Shawnie

<--that has been me for the week!! ..I have a few updates and any help if im doing something wrong pleaaaaaaase advise!

75 gal- Still cycleing...as some know, I started the new tank with no knowlege and just put my fish in it...I havent been able to get bio-spira AT ALL and Just found out today, its still on ficken backorder!! grrrr...so all week, I been doing water changes daily..I did use cycle the other day, and have since learned NO NO NO but, Im doing daily water changes of at least 30-50%..amonia started off the chart, like duh shawnie, and now its down to 2.0..so although still not good, im makin some progress....my fish are still holding on, and no changes have occured(gosh im so lucky)..my question here is, if I still cant get bio-spira relitivaly fast, any advice on stress zyme? My LFS recommended it today as the bio was on backorder again!! and i said id have to check with fishlore so opinion??

30 gal- all cycled!! readings are perfect...well I guess compared to 75 gal anyhoo..0 on amonia and nitrite and 10 on nitrate...mr betta is out of it, and so is the barbs...mr bala is still in there, and I know he has to go back ...hes still lil so I havent rushed on that yet...but I will!! I lost one dalmation molly today, not sure why but I still do have one...also in the tank is 4 angels, and a rainbow shark...so in the decision of respect for my fish, should mollie go back to the LFS with mr bala?

NEW 20 gal already cycled tank!!..got this today ...all readings are great so far...but im afraid I created a monster...my boyfriend has 2 baby convicts in it(hes going to move them to the 75 gal when they get bigger, of course oscars will be moved up by then),2 dwarf gourami's 3 tiger barbs(from the 30 gal)..opinions appreciated good or bad!!

Sometimes for me but I just want to be a good fish mum!!

SereneReyn

ohmigosh... just jumpin' in with both feet, aren't ya?

ok, on the 30 gallon that seems to be doing well... i would say the barbs, both sharks, and the betta need new homes... whether that's the 75 or whatever is up to you. the molly that's left i suppose could be left with the angels, though i was under the impression that they preferred slightly brackish water... or you could go with a few other small fish - i'd recommend a clean up crew of some kind, maybe a few cory's, or a SMALL (not common) pleco?

i'm a little unclear on what the eventual plans are for the 20g. the barbs like more of their own kind, and tend to be fin nippers. dwarf gouramis - males won't do well together.

sounds like you're doing a little better tho. g'luck!

sirdarksol

Sounds like things are going well.

One bit of help to speed up the cycling of the 75g. You can add a piece of sponge (you can get filter sponge for a few bucks, usually) to the 30g filter, leave it there for a few days, then pull it out and put it in the 75g filter to "seed" things.
If you have floating plants or the standard plastic plants (the water milfoil types), you can move them to the 75g to help things along, too.

Edit: Mollies can survive in freshwater, but they do seem to prefer brackish. (depending on the breed, some prefer heavily brackish).
They also like company of their own, so I would suggest returning him/her.

King_Snuggles

why floating and not any plants?

sirdarksol

Oh, just because floating are easier to move around.

If you've got the time and patience to pull up rooted plants, that would work, too. The more surface area, the better. (Frilly plants, like myrmio and wysteria, have tons of surface area. Swords, not so much)

Shawnie

okies...filter sponge at the LFS?? thank u sooo much sir..I been working hard on that big boy and that really helps alot...no info on the stress zyme tho?? ya or na..

serene..barbs are in 20 gal now..and betta has his own 5 gal...bala will go back...is rainbow ok? gourami's I still am tryin to figure how to sex...but are doing well as of right now...

as of jumpin in both feet, been more like fallin on me bum and trying to upside myself! lol

Shawnie

I love the look of plants, but OMG I dont dare venture there yet....I have plastic ones

King_Snuggles

any plant with java in the name is extreamly easy. they require little to no work (i say this because i have both java moss and java fern in my tank and have dont nothing to or for them and both are growing steadly) once things get settled i would give them a try.

SereneReyn

the rainbow will get 7" i think, is described as 'scrappy' with a tendency to go after smaller fish. barbs, particularly tiger barbs, in smaller groups will harass the poo outta yer angels. angels are fairly clumsy swimmers and can't really get away fast enough, etc.

i would encourage you to try live plants... just low light ones, if you can manage 1-2w per gallon. that way you don't have to mess with Co2, etc... they'll also really help with waste, etc...

edit - sorry i guess the barbs aren't with the angels... not sure how they'll do with gouramis, etc...

sirdarksol

No idea on the StressZyme. Sorry.
I agree on the Java Moss/Fern thing. They're really easy to grow.

mcdonald.kk

Just my two cents...Java moss is great stuff. It is a low light plant and you can tie it on to driftwood until it takes root. I've had a lot of luck with watersprite as well; it too is a low light plant. I can't recommend strongly enough that you refrain from buying plants on impulse (I say this from experience). Get the species names and check them out on plantgeek.com first--it will save you a lot of money. Check out any plecos you are thinking of adding on planetcatfish.com. Zebra plecos are fantastic looking but make poor algae eaters.