I need some reassurance, please.

G

glasstapper

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Sep 6, 2006
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I am a fresh beginner in the art of keeping freshwater tropical fish, so I am a little nervous. I've been reading lots of advice all over the internet, and it seems the most popular was starting with a large tank, cycling the water, then adding only a few fish every few weeks or so. This is what I have done so far:

-Set up my 55 Gallon (not too big for a beginner, I hope) with gravel, plastic plants, and plenty of hiding places (all thoroughly rinsed, of course).

-Using a Top Fin 60 power filter only (no undergravel) on full blast for about 30 hours. Also have a Hydor Ario 4 Color Aerator, one 48" bubble wand, one air stone.

-After 30 hours, I wanted to add a couple of hardy fish to start the cycling. My water (after being treated, of course) is still 'moderately hard' and has a high ph of about 8.5. Temp is 79, and no ammonia. The girl at my LFS said the bleeding heart tetras can withstand water hardness, high pH, and rarely have any floaters, so I took her advice.

-I introduced them slowly, and at first they seemed to be enjoying themselves (they're so playful!). But last night and this morning I noticed they were just sitting on the gravel together, and didn't go for any food. No gasping, but some small amount of twitching like they're treading water.

-Are they ok? I've already named them Romeo and Juliet, and I would be heartbroken if they lived up to their legendary names.


So do you think everything is going all right so far? I know the tetras like to school, so do you think I should get two more for them? If they die (I'm hoping they don't) should I continue to cycle with more fish? I don't want to hurt anymore fish. They're too cute to suffer.
 
Do you have a test kit? If so what are your perams? I'd do a water change to get them down to a tolerable level. I don't know anything about tetras, but zebra danios are the fish I hear most people use for fishy cycling.
 
glasstapper said:
-Set up my 55 Gallon (not too big for a beginner, I hope) with gravel, plastic plants, and plenty of hiding places (all thoroughly rinsed, of course).
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perfect. a bigger tank will actualy be easier in some aspects, the larger volume will make for smaller increases in the ratio of bioload(2 fish peeing into 55 gals is better than them peeing into 2 gallons)

-Using a Top Fin 60 power filter only (no undergravel) on full blast for about 30 hours. Also have a Hydor Ario 4 Color Aerator, one 48" bubble wand, one air stone.
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Do you have a heater? you will need one for tropical fish. Im not a big fan of power filters, so Im not sure if yours is good or not for that tank. The bubbles wont do much if your filter is working right, but they sure look pretty :)
-After 30 hours, I wanted to add a couple of hardy fish to start the cycling. My water (after being treated, of course) is still 'moderately hard' and has a high ph of about 8.5. Temp is 79, and no ammonia. The girl at my LFS said the bleeding heart tetras can withstand water hardness, high pH, and rarely have any floaters, so I took her advice.
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You should be ok with community tetras, they are hardy, but you could always add some things to the tank to soften the water. I would wait though, untill you have a basic idea of how to maintain your tank.
-I introduced them slowly, and at first they seemed to be enjoying themselves (they're so playful!). But last night and this morning I noticed they were just sitting on the gravel together, and didn't go for any food. No gasping, but some small amount of twitching like they're treading water.
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fish sleep. if they are still doing it during the day, let us know. My serpae tetras will be laying on the bottom at night (also, they fade in color drastically) but when the lights come on and the food falls they are fine.



So do you think everything is going all right so far? I know the tetras like to school, so do you think I should get two more for them? If they die (I'm hoping they don't) should I continue to cycle with more fish? I don't want to hurt anymore fish. They're too cute to suffer
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I would get some more, mabey a total of about 6-10.
you should be monitoring your amonia and nitrite levels, and changing your water at any sign of either one. this might become a daily thing untill the tank is all the way cycled.
 
Did you treat the water with dechlorinator?

If you don't have a test kit to measure ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, get one. While it's unlikely that the 2 of them can generate enough ammonia to poison the water in a 55g tank, you'll never know until you test it.

I would hold off on adding more fishes until these two pull through and start eating again.
 
oh, thanks guys! Yes, I have a heater sufficient for my size tank (a submersible one by Top Fin), so that's a go.

I have a test kit, but the results are at home. If I remember correctly, the ammonia was 0, the nitrite was 0, pH was around 8.5, the hardness was brown which meant moderately high, and the nitrate was 0. The alkalinity was a teal green, but I don't remember if that's too high or safe. Do you think the color test kits are good to use?

I treated the water with a dechlorinator already. I have also added a bit of bacteria supplement they sell in the stores to help grow the good stuff. Tonight will start the beginning of my third day, so I will do my first 10% water change using my gravel siphon.

So the powerhead filter might not be good enough? It said it filters 300 gallons per hour. I really don't want the fuss of an underground filter because all of the decorations and gravel is in place, but I'll do it if you guys really think I need to. Or maybe there's a different kind I should add?

So one person says 'yes, add to the school' and another says 'no, wait til the guys pull through'. I see the pros and cons to each, but I just don't know.

Thanks for the quick replies and the help. It's greatly appreciated!
 
Your tank hasn't started cycling yet--you need to get a liquid test kit so you can get more accuarate meassurements. Rather then getting an ugf you could just get another filter. My 55 gallon will have two filters--each geared for up to 50 gallons. I actually had two of the same filter you have for it, but it was cheeper to buy another filter then to replace all of the medium in the two used filters. (Because I had an extra filter already)
 
I would add some more very slowly once you have cycled your tank. If you add too many at once (once your tank is cycled) you might cause a mini cycle because of the bio-load of fish waste etc...
 
yes, I've been reading this everywhere. I don't plan on adding any more fish until my tank is cycled, and that will only be a few every few weeks to a month. I would be heartbroken if my little buddies died.

If they do pass away, though, I'm going to pursue a fishless cycle. I didn't realize fish cycling was so dangerous and painful for the little guys.
 
Only reason I recommend holding off from adding more fishes is just in case these two die off, you'll be back with a small school. In a 55g tank, adding 4-6 more tetras still shouldn't add too much ammonia.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. My two tetras are doing wonderfully, so I got them 6 more friends yesterday. They have all stuck together and swim around and play. They even invented their own bubble game where they sit in a big bubble (near where their hang out is) and ride it to the top. It's so hilarious. These guys have a wonderful personality.

The water is very good so far, and I'm doing part water changes at signs of rising ammonia (which has been very slow).

I'm confident my fish are happy and enjoying themselves.
 
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