Help With Cycling - I Thought I Was Close To Cycled, But...

Sorry for the REALLY long posts everybody. Just seems better to give all the info up front rather than in a bunch of threads later when asked about specifics...

Doing a fishless cycle on a 26 gallon planted tank, started the process on 12/28. Using non-additive ammonia from Ace Hardware following the "add and wait" fishless instructions on this site. Everything has gone textbook from ammonia spike, then nitrite spike lasting about twice as long and then sudden drop of nitrites, with nitrates appearing gradually throughout the process. I thought it was close to cycled, as ammonia and nitrites were both returning to zero within 24 hours after dosing up to about 3 ppm. (Nitrates are off the chart - haven't done any water changes yet). This went on for 4 days (dose to 3ppm, return to zero in 24 hours) and honestly everything was going textbook. I was just waiting until they both would get to zero in 12 hours before adding fish and hoped that would be in the next week or so. On Friday night (1/11) I tested expecting zeros for the 5th day in a row, but saw ammonia was 0.5 ppm. Weird. Since it was pretty low, I went ahead and dosed it with ammonia as per usual every night, though used slightly less (about 2.5mL instead of my normal 3mL which will take it to about 3 ppm). Since that dose, ammonia held steady at 2 ppm and nitrites 1 ppm all day yesterday (1/12). This morning (1/13) ammonia is 1.0 and nitrite is 0.25 ppm. Why the sudden persistent ammonia after 4 days of zeros? Nitrates are still off the chart. Are ammonia spikes common at the end of a cycle? I know cycles can take many weeks/months to complete and I've only been up for a little over two weeks. I attributed the quick progress to multiple doses of concentrated bacterial products, but maybe it's not as far along as I thought it was. I'm planning on just waiting it out, but wanted to make sure there's not something proactive I should be doing.

A few more variables to consider...

I didn't have access to media from an established tank, so used a bottle of concentrated bacteria when filling the tank initially (Drs. Foster & Smith brand). I was rushing the day I was setting up the tank and adding water and stupidly added my bacterial starter to the bucket of tap water BEFORE adding dechlorinator (API brand). I realized what I had done and added the dechlor about 2 minutes later. Thinking this may have killed off at least some of the bacteria, I added a bottle of Tetra SafeStart on 12/31 for additional bacteria.

Plant level is moderate: there's maybe a dozen plants, including a large ozelot sword, large water sprite, large pennywort, medium anacharis and assortment of smaller anubias, micro sword, banana plant, bacopta, etc. A few of the plants which have been in the tank since day 1 have had a small amount of melting, but nothing too severe. On Friday, 1/11 (day when there was a small amount of ammonia) I added the second batch of plants (the pennywort, anacaris and moss balls). The pennywort is melting a fair amount and the ozelot sword which has been melting (but also has new growth) has a few large leaves which are yellow. Do you think the melting plants could have caused the ammonia spike and the BB are just adjusting? I was planning on doing a large water change (90%) since the nitrates are wicked high. I need to actually plant some of the plants (they're in pots currently) and I have another piece of driftwood to add, but it's not yet waterlogged. I was kind of waiting on the driftwood so I could do everything at once (mostly drain the tank, plant, finish scape, etc.). I'd do a good trimming of dead leaves at that point, but maybe I should trim some of the melting leaves of sooner. They honestly seem not that bad, but it's the only thing I can come up with as to why the ammonia now doesn't want to budge. My tap tests at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates immediately out of the tap and after sitting for 24 horus.

Just to make things more complicated, I'm also starting a 5 gallon betta tank for my mother in law. Since I'm still learning and trying out new things, I had been reading lots of threads with rave reviews of Prime and Stability. I picked up a small bottle of each to try these out on her tank while I get it up and cycled (also will be doing fishless, haven't actually started yet, as I haven't added ammonia yet). On that same fateful night (the 11th) I threw in 2.5 capfuls of Stability to my cycling tank, thinking "well, it shouldn't hurt!"

I've added water when needed to compensate for evaporation, but always add API water conditioner (dechlorinator) to the water before adding it. I have noticed that when I add a gallon or so of freshly dechlorinated water to the tank, there is a slight lag in ammonia processing (it hangs around a little longer for a day). Not sure if that is significant. Since it's such a small volume of water, I'm at least double or triple dosing the water conditioner, as it's impossible to add such a tiny fraction of "a capful."

