please help with cycling

BadRoma1

BadRoma1

AC Members
Nov 29, 2005
1,208
0
0
well, i can't find my old thread so here is a new addition to an old story. i left my p'd off at everything friend alone with her tanks for few days. i've calm down enough where i was able to try to help her again. long story short we are where i wanted to get from the start, and that is we set up another tank, so we have 2 new tanks running, one 10g and another 20g. 10g tank has 5 neon tetras and a shrimp, 20g has cory, another cat fish about 3" long, 4 guppies (when i checked the frog tank where we put all guppies, turned out she lost a cory, another cory has ceptisemia and dropsy, cat fish is dying, so i had her to set up a new tank and move these guys there.) another thing that was pointed out to me in the fish store is that her PH could be much lower than it was showing on a test kit, so i slowly raised it just enough for us to see that we have at least 6.0 we added live bacteria, conditioner, did 50% water change. now, everything is showing 0 at this moment and i haven't had cycling for few years and wondering if it's normal. i'm counting this day is a day 1 in the cycling of both tanks. when is it going to start showing something? thank you. p.s. fish were showing poor signs and were havily breathing at the top. then we did all the stuff and fish calm down a bit, though i'm not sure if it's good or bad at this moment. i'll know more tomorrow
 
for a refresher....

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598


Basically you are in the midst of a fishy cycle....a few steps to remember...

1) Water testing, with a good liquid test kit, ammomia/nitrite/nitrate

2) Water changes, with a dechlorinator, as frequent and whenever ammonia and nitrites hit .25 ppm

3) Light feeding and keep the substrate clean

I wouldn't worry about the pH. What is the tap pH? On a sample that has set out overnight in a shallow dish?

What live bacteria did you add? If it came in a bottle..it is useless. Stop with the pH additives.

Personally, I would euthanize all the ill fish, move them all to the 20, break down the 10, clean it and start a fishless cycle. Then bring fish to the 10 and do the same with the 20 gal tank, after the 10 is completely cycled. You could then use media from the 10 to kick the 20.
 
it was Bio Spira. I was telling her to let these fish die but she didn't want to do that. everything is odd with her water and system in overall. it seem like even though she had her set up for some time with fish it's always seems like it's cycling. i'm talking few years. I don't get it, that's why i thought maybe PH did need to be ajusted. so, technicaly all tanks need cycling no matter where fish is moved, it's all the same. i'm trying to figure what can be done so that fish tanks actually cycle once and for all. thanx for the info.
 
I've had water quality disasters, as a newbie, :duh:but I've learned that water quallity is an ongoing issue. I still consider myself a newbie and I'm still learning, and it's a lot of work to maintain good conditions in smaller tanks.:)

Small tanks are harder to maintain and require constant attention to the balance of your system because spikes are more likely to happen, and happen suddenly at that.
:eek:
I've learned that one should have; Not too many fish per tank; thoughtful, knowledgeable stocking of the tank; carefull feeding and quick removal of uneaten food; regular, and requent vacuuming of decaying matter from the gravel/substrate; close monitoring of the parameters and quick action in doing water changes, :nilly: even between regularly scheduled changes if there are meaurable levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

I've learned that you can't just coast along and pay ocassional attention to the aquarium, which is what my nephew was doing with this 10 gallon tank we set up for him, and now I have inherited and boy do I have to work my hiny off.:nilly: :wall:

Your friend's fish sound like they are truly suffering, and euthanasia, as rbishop suggested, would be the kindest thing to do. If she has a fish with septicemia and dropsy, there are likely going to be more long, protracted deaths.

There is an article on humane euthanasia that helped me when I had to euthanise a couple of guppies that had developed bloat.
Here it is.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1370852#post1370852


Once her stock is gone, she could sart over with cleaning tanks and equipment, and a fishless cycle in the 10 and 20 gallon tanks.

What I want to do is have my 10 as a quarantine tank, and get al least a 20 set up with appropriate stock. (I'm hoping for bigger if I can pursuade my husband that it will be less work for me, lol):)

I'm going to get these brilliant guys and girls on the AC to help with suggestions for stocking. :bowing:

There is a thread that has a nice suggested stocking list for various size tanks, also.

I hope things work out OK for your friend, and I know she must appreciate your efforts to help her.
 
