Help! I am a new and worried fish Mom..

Hello there,
So I am pretty new to the fishkeeping game and I do understand the nitrogen cycle.. or at least I thought I did! I have 10 gallon betta tanks and I thought they were all cycled. I tested the water parameters often and everything seemed to be fine.. then out of the blue I guess I had an ammonia spike followed by a nitrite spike in a matter of a few days.. I ended up losing one of my bettas and I truly am devastated! People say it's only a fish but I loved that little dude and I just feel awful that he must have suffered!! Anyways.. I have another tank that seems to be doing the same thing but I am testing like a crazy person because I'm terrified of a repeat event.. I have been doing water changes and dosing with prime and stability.. first it was ammonia of course and now the nitrites have appeared.. i know this is what supposed to happen during a cycle but why is it cycling again? Can the nitrite spike like the last tank did? I am not an expert at reading the test results but IMO the ammonia has been about 0.25-0.5 and the nitrites are about 0.5.. should I keep doing water changes? If so how much and how often? Any other advice you can think of to help would be appreciated as well! TIA

 

Did you change the filter media recently? Throwing them out and changing to a new one can cause mini cycle. Those hold a lot of beneficial bacteria. You can use them until they are falling apart and just rinse them in aquarium water.

As for what to do, I would keep up with water changes. How much are you feeding them?

 

Welcome to FishLore!

Do you have just one betta per tank? Many people think they understand the nitrogen cycle, but really do not, so if you click the blue words nitrogen cycle (if they aren't a link in this message, they are showing as a link in your message above) it will take you to an article explaining it.

One thing that is so darn obvious that I just can't believe I didn't figure it out on my own is that the bacteria that cycles your tank, lives in your filter media. If you change your filter media (like the instructions that came with your filter tell you to do), you'll be removing all the bacteria and you'll have to start the cycling process all over. What you want to do it just one a week swish your filter media in some dirty tank water to clean out the chunks and put it right back in the filter. One thing though...if your filter media contains carbon it needs to be replaced monthly. But if your filter has carbon encapsuled in the filter floss, you may have to slit the cartridge to remove the carbon. You can then add some carbon in a media bag if there is room in your filter. If not, just don't use it. Carbon use isn't necessary.

If you have a single betta in a 10g tank, the bioload is pretty low, and you should easily be able to keep your levels low. Test your water daily and if ammonia+nitrites is under 1ppm, just dose the tank with enough Prime to treat all 10 gallons. If your ammonia+nitrites get above 1ppm, do a 50% water change with enough Prime to treat 10 gallons. Keep this up until teh tank gets cycled.

Best of luck!

 

Thanks to u guys for your replies!! I did not change my filter media recently but I did swish them out. I have two bettas in each tank with a divider. I did add the second betta recently but I was testing my water every few days.. and of course the very few days I didn't check was when all this occurred and I lost my little guy. For the current tank it seems to be stabilizing but I am keeping a close eye on it still. I have had the same cartridge in for a month.. I was going to to replace but now I read your advice.. so I just took the carbon out and left it in with an additional precut filter media in there as well.. I was feeding the bettas twice or three times a day. Only a couple pellets at a time. I will be cutting back to two times now after hearing more advice. Do you think the filter media will be ok and is it correct to add a second one in the housing so that you can eventually remove the older one? Thanks again.. much appreciated!

Thanks to u guys for your replies!! I did not change my filter media recently but I did swish them out. I have two bettas in each tank with a divider. I did add the second betta recently but I was testing my water every few days.. and of course the very few days I didn't check was when all this occurred and I lost my little guy. For the current tank it seems to be stabilizing but I am keeping a close eye on it still. I have had the same cartridge in for a month.. I was going to to replace but now I read your advice.. so I just took the carbon out and left it in with an additional precut filter media in there as well.. I was feeding the bettas twice or three times a day. Only a couple pellets at a time. I will be cutting back to two times now after hearing more advice.

Do you think the filter media will be ok and is it correct to add a second one in the housing so that you can eventually remove the older one? Thanks again.. much appreciated!
Oh and what advice do u have for cleaning the tank that had the huge nitrite spike?

