tzqng8

Water parameters before the water change:

1. Ammonia - .25ppm
2. Nitrites - 0ppm
3. Nitrates - 5ppm

Not much to say today, really... As I was doing the daily water change after work and feeding the Kids, I found the last Peppered Cory laying on the bottom of the tank upside down. I actually though he might make it since he has been in the tank from day 1 (well, day 15 on here). Since he's not an Upside Down Catfish, I assumed he was dead. I was, unfortunately, correct.

Only one catfish left in the tank now. One Emerald Green "Cory." I don't expect s/he to last long either at this rate. The odd thing to me is that the rest of the fish all seem to be doing well and thriving. I know that having any Ammonia in the tank is terrible for the poor guys, but it is interesting that some fish handle it better than others. In addition, I am using a conditioner to lock the toxicity of the Ammonia.

I dunno. Just feeling really terrible about everything right now. Really tired of finding dead fish that never needed to die. I should have just cycled the tank the old fashioned way. I thought I would try and document SafeStart for everyone and be free advertising for them... Guess it didn't quite work out that way.

RIP little fishies. I'm really sorry I didn't take better care of you.

TFA101

Me too. I lost my pride and joy to a red tail shark. He was a little bronze corydoras. A runt, so to speak. He stayed only the size of a neon tetra for his whole life, until JAWS was introduced. I hate these vicous cycles. Life Death Life Death Life Death. It's all we'll ever get...

Shawnie

im sorry for the losses..im just catching up now as ive been out of town....I think we all go thru this period at one time or another..not that it makes you feel any better, but knowing and learning what to do from a point of knowledge, is better than ignoring advice and keep on going with more fish...know that what you have done so far, is what most of us would have done in the same situation...dont get frustrated with the hobby, as you are a great fish owner...just correct the mini cycle the best you know how, and remember the lessons learned along the way...

tzqng8

I guess I understand and am okay with the natural cycle of life, but I just feel like I got in the way of it this time. Perhaps these little catfish would have lived very happy lives at the pet store until an owner came along and took very good care of them. They may have lived many happy years in the right tank. They may have been very loved. But instead I messed that possibility up.

Then again, the whole process was messed up when they were either wild caught from some river or came to be in some farm breeding tank...but that doesn't really make me feel much better.

But, as you said, it is what we get.

Hope you had enjoyable trip away. I'm sure the fishies missed you.

It is frustrating, I can't lie. But I am frustrated with myself, not the hobby. The hardest part is that I should have known better! I should have just slowed down and thought more about it. I was so sure that little bottle of bacteria was going to work that I didn't even bother with a back up plan.

I'm in it for the long haul and I am glad I have a place to document my failures, and, one day, my successes. Perhaps I'll be able to look back on it all one day and see the progress I have made. Just doesn't much feel like it right now.

But I march on. I still have 8 fish to take care for now. And I'll do what I can for them.

Viva la MTS!

Shawnie

OF COURSE YOU MARCH ON!! but you have to stop banging your own head against the wall...safestart for whatever reason, didnt follow thru...sad part is, most of us will remember this and be leary of it ourselves...it takes others sadness for many of us to learn and educate eachother...we all should "KNOW BETTER" about alot of things..but its human nature to test mother nature...march away tz!! and

tzqng8

Feel free to call me Thomas. And right back at ya.

Guess we all have to learn our lesson one way or the other. Hopefully people will be more careful when using it going forward. I hope others have better luck than myself.

Thanks for the encouragement fish lady.

Shawnie

your welcome Thomas...one question tho, do you wear a kilt when you march?

tzqng8

Eh...? What the...?

I'll just say this...if I wear a kilt, there won't be anything underneath it. That's just the way I roll.

But, I don't think I'm Scottish, so that prolly won't happen anytime soon...unless I lose a bet or something.

Shawnie

<--starts her brain ... what kinda bet can she come up with!!

tzqng8

I knew I shouldn't have given you an idea!

Hey, btw, good job with the new Betta. I know you don't need him, but he needed you!

Hey, look at that... I hi-jacked my own thread! Well, I guess I can do that...

tzqng8

Just got word that the last Catfish has passed on... Perhaps there really is something to this rumor I have heard that Catfish don't do well in our area due to the hard water... I dunno. More to follow tomorrow.

Lucy

I'm sorry for the loss of your fish. Once your tank gets truly established you can try them again. Good luck.

tzqng8

Think I might not try any catfish again for a while... Maybe some RCS once the tank cycles completely... We'll see. Catfish have me sad right now.

J J Indy

I dont know about the Safestart but there are 2 products that have the live bacteria in them one is Bio Spira which I have used and it worked great. I cant remember the name of the other but the Bio Spira can be added to a tank that is having a mini cycle to stop it from being toxic and is safe for the fish in the tank you may try that next time.

P.S. sorry for your loss of the corys I love the 2 that I have good luck.

tzqng8

Thanks for the advice. However, BIO-Spira has been re-formulated to Tetra SafeStart, and that is exactly what I used. Unfortunately, it did not seed properly, and this is what I got. Learning my lesson of trying to do things the "easy" way.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. I lived most of my life in Kokomo, IN before moving out here to TexMexico. I sooo miss trees and grass!

J J Indy

My LFS still sells the live Bio Spira and it worked great. Is the tetra SafeStart made by Marineland Labs?

P.S. My parents now live in Pheonix and they say the same thing and that all the green almost hurts their eyes probably used to all the browns and tans of the desert I guess.

J J Indy

Sorry I have to go now but will check back for your answer

tzqng8

You can read more about it here.

In a nutshell... The formula was somehow sold or handed over to Tetra once it was re-formulated to no longer need refrigeration. As I understand it, it is now kept in a spore state and does not activate until it interacts with Ammonia, thusly how it can be kept on the shelf. The marine version is still owned by Marineland, though.

So, same thing as BIO-Spira except that it is now under the name Tetra SafeStart and can be kept on the shelf.