Eco-complete is the substrate, I have lots of bioballs, noodles and filter floss in the back chamber (it's an AIO tank with an InTank media caddy), some driftwood and dragonstone is also in the tank. Algae has started to grow on glass and surfaces -was hoping to add some shrimp and two nerite snails soon to start taking care of the algae, but now i'm not sure. I add 2 pumps of Easy Green once a week for the plants. pH is 7.6, GH/KH 2-3, temp has been 80-82 (will turn down after cycling).

 

It sounds like the off the chart nitrates are the problem. When they get that high they can stall your cycle. If it were me I would do a water change or even more than one. Once you get them down with water changes you may find that your cycle is in fact complete.

Cycling a tank is a balancing act and when this far out of balance things can stall.

 

First off, thanks for making to the end of my crazy long post!

I think you may be right, I was trying to stick to the fishless directions which say to get rid of the nitrates with one big change at the end, but I think maybe I sped up the process with the multiple additions of bacterial starter and need a water change sooner. I’ll try a water change tonight and cross my fingers. That’s the nice thing about fishless, I really have nothing to lose, except plants and time, but the plants should be fine.

I used to work in microbiology, and it’s true with bacteria (and enzymes) that accumulation of one product (especially the end product) can inhibit the other parts of the equation. Thanks for the reminder!

 

When is the last time you checked the pH in the tank? Forcing 3 ppm ammonia in 12 hours will wipe out the KH in no time, and you may have crashed the pH. If you have already changed water its too late to check if that was the cause.

 

From all I have read from folks that are doing fishless cycling with bottled bacteria an off balanced cycle seems to often happen. In your case you added even more bacteria than was actually needed. Not a problem but it seems to have thrown the cycle off balance. I feel sure getting those nitrates down to a manageable level will get you back on track.

 

Here’s a pic of my tank currently, just for fun.

It’s a bit on the crazy side, because some stuff still needs to be planted.

Water change was successful! I sucked out all the water I could minus what was left in the substrate. Managed to re-scape the tank and plant everything I had just sitting in pots.

Here's the water test (API master kit) before the water change, immediately after and 12 hours after (I dosed the tank with ammonia up to 2.0 ppm right after the "immediately after" picture).

After having the ammonia level "stuck" at 1.0 ppm for 48+ hours, the water change brought it down and now I'm back to a turnover time of somewhere between 12-24 hours. There's a wee trace of ammonia and 0.25 ppm nitrites today after 12 hours. The nitrates are still high (and higher today than immediately after the water change - finally processed that ammonia!), but they're much lower than they were before.

So, now should I just keep doing water changes to get the nitrates to a suitable level? How much water should I change and how often? There's no fish yet, so guessing I can just do several large water changes to bring it down quick?





Here's the tank in it's near complete state. Just ignore that large rock sitting on top of the large piece of driftwood on the right. It's not yet waterlogged, but I didn't want to wait on it. Planning on removing the rock whenever that sucker decides to sink! I'm pretty happy with how my first tank turned out.

 

Sounds like you are getting back on track. If it were me I would go ahead and do a couple more 50% water changes. Like one today and another one tomorrow and see where I stand. It is not totally necessary to get the nitrates down to where it need to be before adding fish right now but if it were me I would try to do it anyway.

I would be dosing the ammonia up to no more than 2ppm at this point in the cycle. Even if it goes back to zero in less than 24 hours I still wouldn't add more in less than 24 hours. Leaving it at zero for several hours up to and including 24 hours will not hurt the cycling process.

I really love what you are doing in this tank. You have a very good eye for aquascaping.

 

Both items mentioned probably contributed to the stall, extremely high nitrates and all of the tank minerals in your water were used up.

Water changes are your friend.

 

Ok, a total of three big water changes have been done, the initial ~90% to start and then I've done a 50-60% for the last two evenings. I'm dosing with ammonia right after the water change - only up to about 2.0 ppm (or slightly less). By morning (8 hours later), ammonia is gone and nitrites are 0.25. Because of my work schedule, I've been unable to check it at 12 hours, but I'm pretty confident nitrites would be at zero. They're definitely a big fat zero at 24 hours, right before I change the water. So....am I cycled? I'll continue to check, of course, but I can't believe it's all working!