 

You need 2 filters and 2 heaters for a tank with a divider, I would remove the divider and you can get something like neon tetras with the betta

 

So I do have filters on both sides and I have a thermometer on both sides and it maintains the exact same temp for both sides.

 

How long did you cycle them, and how did you cycle them and what happened that caused you to decide they were cycled?

 

In a tank as small as a 10g, there is no need for two heaters.

 

Well being brand new at this I was getting my water tested at the local pet store.. they told me it was cycled even though it hadn't run for very long.. I have learned in my short time doing this that to trust what they say is a mistake.. that is also why I am turing to this group for advice.. but I was getting my water tested every 3 to 4 days (prob driving them nuts but I didn't care lol) and everything was fine with the water parameters.. and then the spike happened after almost 6 weeks of the tanks running.. now I am testing my own water many times a day because I am so nervous.. but I am not an expert at reading the colours so to see the green or purple freaks me right out now.. I am seeing what I think is under 0.25 of ammonia and around a 0.25 for nitrite.. I also have prime and stability on hand.

 

Hi Starlie00
Do water changes is always the answer.
If you have time remove some water and add more conditioned temperature matched water. Do it today and tomorrow, if you have five minutes to spare.?

It seems to me adding the second fish is the beginning of your confusion ?

All cycled tanks only have enough bacteria to eat the daily poop load/ to eat the daily bio load / ammonia load.
Adding the second fish doubled the bio load . It takes a few days/ weeks for the bacteria to multiply into enough numbers to cope with the extra bio load. Now you know this you will be ready for the mini cycle next time. ?

As the tank is cycling ( mini cycle) do not clean the glass or clean the ornaments or gravel. Yes you can remo solids ( poop ) from the substrate by hovering just above the surface. Try not to disturb and hard surfaces as the are all a potential home for the new bacteria, and the old bacteria of course .

No fish or bacteria are ever in danger from conditioned temperature matched water.
The filter cartridges/ pads/ foam may not need cleaning for months. Only if the flow slows is it necessary to rinse them.

What conditioner are you using? Prime?

 

When you were trying to cycle without fish were you adding an ammonia source? If not then that’s why your water seemed perfect.

 

Hi Starlie00
Do water changes is always the answer.
If you have time remove some water and add more conditioned temperature matched water. Do it today and tomorrow, if you have five minutes to spare.?

It seems to me adding the second fish is the beginning of your confusion ?

All cycled tanks only have enough bacteria to eat the daily poop load/ to eat the daily bio load / ammonia load.
Adding the second fish doubled the bio load . It takes a few days/ weeks for the bacteria to multiply into enough numbers to cope with the extra bio load. Now you know this you will be ready for the mini cycle next time. ?

As the tank is cycling ( mini cycle) do not clean the glass or clean the ornaments or gravel. Yes you can remo solids ( poop ) from the substrate by hovering just above the surface. Try not to disturb and hard surfaces as the are all a potential home for the new bacteria, and the old bacteria of course .

No fish or bacteria are ever in danger from conditioned temperature matched water.
The filter cartridges/ pads/ foam may not need cleaning for months. Only if the flow slows is it necessary to rinse them.

What conditioner are you using? Prime?

Thank you so much for all that info... and yes knowing all that I will be ready for another mini cycle.. ugh how I wish I knew all this before poor fish had to suffer because of my ignorance.. I am actually quite heartbroken over the whole thing.. and yes I am using prime

Thank you so much for all that info... and yes knowing all that I will be ready for another mini cycle.. ugh how I wish I knew all this before poor fish had to suffer because of my ignorance.. I am actually quite heartbroken over the whole thing.. and yes I am using prime

Doing another water change now and I will do another one tom and so on if need be..

 

Ok it is claimed that the Prime will neutralise up to 1 ppm of both ammonia and or nitrites for up to 48 hours. Some people think adding extra prime on odd days is going to help ? Personally I would recommended small water changes instead of adding extra Prime. Just the amount recommended for a standard water change will offer some extra protection from ammonia.

Something I feel.
The hobby is a rollercoasters of emotions . It has its ups and downs for sure.

