My tropical fish. HELP.

Starrchild · #1 02-01-2012, 11:32 PM

Is it necessary to cycle a new fish tank before you add fish into it?

RosieB · #2 02-01-2012, 11:59 PM

It's best, to get a healthy bacteria (?) colony going, but there are conditioners available that say that you can use the tank immediately. I've not tried them myself except for a frog tank, but the frog is hardy and can tolerate most anything. And I still didn't put her in it for about a week.

I assume this is your first tank? Be prepared to lose some fish as you get the tank established. Its been a long time since I've had fish, but there is a point, maybe a month in?, where all the toxic substances spike before they level off and start regulating themselves. Save special purchases until you get the hang of it. Regular partial water changes are key, too.

Have fun!

Starrchild · #3 02-02-2012, 12:31 AM

Gotcha. Let me add that I have an 10 gallon tank with tropical fish already in it, and I pretty much neglected them by not changed the water as required. I'm stepping my game up and will be buying an 25 gallon tank in the next couple of weeks. In the process of doing research I heard about this cycling process. Can I take some of the water from my existing tank and add it to my next tank to kick off the cycling process?

Thanks in advance.

Ursus Tyrannus · #4 02-02-2012, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starrchild

Can I take some of the water from my existing tank and add it to my next tank to kick off the cycling process?

Thanks in advance.

No, not the water. However, get one of those super basic air pump driven sponge filters running in you current tank for a while, a month is optimal. After you fill up the new tank take the sponge filter from the old tank and transfer it to the new tank and get it running for a day and you will be good.
Dont wash out, rinse the sponge or even squeeze it out. All that microscopic good stuff you want to jump start the new tank and bypass the lengthy cycle process is in all those sponge pores. Transferring the decorations and some of the gravel will also transfer the helpful bacteria you need but the sponge will have a vastly greater surface area and many times the amount of bacteria you will need.
Also bear in mind, the larger the tank the more of a buffer zone you will have to protect against harmful spikes.

Good luck, I had 7 tanks running in my last home for about 10 years and worked in a pet supplies store for 5 years so if you have any questions feel free to PM me with questions.

pflash4001 · #5 02-02-2012, 01:29 AM

When setting up a new tank using power filters (the ones hanging off the back with carbon/fiber media) I'll take the cartridge off an established tank and use it in the new one for about a week. You want to get a good bacteria bed going to break down organic waste. The filter itself is just a mechanical device that removes suspended matter. The bacteria break down ammonia and other things that are toxic to the fish. I also use a squirt of Biozyme at first and at water changes.

carlos840 · #6 02-02-2012, 04:36 AM

You HAVE to cycle a tank one way or another!

It can be done fishless or it can be done with really few tough fish (danios etc)

Nowadays most people will tell you that fish cycling is cruel but that is the way it used to be done.

Either way it is important not to do the classic mistake of fully stocking your tank on day one as that will result in chaos and many fish death!

IMO the best way to cycle a tank is to plant it (plants really help), if you already have filter media from an old tank stick some of that in the new filter and wait.

Feed the tank with fish food every couple days and wait. You should test daily to see the ammonia and nitrites spikes.
Once nitrites and nitrates are back down to 0 you can safely put fish in although slowly as you want the bacteria colony to have the time to grow to support the fishes.

Taking water from another tank is pretty useless, the bacteria really lives in the filetr media, in the gravel, on plants, etc, really little will be transfered to the new tank with water!

bassist11 · #7 02-02-2012, 10:18 AM

Yeah I second the danios. They are some crazy tough fish.

A few roommates and I bought a 10 gallon tank and being the fish newbs we were, bought a couple of fish right off the bat (like 4 zebra danios). We did use some of the "conditioning" stuff that's out on the market but I don't think it really worked. Basically we took a water sample into the pet store one day and the lady said the ammonia levels were waaay too high and our fish should be dead.

Those zebra danios handled it like champs. Never lost one of them.

carlos840 · #8 02-02-2012, 10:56 AM

This conditioning stuff is really just snake oil!
Its just a way for fish stores to be able to sell you fish right away rather than do the sensible things which is to buy a tank, cycle it for a few weeks and then come back for your fish!

Starrchild · #9 02-02-2012, 07:59 PM

Thanks for all the advice. What I plan to do is buy my tank, set it up and put two to three Danios fishes in it. Wait about 3 to 4 weeks and I should be good to go. I really don't care for Danios, so there going down the toilet when I'm done with my cycle. Sorry but I must sacrifice them for the better good.

bassist11 · #10 02-02-2012, 09:58 PM

If your Danios are anything like the ones I had, they will survive. I'd put money on it.

I actually liked our Danios though. They are really active and will chase each other around the tank.

jordy_on_bass · #11 02-03-2012, 02:52 AM

Not sure how this affects tropical fish, but being an avid gamefisherman I constantly study fish habits and what ecological weather patterns affect my target species and how.

One thing they stated is tropical saltwater species are typically subjected to a lower marine salinity than fish from temperate areas due to common equatorial rainfall...maybe your salinity would be something to check and keep an eye on...

carlos840 · #12 02-03-2012, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starrchild

Thanks for all the advice. What I plan to do is buy my tank, set it up and put two to three Danios fishes in it. Wait about 3 to 4 weeks and I should be good to go. I really don't care for Danios, so there going down the toilet when I'm done with my cycle. Sorry but I must sacrifice them for the better good.

That is a pretty nasty thing to do and you really shouldn't even thing about getting a tank if that is what you are going to do!

Starrchild · #13 02-03-2012, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlos840

That is a pretty nasty thing to do and you really shouldn't even thing about getting a tank if that is what you are going to do!

After I said it. It was said. But I would never do it. My fish are like my kiddies to me. I totally understand, and do apologize if I sounded like a mean cruel person.

Southpaw5 · #14 02-03-2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starrchild

Thanks for all the advice. What I plan to do is buy my tank, set it up and put two to three Danios fishes in it. Wait about 3 to 4 weeks and I should be good to go. I really don't care for Danios, so there going down the toilet when I'm done with my cycle. Sorry but I must sacrifice them for the better good.

Ok, there's' no need to kill anything that isn't already dead. All you need is organic matter to decompose and start the cycle. I've been keeping both Salt and freshwater fish for over a decade and I learned a great trick that is much more humane.

Get some fish, as in, to eat, raw and fresh. Before you cook any cut off a small piece, about 1inX1in and affix it to something in the tank near the filter intake( yes you NEED a filter, an airater does just that aerate, it does nothing to filter the water). And leave the tank running while it runs through the cycle Ammonia will convert to Nitrite, nitrite will convert to mostly harmless nitrate. Test you water about once a week to determine what stage you are in cycling, it will take about 3 weeks before you can start adding fish.

When you do, do so gradually and remember, for smaller tropical fish( i.e not heavy bodied) you can keep up to 1 inch of fish per gallon, so a total of 25 inches for a 25 gallon tank. If you keeping something bigger and bulkier( not to mention dirtier) cut that number in half.

25 gallon isn't that big so remember, fish should be no larger than half the depth (front to back) and that is still a stretch for anything bulky like cichlids. Unless you are keeping something very small like rams i wouldn't recommend cichlids.