cmoreland

Hello, just wanted to get your input on what I've got going so far...

First off, our water here is quite hard from tap (but I treat it with Aquasafe to dechlorinate it)

The tank is a 10 gallon that is a little over 2 weeks old. I've got 4 N. Tetra's, 2 Platy's, 2 Ghost Shrimp, 1 Molly and a Guppy. (probably a bit overcrowded)

I've added a little over 1tbsp of Aquarium Salt over the past couple of weeks. I also just added a 3" circular air stone that seemed to excite the fish, don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing? I also use a weekly dose of EasyBalance Nitraban...should I continue this?

Here are my levels: (using API Master test kit)

pH - 8.0 (too high for my comfort)
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 5.0 (should be a little higher?)
ammonia - 1.0 PPM

The tank may still be cycling, but I could be overfeeding the fish, I feed them usually twice a day.

My plan now is to continue my 25% weekly water changes, get rid of the Guppy (giving him to a friend) and drop feeding down to once a day.

What are your thoughts? Please advise

cmoreland

Also, one of the other fish bit half of the back fin off one of my neon tetra's. He's starting to look a little crooked and pitiful, I'm probably going to lose him

Llama

By 2 weeks old, you mean you're cycling it with the fish in? That's not very good for them.

aquarist48

I would suggest a 50% water change now and some ammonia neutralizer (note: which usually lasts only 24hours). Your Nitrites should be 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrates 5-10...hang in there...you're not finished cycling.

agabr123

i wouldn't continue to add the nitraban, a member here had their cycle crash after using it

you're not too badly overcrowded, you can still feed your fish twice a day but don't feed more than they can eat in a minute. you're just not finished with the cycle yet, so you should do 50% daily water changes with your water conditioner until you get consistent readings of 0ppm ammonia and nitrIte and 5-20 nitrAte (20 is pushing it a bit, i prefer to keep mine at 10 or below) and then you can switch back to weekly water changes.

cmoreland

Won't the 50% water changes sabotage my cycle?

Lucy

When you're cycling with fish, it's necessary to keep the ammonia levels low by doing water changes.
Ammonia is toxic to your fish. Not only ammonia poisoning but it lowers their resistance and makes them more susceptible to disease.

Removing ammonia will slow down your cycle, but it's done to try and keep your fish from getting sick.

cmoreland

Ok, sounds like a plan. Thanks for the advice guys and gals.

BTW- Came home a few minutes ago and found my gimped Tetra stuck to the filter. I guess having that missing back fin did him in. He's gone. I feel terrible...

Shawnie

sorry for your loss its so hard to loose our babies...but its probably the ammonia which weakens them...fin loss doesnt always make them not able to live ...goodluck with the rest of the cycle!!!!!!!! patience and water changes will be your best friend!

cmoreland

Ok, I did the water change, vacuumed the substrate with a siphon to get the water out, then treated the water going in with the Aquasafe.

The 3 remaining Tetra's are getting a lot more active. They are trying to swim through the back glass, do you think they'll be all right? Hope I didn't shock them too much! The water temp never moved more than 1 degree warmer to about 80-81F

Lucy

I'm really sorry about your little fish. It's hard to lose one.
You might want to switch to Prime or Stress Coat+ instead of Aquasafe for now.
They'll detox the ammonia for 24 hrs. between water changes.

CWO4GUNNER

The fact that they are exerting themselves is a good sign, ammonia poisoning usually make them look winded and lethargic at the top gasping. Since your PH is high ammonia at any level will be very toxic, make sure you use a detoxifier like prime until both ammonia and nitrite are no longer present. Nitaraban only helps manage nitrates which is no real concern now, you need a full dose of Prime every 24 hours in conjunction with a water 50% change, this is if you want your fish to live. Hope they make it

cmoreland

I'll go by and pick up some stresscoat and do another water change today. My Molly just gave birth to at least 5 fry...and she's now going nuts attacking all the other fish!

I turned the tank lights off and turned down the lighting in the room to create lots of shadows so my other fish can hide from Overlord Molly.

cmoreland

One other thing, the Guppy keeps trying to rub against the side of the Molly...sometimes nipping at her side fin, is this normal? Should I separate them?

Redvelvetsword

If it's a male guppy (I didn't see you mention that), he's probably trying to mate with here. Very interesting to watch.

dennis

You already got some great advice. I've been through the same thing about 3 months ago. I lost lots of my fish on the cycling process. Just keep up with the water changes. Your readings are not reading any nitrites. This means you are in the beginning of your cycle. You have a long way to go. I would estimate around 6 weeks. Please do not add any more fish even if you loose more of them. Hopefully your fish can tough it out. I lost 90 percent of mine.

cmoreland

6 weeks? wow. I have a cheap filter, maybe I should change it out with a Penguin before the cycle process goes much further...

cmoreland

Yep, it's a male Guppy...didn't know they bred with other types of fish but yeah, it DID seem kind of friendly

dennis

Changing your fiter and its media will reset your cycling process. If you can stuff the existing filter in a net and hang it in to the water so your new filter can benefit some of the bacterias already established in there.

cmoreland

Ok, I went and bought some Stress Coat and did another water change. I also cleaned the filter a bit in the vacuumed tank water. The fish seem to be doing fine. However I don't understand why my PH is still 8.0-8.2 with the water changes..Ammonia is still hovering around 1 as well.

ladylouroll

im going through the same thing at present to. im doing 50 percent changes every day with stress coat+ which is doing the trick my fish are super active always playing in the air stone stream now. my water levels are getting better every time i check them . just stick at it! these guys no there stuff!

dennis

In time ammonia will disappear as it will be transfered in to nitrites. It will not happen overnight or after a water change. Like i said it will take some time. As of your Ph i am not sure but i do not think a water change will make it drop. On the other hand i may be wrong. You should wait for someone who knows what they are talking about on the Ph.

cmoreland

Ok, I'm proud to announce that my daily water changes w/ stress coat have paid off. My ammonia is at 0 and my Nitrates are on the rise, 7-10 as of the last test up from 5 a few days ago.

I'm afraid my PH is still a tad too high at 8-8.2 but I have no idea how to bring this down. It must be this towns extremely hard water from municipal. We've got some of the hardest!

Anyway, I've got like 7 little baby fry that WILL NOT GET EATEN. Or die. They seem to be doing very well but they are overpopulating my little 10 gallon! What should I do? It's not like I can bring myself to flush the poor little fellers, plus they are extremely quick

cmoreland

Well, I think my main concern here is to bring the populace of this tank down and not worry so much about the Ph. I think the fish I bought locally here are bred close to that kind of ph level anyway.

My worry here is if I will be able to find homes for a few of these fish before it's too late. I won't be fooled by the apparent good health of the fish now as it may come to an abrupt end.

Update on the Fish Census:
1 Molly
3 N. Tetra's
2 Platys
1 Guppy
1 Ghost Shrimp
lots of fry recently

Lucy

If your fish seem to be doing fine, it would be a good idea not to mess with your ph especially since the store is in the same town and likely to have come from that ph.
You can get yourself another tank to serve as a grow out tank. Once the fry get old enough some stores will exchange them for store credit or at least take them off your hands.
Please don't flush them. If you can't keep them or give them away you might want to consider having only 1 sex.

cmoreland

@ Lucy - Don't worry, they won't get flushed, I'm not that kind of person. I realize now that I need to have only males or only females. I think the Molly was pregnant when I bought her a couple of weeks back.

I asked around and there is a place here in town that is locally owned and the guy will accept healthy fish with a water test. I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Lucy

Cool, I'm glad you have place to take them. Orrrr......you can get another tank.