 

Mini cycles are like setting up a QT without a seeded filter....panic and following action.
Both are resolved the same, IMO with daily WC, temperature matched, adding Prime until the cycle is complete. Water changes are good anyways for those sensitive Betta. Feeding a little less may help as well.

 

Sorry for your loss. We dont believe in the 'it's just a fish' motto here

 

Ok it is claimed that the Prime will neutralise up to 1 ppm of both ammonia and or nitrites for up to 48 hours. Some people think adding extra prime on odd days is going to help ? Personally I would recommended small water changes instead of adding extra Prime. Just the amount recommended for a standard water change will offer some extra protection from ammonia.

Something I feel.
The hobby is a rollercoasters of emotions . It has its ups and downs for sure.

It sure does.. I can't stop feeling sad and thinking about what I should have done differently.. but he will not have died in vain! I will remember this lesson forever and its made me understand a lot of things about.. well a lot of things! So thankful for all the advice and tips so far

 

Hello Fish Mom, first of all I am really sorry to hear about your fish loss and I can tell it can be traumatizing when one of your fish dies and like I tell every fish keeper to not blame oneself but rather look at the brighter side and to remind that there was no foul play in your Intention that you did your best to give him a new home where he can thrive to best of your abilities rather leaving him in a small cup. Intention is all it matters in this context if you finding hard to morally justify yourself with the fish loss. Also you have to remember Fish are delicate creatures and most of them are inbred in homes rather than found in nature and that's why some fish may not be hardy as they were once known for. In your case, I am not exactly sure what caused the ammonia and nitrate spike but if I were you I'd get the fish right out of the tank if I see any kind of spike and put him in a quarantine tank and slowly acclimate it with new clean water while simultaneously doing water changes.
ammonia 0.25-0.5 is very normal. unless you start to see your ammonia color changing to green then that's a sign you need to change the water.
nitrites 0.5. The same goes for nitrite too. if you start to see it being dark blue/purple thats a sign you should change your water.
I would suggest you get API testing kit if you havnt yet. very handy.
Also if you are using a divider or some kind of separator to separate the betta fish then make sure they dont see each other as it can cause each other tension leading them to jump out of tank or get nippy.
good luck

 

Hello Fish Mom, first of all I am really sorry to hear about your fish loss and I can tell it can be traumatizing when one of your fish dies and like I tell every fish keeper to not blame oneself but rather look at the brighter side and to remind that there was no foul play in your Intention that you did your best to give him a new home where he can flourish to best of your abilities rather leaving him in a small cup. Intention is all it matters in this context if you finding hard to morally justify yourself with the fish loss. Also you have to remember Fish are delicate creatures and most of them are inbred in homes rather than found in nature and that's why some fish may not be hardy as they were once known for. In your case, I am not exactly sure what caused the ammonia and nitrate spike but if I were you I'd get the fish right out of the tank if I see any kind of spike and put him in a quarantine tank and slowly acclimate it with new clean water while simultaneously doing water changes.
ammonia 0.25-0.5 is very normal. unless you start to see your ammonia color changing to green then that's a sign you need to change the water.
nitrites 0.5. The same goes for nitrite too. if you start to see it being dark orange thats a sign you should change your water.
I would suggest you get API testing kit if you havnt yet. very handy.
Also if you are using a divider or some kind of separator to separate the betta fish then make sure they dont see each other as it can cause each other tension leading them to jump out of tank or get nippy.
good luck

Awe thank you so much for your kind words.. I cannot express how much I needed a comment like that because I have been beating myself up about it for days.. and you're right.. I thought I was saving him from a dreary life in a tiny bowl. But now feel like I have learned a lot through this and I am determined to keep learning and putting the knowledge I gain into making my fish as happy and safe as possible. I am especially grestful to have become a part of this group. All the arsenal I have is because of the advice I have received so far. I do have the API master test kit and I have been testing my other tanks like crazy. I have been doing water changes pretty much daily to keep those readings down. I do have a great divider as well. The fish can't see each other and they seem quite content. Thanks for your input. Much appreciated!