Nitrates haven't come down as much as I had hoped they would since I feel like I've replaced all the water at least twice in that tank, LOL. After last night's water change, they are about 20 ppm. They do go back up a little between water changes - I expect if I test them tonight they will be between 20 and 40 on the scale. This is an AIO tank with a back chamber and I have a media basket with filter floss on top. The filter floss was getting a bit grungy with melting plant debris from the first few weeks. I had just left it while cycling, because I didn't want to upset the fragile balance of BB. Thinking though that it might be a reservoir of nitrates, I took out the dirtiest one (I have one on each side, as there's two overflows into the back chamber), squeezed it back over the media underneath and replaced it with clean filter floss. Then I threw it into the little 5 gallon tank I'm cycling for my mother-in-law. I'll see if it changes anything and if everything still seems normal, I'll replace the second filter floss in a couple days.

Should I just proceed with water changes and stay the course? What's a realistic goal in a moderate to heavily planted tank, especially once there's fish in there? Should I add something to my filter basket to help remove nitrates in between water changes once I add a few fish?

Also, back when I thought the tank was basically cycled (right before it stalled out), I ordered some rilI shrimp ((Neocaridina davidI var. 'Rili') and two Nerite snails. Guess what....yup, they're showing up tomorrow. Oops. pH, ammonia, nitrites, etc. seem stable. would it be safe to acclimate them and put them in the tank with nitrates at 20 ppm? Or should I keep them in a critter keeper or small tank first while I try to get the nitrates down further?

 

If after 24 hours you have 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite, I would say you are cycled

 

I agree with jdhef I do believe this tank is cycled. About the nitrates....They are the end product of the cycling process and are controlled with water changes.

Rinsing out the grungy filter media should not disrupt or damage your cycle at this point as long as you rinse it in water you have removed from the tank or at least treated water. It is possible that the buildup of gunk in there is adding a bit to your nitrate numbers.

I wish I knew what to tell you about the shrimp. I've never had shrimp but from all I have read they are pretty sensitive creatures and need to be in a fully cycled tank. I think you will be OK but I can't swear to it.

The best I can do as far as advice on how to protect the shrimp is ...

I am not sure the nitrates would bother them but am sure the ammonia would so be sure to keep a very close eye on it if you decide to put them in this tank when you get them and be sure to add prime daily until you are positive there will be no ammonia spikes.

Disclaimer: I know some folks are able to grow another bacteria that removes the nitrates too but so far I have been unsuccessful at that so I won't even try to explain how it happens. I will say that in the majority of home aquariums the nitrates are removed with water changes.

 

Definitely going to do weekly or 2x week water changes depending on what's needed, and I still test the water twice daily, as I'm a bit paranoid as well as fascinated with the water chemistry. I was mostly wondering if I should add something to the filter media like Fluval ClearMax, just for the short term to trap any excess ammonia/nitrites/nitrates in between water changes. I guess I'd rather not if I don't have to. I actually already have some ClearMax available if needed, but I don't really want to muck up what's working. ClearMax also removes phosphates; I don't currently have a phosphate test kit, so have no idea what my levels are (maybe I should), but with the tank being planted, I don't want to bring them down to zero and end up with phosphate deficiency in my plants.

Also, I'm thinking the shrimp will be such a small bioload, they probably won't produce that much ammonia to start. Not sure about the 2 snails. If all goes well, I will probably introduce a few fish (small tetras) Friday. I obviously don't want to dose the tank with ammonia if I put the shrimp in there, but I also don't want to starve the BB for too long...

If any of that seems wrong, please let me know! Everyone has been so helpful, thanks a bunch!

 

I have never used that product so really can't comment on it. I know at one point I did add some pads that were supposed to help remove nitrates and found that they didn't do anything for me. I have been reading up on a product called nitra-zorb. You might want to look into it. Some folks have used it with some success. Personally I choose water changes for the nitrate control in my tanks.

Your plan for adding fish shortly after adding the shrimp and snails sounds like a solid plan. There won't be enough time between adding the shrimp/snail and adding the fish for a die off of bacteria.

 

You are cycled!

You were striving for your bacteria to convert 2ppm in 12 hours which I think is unreasonable.

