Lucy

That's a good sign! Keep the water changes up.

Edit: I answered your other question in the other thread.

Alessa

have you read the nitrogen cycle posts by me and numerous other people?

nitrites go up and then ammonia will start to go down by itself ITS THE CYCLE.

about the white spots i think is unrelated to the cycle.... maybe ICH? i haven't experience with fish diseases so i hope someone else can come up with with a comment on that.

just whatever you do dont stop the water changes.

Lucy

Ich can be brought on by the stress of the cycle and water conditions, so it's probably related.

lalynya

I was gunna say that sounds like ich...which I don't know if you can safely use meds while in the middle of your cycle..a lot of ich meds require you to take out filter cartiges..you mike just have to use the salt for now and hope that it helps..and all the water changes should help with it as well

Lucy

Salt can be pretty abrasive, just raising the temp to 83 for a full 2 weeks should take care of it, oh and daily water changes.

Fishies-for-me

I have used both salt and heat as well as meds for ick...I have a 36 gallon which had 10 cherry barbs and 10 glowlight tetras in it. I got ick starting on the cherrys and added quick cure which then killed 7 of the 10 cherrys. I pulled the meds out with water changes and carbon and then just added salt ( controversial ) and raised the heat to 84. The tank has been ick free since a few days after. The 10 glowlights took the meds ok...just going off their feed for a few days and being a little lethargic but the cherrys took it real hard. The 3 that lived , hid out for a month and hardly ate...they are doing good now but oh so skinny...they are coming along fine. I have used salt for a lot of fungal things and just as a tonic but I learned that many years ago ...now peeps say not to use it. The heat is what kills the ick tho...they can't take the high temps ..so while you are cycling I would just try to see if the heat will take care of it. not sure if all of the fish like such high temps but if they can stand it I would go for it as the ick will kill them anyhow...sorry for the long story but just wanted to show you that heat alone can cure...good luck.

tko187

Update..... Stilldoing water changes just done a test before i change water again, heres the results

Ammonia still at 0.50
nitrite 1.0
nitrate 5.0 Yipeee!!!!
pH 7.6

It looks like its starting to work guys thanks for all the help, tell me if im right!!

Lucy

Yup, coming along nicely, keep testing and doing daily water changes. You're doing good.

How are your fish doing?

Alessa

ok, its coming along, just keep an eye open during the nitrite spike... ammonia should be getting down to 0 soon so good job and keep it up!

tko187

Hi peeps, hope your all well, I lost another fish today, a guppy thats three in total since i setup.

Just wanted to update you really:

1. Ammonia 0.25 - has come down from 0.50
2. Nitrite 5.0 - has went up from 1.0
3. Nitrate 10 - has went up from 5.0
4. ph 7.2 - has came down from 7.6

I think its working, tell me if im wrong, added some live bacteria yesterday so i am not doing a water change today, unless you can advise differently.

Also regarding the white spot, i am not using any meds, just boosting the temp really. I think i should deal with the nitrogen cycle which is probably the reason for the ich outbreak. I think we are on the way, and it thanks to u all!!

Calab

Just looked at my Hagen test kit... anything over 0.3ppm is supposed to be bad. I'd probably do the water change ASAP, then add any bacteria. Keep up with the water changes daily.

BTW, what kind of bacteria did you add? What brand? From everything I've read, and tried myself, the ONLY bacteria additive that works is Bio-spira... and only if it was refrigerated and handled properly!

Fish Addict

Is it just me, but I thought that the reason you turned up the heat was so they would spawn...

Lucy

Uh oh, what did you add?



In this case he turned up the heat because of an ick breakout.

Alessa

Seriously... what was it? "live bacteria" can mean many things...

if it is biospira then its ok... no water changes

if it is something else.... like cycle or stress zyme... you still have to do them.

Calab

Please, someone correctly if I'm wrong...

