Parvath

Its been a month now since I started with my tank.. couple of weeks ago the ammonia was high and then it came down and then nitrate(or was it nitrite!!??) was high last week. I changed 30% water and I am taking the water tonight for some testing !!! Hoping the water is fine Couple of danios have a little redness near their fins.. hope its nothing serious.

chickadee

It was probably Nitrite so it sounds like your cycle is progressing nicely. Hope your test comes out okay.

Keep us informed about the danios.

Rose

Jon

tell us the readings when you get them plz... gl with your fish

Parvath

I got my water tested Ammonia is at 0 and Nitrite was reduced to 3 and this time Nitrate was high. I have replaced 15% water. And I am hoping that cycle will be complete soon.

The problem with redness of near the fins is still there and I see that the danios arent very active now and they are gasping a bit.

Any suggestion would be very welcome.

vin

Change 30% of your water daily until your cycle is finished. The nitrites are having an effect on the fish and the water change would be very welcome. Also, by changing your water it will help to lower the concentration of nitrites and nitrates.

While nitrates are not as toxic as the nitrites or ammonia, they will stress your fish if they are too high. You want to keep those nitrates less than 20. More like the 5-10 range at most. The lower the better.

Once your cycle is complete you can change 25-30% of your water weekly unless you experience problems. Then you'd have to up the frequency.

I went through the same thing as you. Although the daily water changes are a lot of work, they are worth it in the long run.

Parvath

Thank you vin, will do the 30% water change today

vin

You're welcome. Sounds like you're almost there......

Parvath

Actually its been 5 weeks now

Just got the water tested again... Ammonia at 0, Nitrite at 0 and Nitrate at 10 (it has come down from 20).

About the redness of the fins in danios, I think it might be cause of the water temperature it was nearing 80 and when I reduced it the temperature looks like they are getting better. Not sure if its the temperature or Nitrate. Just hoping for the best

vin

You could very well be done.....Are you still changing the water every day? Also, it may be wise for you to get your own test kit rather than schlep the water to the LFS every week. You can get an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit on line at Petsmart.com for about $14. That's about 50% less than you'd find at your LFS and it has all of the tests that you'd need to perform every week.

Something to think about anyway......

Parvath

Its been now a little more than 6 weeks and looks like the tank is cycled. Ammonia reads .25, both nitrate and nitrite are at 0. Been a little busy and havent done my water change for about 4 days now..and its time do it and get that ammonia down

Gunnie

If you are still having to do water changes to reduce ammonia, then it's not completely cycled. You are almost there, just hang on a little longer.