fishhappy

Hi, I am completely new to fish and FishLore, but I am very serious about it now and I need some advice before my little fish suffer. I have a 29 gallon tank that has been set up for 3 weeks. At 2 weeks, I put in 3 angels and 1 week later I put in 2 pictus cats and 2 snails along with some bio spira. My ammonia is too high and there is no sign of nitrites. This was 6 days ago, so should I do a water change, add some more bio spira? Help please!!!

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!!!!!!!! ...bio-spira needs 7-10 days with no testing or water changes...testing it will only freak you out..after the time frame, depending on your readings, will depend on how much water changes (if any) are needed...

Lucy

Shawnie's got ya covered, I just wanted to say Welcome to the forum

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

When did you add bio spira to this tank?

pepetj

Hi fishhappy, wellcome to fishlore!
Bio-Spira has saved a lot of fishes (never used it myself, but have read many threads here about it). You are doing right, let it work for another day or two, (you added it 6 days ago, right?). Bios-Spira (now reformulated as SafeStart for freshwater aquariums) will establish the type of bacteria a tank builds up during cycling. It is supossed to be safe for fish, although readings can cause us concerns -therefore we are advised not to measure water parameters for 7 days.

Are your fish doing fine? I guess their behaviour should give you a clue if they're stressed or not.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

fishhappy

thanks for the reply! All the fish seem to be doing fine, I just worry. And once you start testing the water, you will drive yourself crazy!!! But I will try and wait a few more days before testing again. Thanks!

Charmaine

Hi fishhappy. Welcome to the forum. Do you have any pics for us??

Alessa

Hi there! welcome to fishlore!

ok, i used biospira and got a bad batch...dont mean to worry you! follow shawnies advice and you'll be fine.

voiceless_kat

Hi and welcome to Fishlore. Ideally, Bio Spira and fish should be added at the same time. Shawnie is right, testing before the 7 days is up will make you crazy!

I just started/stocked both a female betta tank and a 36g with rainbows; cories and plecos. At 7 days I tested it, the Nitrites were sky high in both tanks between 2.0 & 5.0.

I have used BS a lot, and tanks were always cycled within 5 or 6 days. The little betta I just had to do a water change on, she is so tiny. As luck would have it, the next day, nitritesin her tank were 0 and the tank had cycled.

The 36 had nitrites, also at between 2.0 & 5.0 for three days, I was just sick, but the fish wee all acting normal, eating, not showing any signs of nitrite poisoning. I turned to the Marineland tech for help, who told me to just leave it alone as long as the fish were acting normal. I did, and yesterday, the nitrites were way down, only showing on the second recordable spot - and today that tank is also now cycled. I started all of this on June 27Th.

So even tho it took longer, (my fish load in the 36 was high also) both tanks cycled. So having said all that, please be patient, but if the fish begin to act abnormal or exhibit signs of heavy breathing or gasping at the surface, quickly do a water change.

Have you recorded any nitrites/nitrates at all?? Or just ammonia?

Have you done any water changes since you added the angels, or any since you set the tank up?? ( Prior to adding the bio spira and more fish??)

Improper handling of the BS could also alter the results, if it was too hot or frozen by the shipper or anyone handling it.

Good luck with the cycle and make sure you post again if you have concerns.

Val

fishhappy

When I added the angels, the tank was brand new, just up a week and then 2 weeks later I added the cats and snails and the bio spira. I didn't change the water at all in that tank until today when I got scared! But the reason I got scared was because my filter stopped working and there was just crud everywhere and so of course the ammonia was sky high!! And the ammonia levels are still not coming down. What should I do now? I have another pack of bio spira. Should I add that too or just keep doing water changes and wait? Thanks for any help

Alessa

you could do either, if you want to be on the safe side you should get another bag og biospira.

Shawnie

and you dont do water changes with bs...not until after the last day....I hope things are going better..nothing like loosing a filter during a cycle...keep the media from it tho and put it on the new filter!