shop search now and see what advice i get then i will make a decision on the advice i get and the tanks that i see in the shops too
as to where to spend my husbands hard earned cash :dance (i like this bit)

i think i will still try to find some ammonia to check the biospira has survived its journey

before sticking fish in with it

 

[Laylah]

Aha

Well at least you're in the UK (London right?) anyhoo I'm in Cape Town (South Africa) and there are so few lfs round here it's impossible to get anything (least of all info). Things like Bio-spira are just words and not reality, good grief I couldn't even find a place that stocks algae pellets / wafers / anything, they look at me like I'm crazy because I want algae in the first place ARG. But good luck with the new shipment, holding fingers crossed that stock is fresh and you can get up and going again with new fish

 

[OrionGirl]

I wouldn't tear the tank apart--the ich will die without a host. Raise the temp to about 86, let it go. Add ammonia now, to keep the existing bacteria alive, then you should be pretty well cycled when the bio-spira arrives and you can use it as a backup.

This can be a frustrating hobby--especially when there are so many people who don't follow good maintenance routines and seem to have fewer problems. The problem with most of these setups--they run so close to the edge that any small change can cause a massive crash that wipes out everything in the system. I'd rather fuss and fiddle more on the start up, and have a stable, healthy tank, than have to replace every fish every 2-3 years. Yes, I do know people who thing that's just how your keep a fish tank, and that fish never live more than a couple years anyway.

 

[travislopez]

*OFF TOPIC*

hey laylah, my girlfriend is from Cape Town and she "holds thumbs" whereas we "cross our fingers." just one of those great things about mixing the cultures that i find everyday with her.

 

[russjet]

ok here is the plan

i am going to change water with a gravel vac included to get rid of the salt and any floating escapees of the salt and temperature

but then i am going to keep the colony that already exists going till the biospira gets here.

i have noticed a little hair algae looking something growing on my colosseum so will scrub that and wash the plastic plants as they are looking a little manky from salt or something not sure what.

i am also going to keep the temperature up high to aid the growth of bacteria in the first place.

i guess the chance to start out the right way is not a totally bad thing
it is going to save any fishes from any toxic levels.
shame it cost ten pioneer neon tetras their lives,