If you used Cycle, I hear that it's not compatible with the normal bacteria that grow in your tank. If you use Cycle, you have to keep using it forever. Once you stop, you need to cycle your tank over again.

Lucy

That's my understanding also, although I have no personal experience with it.
I've read here that it contains the wrong kind o bacteria.

tko187

Tetra Aqua safe start is the product i put in. Heres the info on it,

Tetra SafeStart allows you to rapidly stock a new aquarium with fish. It contains a patented blend of the bacteria responsible for removing harmful ammonia and nitrite from aquarium water. These bacteria are not found in any other product, and work to instantly activate the filter. By removing ammonia and nitrite they create a safe environment for fish, allowing you to enjoy your new aquarium with the minimal amount of maintenance.
How it Works
SafeStart is the result of years of research into the bacteria responsible for ammonia and nitrite removal in aquarium filters. This has shown that the bacteria traditionally thought to remove ammonia and nitrite, and therefore included in other filter´start products, are not responsible for maintaining a healthy aquarium. By identifying and then culturing those bacteria which truly are involved in ammonia and nitrite removal, SafeStart is able to offer a relaible means of quickly activating new filters. This in turn allows the instant introduction of new fish, and ensures a better environment for them.

Calab

It sounds like it should do the trick, but so did a number of other products I tested.

IF it works your ammonia and nitrite readings should drop to zero within a few hours to 24 hours. Nitrates should go up as well. Add some ammonia and it should be gone within 12 hours with nitrites at zero as well.

If your tank is going from about 4ppm of ammonia to 0ppm of ammonia and 0ppm of nitrites within 12 hours without you adding anything more to the water, your cycle should be good. Do a large (50%+) water change and you should be OK for adding fish.

Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a noob, but I'm absorbing as much of this as I can. Gotta get it right the first time when I set up the 130gallon!!!

tko187

yoi calab i already have fish in my tank.

Calab

Ooops... I forgot.

Not sure how you can test to see how the cycle is progressing when you have fish in the tank.

Lucy

Please read this post:

http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aq...la-change.html

If this is true, follow the package directions, I guess.

Can anyone confirm this?

lalynya

Most fish I have had you turn the water down to spawn..when you do a water change used slightly dcooler water temp to mimic a tropical storm

Evelyn1919

wow...i was reading that link about the new biospira. it is great!

lalynya

so how are your fish holding up

tko187

Hi guys yeah my fish seem to be holding up, the white spot outbreak is still there trying to rid my tank with meds a six day course. My neons go really pale, anybody know what this is? I turned on my light this morning and they were really off colour, have picked up now, i dont know if this is normal, iv heard they are not very easy to maintain. Yeah my tank is also cycled, last nights check is a s follows

Ammonia 0
ph 7.2
nitrite 0
nitrate between 5 - 10

That new bio spira stuff worked great !! Its called tetra aqua safe start!!

Evelyn1919

it's great that your tank is cycled!!!! congrats!!!

i have neons too and the thing is that as soon as you turn the lights on they will look very pale but then they color starts coming out. it happens to my neons a lot too. what i heard was a good thing to do is not turn the lights on/off of the tank all at once. now what i do is turn the lights in the tank off first and leave the lights in my livingroom on for a while then shut off all the lights in the livingroom and the opposite when i want to turn them on in the morning. helps stress too i heard.

good luck!!!

tko187

Thanks for that Evelyn, i thought maybe something was up with them. I noticed they go to their hiding hole before i turn the lights off every night, maybe 20 mins or so. I was wondeing if there is maybe a lighting timer or dimer available for aquariums, would be good . Cheers.

Alessa

OMG!!! Congrats Finally!... I know that feeling of accomplishment very well.

Lucy

I think you can just buy a regular timer for it, the type you would use for lamps.
My neons get pale when the lights go out too, then color up when I turn on the lights. A lot of fish do that.

Evelyn1919

yeah...my tiger barbs also do that.