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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Help! Sick fish!
I'm very new to all of this...but I believe I had a spike in ammonia or nitrites or something, all my fish except one is doing just fine...but one is just staying in the back corner, right at the top by the water line, and not moving very much. He did eat some when we fed him the last couple times, but I'm really worried about him...any advice would be appreciated... | 
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| daily water changes of at least 50% and tap water treated with prime will help the spikes...we reccommend the API master liquid test kit to test for EVERYTHING needed to keep a healthy tank..ammonia and nitrites should always be 0 and nitrates under 20...goodluck  | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| how often should I do a 50% change? I did a change of 20% today, and 25% three days ago. | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| If you havent cycled yet, and you have ammonia & nitrites, or nitrates over 20, daily changes are needed...its alot of work but well worth it...have you tested the water parimeters yet? | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| i've also already ordered a testing kit. I've been relying on a pet store near by that does it for free...but no more...but it will take a couple days to get to me (I bought online). Also...if my fish (swordtail) survives, will he heal? or if he has poisoning, is that always fatal? | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| daily changes of 50%? I don't mind the work at all...
my tank was probably not as cycled as much as it should have been...this is all so new to me! | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| all one can do is pray to the fish lords and keep up with good water changes...the prime helps ..he may survive tho..its not always fatal if you catch it ..and if hes still going, you have a chance!!!...but the daily changes will be all you can do for now unless you get bio-spira which within 24 hours cycles the tank...I didnt know about the cycle either and it was a 75 gallon tank with daily changes...for almost 9weeks ...lemme tell ya, it was a workout LOL but my fish are happy campers (swimmers) | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| I've been putting in doses of "cycle"....was doing it weekly...now I do it whenever I change the water (twice this past weekend alone)...I know my cycle is going cause the last time I had my water tested I was told I had some ammonia and some nitrites....so that means it was beginning. I'm hoping the "cycle" is helping. the good thing is that all my other fish (7 others) seem all fine...it's only this one, but I don't want to lose him!! | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| the thing with cycle, you have to use it forever ...  ...so I would just get some prime, and do daily water changes with your tap water being treated with prime ....let nature takes its course so you dont have to use cycle for life...if you can get bio-spira, you wouldnt use the prime...but the cheapest way is prime n daily changes...most of us dont trust the LFS for readings or advice..so if you have nitrites, thats a good sign that your cycle is coming along...goodluck!!!! and just have patience (wish they sold that at the petstores!!) | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| ...actually...I have Prime already...i was using that to treat my tap water...does it help with the cycle too? the guy at the pet store told me it was only for treating tap water. I'm so sorry for all the newbie questions! | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| i would stop using cycle, it does not contain the right bacteria, and many people (including me) have been suckered into buying it thinking it would cycle the tank. the only product with the right bacteria is bio-spira.
if you use prime and keep up on ur water changes (40-50% a day), then your fish will be alright.
what i think you saw was a symptome of ammonia poisoning. if you use prime, the ammonia and nitrites are non toxic, so this will be a HUGE help for you. if u see this actioni again.. or i fish breathing very heavy, do an IMMEDIATE 60% water change to get them healthy again
good luck, and enjoy the tank! | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| already online ordering bio-spira right now...LOL...will have it shipped over night... | |
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May 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| if you use bio-spira, when you add it, NO water changes or readings for a week...they will freak you out..and yes prime is for the tap water not the cycle...great job with bs, it will save you in water changes but you still need the api master liquid test kit to keep the tank up to par after its cycled | |
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May 20th, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Cycle does have bacteria, but it's harmful to the right kind of bacteria. That's why a tank with it won't actually cycle but be in a never-ending series of mini-cycles and a constant drain on the fish budget.
Before the Bio Spira gets there, I would do a 50% water change and put some fresh carbon in the filter to help clear it out. A few hours with the carbon should do what it's going to do and then you can add the Bio Spira. Cycle can actually kill Bio Spira's bacteria colonies is the reason to clear it out of the water first. | |
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May 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Hope your fish will be fine. Continue to monitor the water's parameter and do water change when necessary.  | |
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May 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| so far so good...just did another water change. my male swordtail seems to be much better today...he's more active and is actually swimming around more than he was. he still sometimes sits close to the top of the tank, but he will swim around and he's eating.
...so, I live in Canada, and I tried to order Bio Spira, and it seems that the Canadian government hasn't approved Bio Spira yet for sale here. (something about different laws here for transporting what is actually live bacteria). I found some place that will ship to Canada from the USA, but they only do shipments twice per month, and after the shipping costs its going to cost me over $100!!! Wow. i'm trying to find another supplier...but it doesn't look good. I will be stopping my "cycle" use and just doing what Shawnie suggested and do water changes and let nature take its course. What is it about "Cycle" anyway? Does it actually remove the regular good bacteria and replace it with whatever it contains? I'd be curious as to what it actually does... | |
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May 21st, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| like a lot of people said already CYCLE IS NO GOOD!!! i also used it for a while til i found out that it will not do any thing good to my tank.
keep doing the water changes with the prime.
good luck! | |
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May 21st, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| wow...I had no idea about CYCLE. I bought a starter kit that included a bottle of cycle. I watched the DVD that came with the starter kit, and in it, they made it seem like you just needed to use the bottle and poof, your cycle would be running in your tank. thanks so much for all the great advice. | |
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May 21st, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| well...sad news everyone. my swordtail died this evening.
I was doing daily water changes and treating the water with Prime...but it wasn't enough. I will continue to do daily water changes. I did 50% today in a last ditch effort to try to help him when I got home from work...but it wasn't enough. I'll switch back to doing 20-25% each day until my cycle is totally up and running. I have stopped using CYCLE completely (last dose was monday) I feel horrible that he died just because of a lack of knowledge on my part when it comes to keeping fish - I truly am a newbie and have a lot to learn it seems. Thanks again for everyone's help. | |
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May 22nd, 2008
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| | Moderator
| I'm sorry you lost your swordtail. We've all made beginner mistakes and unfortunately a lot of people have lost fish because of it.
Was he the only fish in the tank?
I'm glad you found Fish Lore, as you found out the people here are wonderful and the forum is full of information.
Good luck. | |
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May 22nd, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| sorry to hear about your fish. if you have no more fish in your tank you don't have to keep doing water changes. if you still have fish in it then you should keep doing 50% water changes so that the other fish are fine. if there is no more fish then do the fishless cycle and no water changes.
good luck! | |
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May 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| thanks for all the help...I have other fish in the tank and I'm working my butt off to make sure they are going to be ok. I'm doing daily water changes (20-25%) I got a testing kit tonight and started to test my water as well. I'd appreciate some help on the results.
Ammoina - 0 (yay!) nitrite - 1.0 nitrate - 10 pH - 7.8
I know the Nitrite and pH aren't where they need to be. I know to keep the nitrite down, I just have to keep up with my water changes, but how do I bring the pH under control? I tested my regular city tap water and it was already at 7.6.
I'd appreciate any help you can give. | |
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May 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| im sorry you lost you sword ...but...you are sooooooooooo close..having 0 ammonia and some nitrite readings, its coming along great!!.. ph isnt something you should worry about..your fish will acclimate to it...or they already have...so for now just keep up with the water changes daily and before you know it, you will be done.... | |
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