fishguy&girl

dead fish now... I have been thru the cycle and I had 6 cherry barbs and 4 cherry shrimp and 3 ghost shrimp... well I had one of my male cherry barbs dye tonight. It was like he wasnt swimming, just floating. looked like he wasnt even breathing with his mouth open. then he would float to the top and then just stay there and the go back down and and even get stuck in the plants and just stay there... After a while I seen that he was dead and just floating. My tests NO2=0 and my ammonia=.025 and NO3 was 5.0. I did a 40% water change and when I did I added sechum prime and stability to the tank and all and all the other tank inhabitants seem just fine I dont know whats going on... Help Please

Prince Powder

Well since you have an ammonia reading, you're either not complete with your cycle or are experiencing a mini cycle. A mini cycle can happen if you add too many fish or add them faster than your bacteria colony can keep up. Have you been using Stability from the beginning? Many people are told that the bacteria in Stability will help cycle their tanks faster, however this is untrue. Stability's bacteria is not aquatic which means it can't survive in a tank for long. That's why you have to keep adding it and adding it. Forever. Stability starves your natural bacteria and they aren't able to grow and reproduce properly so when the Stability bacteria dies there's nothing there to eat the ammonia and nitrites. I would recommend you stop using the Stability and stick with just the Prime. You'll need to do daily water changes of 40-50% using the Prime to keep your ammonia detoxed until your cycle stabalizes.

Fishnugget43

Aww, Im so sorry! I hate losing fishies... Sounds like an ammonia problem.

Goldwing_Don

Welcome to fishlore fishguy & girl!!!!!!!!!

Meenu

welcome to fishlore.

I agree that the stability is not good for your tank. I think that if you are using that, then your tank could not have ever truly cycled. I would stop using it, and do daily water changes with Prime.

fishguy&girl

Yeah I have been using the Stability for a while now. So I have one more question then, On here I see that people dont like stability and say it dont work. But I also seen Tetra Safe start and I have seen people on here recommend to other ppl. What is the different if they are suppose to do the same thing??

Tigerfishy

They're not the same thing, that's why. Stability has bacteria, but as mentioned above, it is the wrong type and will die once you stop adding it, throwing your cycle back to the start. Tetra SafeStart (TSS) has the correct bacteria, you add it and don't test the water for a week and it should be good to go. TSS has the bacteria that would grow in the tank naturally for getting rid of ammonia/nitrites and so helps the cycle.
It is a bit confusing at first, trust me, It took me ages to learn this stuff, at least you're doing the research, most wouldn't. I wish you the best of luck with this, and please keep us updated (and feel free to ask anything, there's nothing too silly to ask, I already got in there with the really stupid questions ages ago lol!)

fishguy&girl

oh ok so it just has the wrong bacteria unh.... So will me going out an getting some of TSS will it help my tank then

hooedc

I would assume... I have heard that that TSS works really great

Prince Powder

TSS contains the exact same strains of bacteria that would be growing in your tank naturally if your tank was cycled on it's own. I will tell you that TSS is easier found online than in stores. I was fortunate to find ONE LFS out of the many I visited that carried it. I used TSS to cycle 2 of my tanks with great success. Some people have tried it and found it didn't work for them, but when you've already got the fish in an uncycled tank, it's worth a shot. Just make sure to follow the directions EXACTLY.
I'd hold off on trying the TSS for at least a week though. During that time your daily water changes will get the Stability bacteria out of the tank and any leftover stability would have died. That way there won't be anything competing with the TSS bacteria. Another thing to remember is that TSS takes about 7-10 days to work when used properly. During that time you will not be able to do any water changes or pretty much anything at all to your tank in order to allow the TSS to do it's thing. It is even recommended that you don't test your water during that time. Testing won't harm the TSS but the readings tend to be all over the place and can sometimes seem high enough to make people panic and do a massive water change which will affect the TSS. While the TSS is speed cycling your tank, your fish will still be exposed to ammonia and nitrites so some more sensitive fish might not make it through the 7-10 period.

gunner13

TSS is designed to put in the tank whilst adding fish at the same time, thats not to say you can't just add it. Also make sure you buy a bottle big enough for the job, to little won't work and don't worry if the bottle is too much for your water volume as you can not overdose on TSS. So when you add it(if you do) remember to put the whole bottle in, REGARDLESS. Hope this helps.
Nick

Prince Powder

To true gunner13. When using TSS you have to add the ENTIRE bottle every time. Since the OP is only running a 10 gallon any size bottle would be sufficient. The small bottle of TSS is designed for up to a 30 gallon tank. I used the small bottle to cycle my 14 gallon with no issues. I also used the larger bottle which is designed for up to 75 gallons to cycle my 10 gallon with no issues. It will also be important to get your ammonia down to as close to 0 as possible before adding it. The TSS bacteria can easily be overwhelmed if the ammonia levels are too high right from the get go. Also products like Prime are not compatible with TSS so you have to wait 24-48 hours after using your Prime to add the TSS.

Meenu

fishguy&girl

yeah well I have some cherry barbs and I have read that they are pretty hardy first fish... thanks guys I appreciate the help. ill keep ya updated

AlyeskaGirl

No fish is a hardy fish when it comes to cycling with them. It's very hard on them, stress and disease.

TSS would be good. It will keep the fish safe. Just do a large water change with a dechlorinator before you add it.

jdhef

Stability contains a terrestrial form of the bacteria. Although it will convert ammonia and nitrites while it is alive, it soon drowns in an aquatic environment. SafeStart on the other hand is the aquatic form of the bacteria and is able to live and reproduce indefinitly.