Melody Doucet said:
I've had water quality disasters, as a newbie, :duh:but I've learned that water quallity is an ongoing issue. I still consider myself a newbie and I'm still learning, and it's a lot of work to maintain good conditions in smaller tanks.:)

Small tanks are harder to maintain and require constant attention to the balance of your system because spikes are more likely to happen, and happen suddenly at that.
:eek:
I've learned that one should have; Not too many fish per tank; thoughtful, knowledgeable stocking of the tank; carefull feeding and quick removal of uneaten food; regular, and requent vacuuming of decaying matter from the gravel/substrate; close monitoring of the parameters and quick action in doing water changes, :nilly: even between regularly scheduled changes if there are meaurable levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

I've learned that you can't just coast along and pay ocassional attention to the aquarium, which is what my nephew was doing with this 10 gallon tank we set up for him, and now I have inherited and boy do I have to work my hiny off.:nilly: :wall:

Your friend's fish sound like they are truly suffering, and euthanasia, as rbishop suggested, would be the kindest thing to do. If she has a fish with septicemia and dropsy, there are likely going to be more long, protracted deaths.

There is an article on humane euthanasia that helped me when I had to euthanise a couple of guppies that had developed bloat.
Here it is.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1370852#post1370852


Once her stock is gone, she could sart over with cleaning tanks and equipment, and a fishless cycle in the 10 and 20 gallon tanks.

What I want to do is have my 10 as a quarantine tank, and get al least a 20 set up with appropriate stock. (I'm hoping for bigger if I can pursuade my husband that it will be less work for me, lol):)

I'm going to get these brilliant guys and girls on the AC to help with suggestions for stocking. :bowing:

There is a thread that has a nice suggested stocking list various size tanks, also.

I hope things work out OK for your friend, and I know she must appreciate your efforts to help her.
Click to expand...
:thm:
 
thank you guys. i just checked with my friend on what is going on with her fish today and she said that they all are alive and forging for food. i also started them on maracyn-two last night, on top of everything else, because they were too far gone to recover from dropsy and septicemia withot help. so far so good but with cycling this progress isn't steady.
 
You're welcome.:)

It can be a roller coaster of a ride, both in the progression of the tank, and in one's emotions as well, as I well know myself.

I have come to love these beautiful little creatures of mine, and when I lose one of them it can really hurt, especially when I know it's from my inexperience, and from mistakes I have made.

But, if we choose to keep them, to have and enjoy them, we are obligated to do our best for them. They depend on us, and have no options but for us.

It sounds like you and your friend are working hard to try to save them, and get them healthy and happy. Keep up the good work.:)
 
BadRoma1 said:
thank you guys. i just checked with my friend on what is going on with her fish today and she said that they all are alive and forging for food. i also started them on maracyn-two last night, on top of everything else, because they were too far gone to recover from dropsy and septicemia withot help. so far so good but with cycling this progress isn't steady.
Click to expand...

I am very new to fishkeeping, will these meds kill the bacteria and require the tank to start cycling again?
 
maracyn-two won't hurt anything. is it a good time to run it? No. for sure. however, the fish will not have any chance of making it without it.
 
I've been following your story with your friend. My first point of notice is that you're doing things for her, and she's not educating her self. She needs to do this. Give her a book, point her to articles, make her self-sustained or you'll be taking care of her pets for a good while. Besides, if she's doing something stupid that's perpetuating the cycle and doesn't know it, then she's probably forgetting to mention it to you. If she understood fish keeping a little more then I doubt if this would still be a problem.

Next up, bio-spira is shot. It stopped being manufactured a few months back, expiry date is 1 year from manufacture, and its effectiveness becomes greatly diminished after 6 months. This is assuming that it's been kept in a fridge the entire time, and not sitting out at room temperature. If it was, then it's worthless.

It seems you've dedicated a lot of time and effort to these fish. I think its time she learned to do the same. If she won't educate her self, then she's not going to be of any use to the hobby. There's also the chance that you'll carry the blame when she messes up her own fish if you're the one doing all the care taking. This means that you aren't necessarily going to benefit from this. Also, her fish will probably keep living short, rough lives. This is bad for the fish, her wallet, and both of your sanity.

Did I mention she needs to do some learning and question asking of her own?

Anyhow, good luck. I hope you get this all sorted out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom