curiousfish

I wrote here a few days ago about starting a fish tank with precycled media from an established tank. Well, my friend who has the established tank had recently changed her filter and threw the old one out so I took a handful of gravel instead. But to my horror, the pygmy corys I got, died. Using the Quick Dip test strips I found I had a .5 nitrite level in the water. Did I not get enough gravel? My friend has a ten gallon tank with goldfish and I have a ten gallon tank.

Also, when I took the poor pygmy corys back to the LFS, I got two male guppies so that the bacteria that I did have in the gravel would not die. I thought that they may be a little hardier than the corys. Is this a bad move? Is my tank even safe for them? Should I take them back to the LFS so that they will live? I really do not want to kill anymore fish.

jglove276

i would say using alittle gravel will help speed the cycle but may not instant cycle your tank. If it was me i would use a fishless ammonia source to ensure it was cycled before adding the fish.

Prince Powder

If your friend recently changed her filter that might have thrown her tank into a mini cycle since the bulk of her BB was living in her filter. (BTW, you might want to inform your friend that a 10 gallon is too small for goldfish) What were her tank readings when you got your gravel? Also since you only added a handful of gravel that will not instantly cycle your tank, it will just be a booster to your establishing colony. Keep in mind that test strips have a tendency to be very inaccurate so it's even possible that your readings are higher than you think. If returning the fish is still an option for you I would recommend doing that and start a fishless cycle. If you have some BB still in the gravel that should speed up the process a bit. You might even want to consider using your refund towards a liquid test kit so you will get more accurate results. If you can't take them back, do daily water changes with your Prime until your tank is completely cycled. I believe I've read that corys need well established tanks so when you do stock, you might want to stock them last until your bacteria colony has established a bit more.

Sonfish

I think most of your beneficial bacteria will grow in the filter itself, as there is more water flow over the beneficial bacteria, it will be everywhere in your tank but its most affective in the media,

Lucy

I'm really sorry about your fish.
I see from one of your previous posts that you were waiting for the cories to come in on Feb 2nd?
How long were they at the store before you brought them home?
When did you get them and add them to your tank?
Did you add them at the same time as you did the gravel?
Were they acclimated slowly to the tank?
How long after adding the fish did you start to test?

I'm wary of your nitrite reading, the strips can be really inaccurate.
Did you test ammonia and nitrates?
Although nitrites are toxic, I'm doubting that it was nitrites that did them in.
I'd lean more towards weakness through shipping or perhaps pH shock.

It would be a good idea to pick up a good liquid test kit. hey're much more reliable.

Sorry for all the questions.

Prince Powder

Quick question...Your aquarium info shows you have a 75 gallon tank that's been running for 3 years, why didn't you use some gravel or filter media from that tank? If that tank is cycled and healthy you might want to consider moving your guppies into that tank temporarily and hanging your 10 gallon filter on the 75 for a few weeks to let it seed. THEN you can move the filter and guppies back to the 10 gallon and you should have a pretty instant cycle.

curiousfish

Sorry I didn't include all the right information to begin with.

The pygmy corys came into the store on Feb. 4 and I brought them home on Feb. 5. I put them into the tank at the same time that I put the gravel from my friend's tank. I put the gravel in a new panty hose and sqeezed it inside the filter in such a way that the water would have to go through it to reach the filter cartrige. As far as aclimating them, I put their bag in the tank for 30-45 min. so that the temp. was the same before netting them into the tank. I have heard of people doing the "drip method" but I am not quite sure what that is or how to do it without fancy equipment.

When I got the fish I did not have a way to test the water (I now know this was a mistake). When the corys died, I took a water sample to the LFS and they told me that my nitrites were elevated. They recommended that I get the test strips. I didn't know that they weren't accurate. The strips do not test for amonia so I do not know what those levels are. The nitrates were not elevated.

As for my 75 gallon, I wish it were here. But alas, it is at home and I am 12 hours away at college. It was so much easier to start up.

I was soooo sad when my pygmy corys died. I am the kind of person who really gets attached to my fish. I cried as I pulled them out of the water after they died. I do not want anything to happen to the guppies. I tried not to...but I am already attached.

Thank you for taking the time to help!

Jaysee

Pygmy corys are not a good choice to stock a new tank with - you need something that can better withstand variances in water quality.

As for the gravel, I would have put the bag of gravel in the filter. Squeezing it was a nice idea, but you need the bacteria that is attached to the gravel to colonate your new media, which can take a couple of days.

Prince Powder

Ahh, now that makes sense.

When it comes to acclimating fish there is fancy equipment you can use I suppose I know Drs. Foster and Smith sells an acclimation kit. However you can also do it without anything fancier than a little cup to scoop water from your tank. All you need to do is float the bags to get the temps even, then open the bag and add a small amount of water from your tank to the bag. Add another scoop every 10-15 minutes until the bag is pretty full. Once the bag is full you can dump half the water then start adding more tank water a bit at a time. When the bag is full again scoop out your fish and into the tank he goes.

Getting attached can make it very hard to give up your fish, but sometimes it's the best thing for them. I love my fish to pieces, but if worse came to worse I'd prefer they live with someone else rather than risk death with me. If you're dead set on keeping the guppies then you'll have to do daily 50% water changes with a good conditioner like Prime or Amquel+ that will keep the ammonia and nitrites detoxed between water changes. I would also recommend getting a liquid test kit since you will need to carefully monitor your parameters while cycling to make sure your fish stay as safe as possible.

Another option is Tetra Safe Start. I have personally used it to cycle a tank with fish with stellar results. It generally works (when used properly) to cycle a tank in 7-10 days. Keep in mind, even though it is designed specifically for cycling a tank WITH fish, during the cycle period your readings will go absolutely bonkers and your fish WILL be exposed to ammonia and nitrites during this time. This is why Tetra recommends waiting 7 days to test your water because the readings are likely to give a person a heart attack or push them to do a massive water change before the TSS is done working. More sensitive fish still might not make it through the cycling process even though they would be exposed for just a few days.

EDIT: One other note on TSS, many people have reported seeing a nitrite spike a few weeks after the TSS was done. Because of this you will need to continue to check your parameters regularly even after you've cycled. Hence, it would be advisable to wait at least a month after cycling to allow you colony a chance to really stabilize before trying the corys.

curiousfish

Sorry, I guess I didn't make it clear. The gravel IS in the filter. It is in a new panty hose to keep the rocks all together and the gravel is behind the filter cartrige inside the filter.

Jaysee

I think getting a guppy or two was a good move. There is significantly less bacteria on the gravel than there is in used media, but it's still there and it will colonize your media.

curiousfish

I tried to get filter media, but my friend had already thrown her old filter cartrige out. Would it be better to get some more gravel or a decoration from my friend's tank. She has a decoration that she was willing to let me borrow.

Jaysee

Decor will help a little. If you have gravel in the filter and have had fish in the tank since you put it in, you'll be fine. You just have to sit tight and wait. The filter media is a much better home for the bacteria than the gravel, and they'll look so set up shop there. It takes time though, which is why one, maybe two small fish are perfect to start with.

If, with the gravel in the filter, you've let a day go by without a fish in the tank, the bacteria would have been in jeopardy of starving, and you'd lose the little bacteria you had.

curiousfish

Thank you for your advise. I have just finished a 50% water change (I have Prime water conditioner) and will be picking up some more gravel later tonight. I had classes all day today and was not able to go into town. I hope the roads will be clear enough tomorrow (snow) to get to the LFS. I want to return the test strips and get a liquid test kit.