So I'm going to get a puffer fish...

It turns out that the cause for the ammonia (which is between .25 and .50) is the fact that I was a big enough tard monkey to leave DEAD CRICKETS at the bottom of the tank. You see, I had my mantis living in there so he wouldn't fly into any other rooms. I frequently dropped crickets in there for her to eat, and she would leave in remains such as the head, wings, reproductive organs, some parts of the body that she just didn't want, and all that. When I was putting the gravel in the tank, I was thinking "DOHOHO THE CRICKETS WILL BE UNDER TEH GRAVOEL SO THEY WON"T TOXIFY THE TANK" But boy was I wrong. About a week, later, I totally forgot about the dead crickets in there and filled it right up. Eventually for some reason, I added the bacteria and they didn't do anything. This is probably because they weren't too deep in the gravel. So, I'm gonna remove the crickets after I get off my lazy but and I'll put the bacteria deeper into the substrate. Is this a good idea?

tl;dr: I left crickets in tank, crickets cause ammonia, ammonia spike.
 
IMO, you need to start over here. You never take a used tank for fish w/o cleaning it out very well! Take everything apart, toss the substrate & clean it all with hot water & Ocyclean (1 scoop). This is a safe alternative to bleach. If you are anxious to get your puffer after that, you can add Safestart to your filter at the same time as your puffer. Be sure you put lots of decor in there too or your puffer will get bored quickly.
 
Pufferpunk said:
IMO, you need to start over here. You never take a used tank for fish w/o cleaning it out very well! Take everything apart, toss the substrate & clean it all with hot water & Oxyclean (1 scoop). This is a safe alternative to bleach. If you are anxious to get your puffer after that, you can add Safestart to your filter at the same time as your puffer. Be sure you put lots of decor in there too or your puffer will get bored quickly.
Click to expand...
Oxyclean.
Oh snap you just reminded me of Billy Mays death. :(
And we don't have that. So I have to completely get rid of the substrate and get new gravel? Or do I wash the substrate and put it back in?
 
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You can get Oxyclean at many $1 stores, hardware store or drugstore. I guess you could wash out the substrate with some of that & really hot water.
 
I kept a Mantis for a season many years back. I made a harness out of monofilament fishing line to keep her around. It saved me the expense of feeding her as I just tied her out by the porch light every night where she stuffed herself.
 
Every time you guys say Mantis, I'm thinking Mantis shrimp.
 
Is my tank free of the rotting cricket stuff if I washed it w/out oxyxlean? I cleaned out the gravel in a bucket and washed it in the bathtub several times, and before that when I was draining out the water of the tank I scooped out the dead crickets. I'll fill up the tank later because my friend is borrowing the dechlorinator and my parents won't be home till about 3:00.
 
There will be a lot of bacteria build up in that tank & even the silicone. I wouldn't take any chances. Do you have the fish yet?
 
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