No way your fish are going to produce that much ammonia.

Just a suggestion. Add the shrimp a few weeks or more after everything else. They are the most delicate. My experience is that they do better in a tank that has been up for a while. Snails, no issues.

But so much food for snails and shrimp accumulates over time like biofilm and algae. Snails will do fine in a new tank if they are fed veggies regularly. I prefer zucchinI but other squash and cucumber has worked well for me as well.

Just my opinion.

 

You are cycled!

You were striving for your bacteria to convert 2ppm in 12 hours which I think is unreasonable.

No way your fish are going to produce that much ammonia.

I agree. I think 2pmm is just a guideline number. If the cycle will process that much ammonia in a 24 hour period then the tank is ready to be fully populated with bacteria left over. I don't say it out loud but do disagree when folks are advised to add just 2 or 3 fish at a time after building up enough bacteria to process 2ppm or more of ammonia in a 24 hour period.

By not going ahead and adding all the fish they plan on having in the tank right away they are allowing all that bacteria they worked so hard to grow to just die off and have to slowly grow it back as they gradually add fish.

Just a suggestion. Add the shrimp a few weeks or more after everything else. They are the most delicate. My experience is that they do better in a tank that has been up for a while. Snails, no issues.
Just my opinion.

The reason I was up in the air about the shrimp is because they are supposed to arrive today. Had that not been the case I would have advised to wait a while before getting them. Like you I was thinking this tank is too new for shrimp but they are going to have to go somewhere. Hopefully Tamatoa has a back up plan with an already established tank.

 

Thanks for your replies. So yes, the shrimp are arriving today. I do not have any other established tank set up. I do have an empty (dry) 10 gallon that could be set up as well as smaller vessels like a critter keeper. Since those would be basically completely new and uncycled, I'm inclined to do a really good drip acclimation tonight and cross my fingers putting them into the main tank. I got excited and jumped the gun too early, beginner mistake. I'll feel really bad if we lose the shrimp, but if this is the worst mistake I make, I think I will count it as a lesson learned. I did quite a bit of research and there are SO. MANY. OPINIONS. One school (no pun intended) is on the side of "shrimp are delicate and must never be placed into a new aquarium" while there are many others out there on the side of "RCS (mine are a variant of RCS) can handle a wide variety of water conditions, and are quite hardy". Those believe that most of the shrimp deaths from going into "new" tanks are from beginner mistakes - uncycled tanks, no acclimation, not checking water parameters, wrong temp, starvation due to not enough algae, etc. There were a lot of opinions that shrimp should be well established in a tank before adding the community fish, so the shrimp have time to grow, be comfortable finding hiding places etc. Of course, that seems like I'd have to build up the BB back up once I start to add fish. Who to believe? I went with a plan that seemed reasonable: put the shrimp in, let them settle for a couple days, add fish to keep the BB going. I guess I'll see.

I do have a general question about the "new" (but cycled) tank vs. "well-established" tank. What happens in those 6 mos. to a year that makes it better for more sensitive aquatic life? I plan to monitor the water very closely, but should I expect wide swings in water parameters simply because it's newly cycled? Should I expect ammonia spikes other than at times (when adding fish, for example)? pH swings because the driftwood is breaking down? I appear to have more than enough BB at the moment, pH has been very stable, our city water is naturally soft due to it's source and shouldn't change (we have a sand aquifer under the city), nitrates are at 10 ppm or under. I'm generally just curious and I hope no one takes my questions as attacking their opinions. I hear and read it a lot - "best for well-established tanks" but I've not yet come across anything that says why. What magic voodoo happens that makes it well-established or how you can know/measure that. Bacteria are a colony of individual organisms that continually reproduce and die. In a lot of other situations where bacterial colonies are utilized, there can actually be issues when the colony becomes "old" and it helps to re-establish a fresh, new colony. I live and work in the science world, so please excuse my need for explanations - I tend to over-research and try to figure out the "why" or background behind something rather than just take everything at face value. I very, very much value the opinions of experienced fish keepers, I really do! Everyone here has been excellent and helpful! But as we all know on the internet, there's a lot of every kind of advice and just because something is repeated over and over again doesn't make it true.

Sorry, that got long winded and off-topic. I'll let everyone know how the shrimps fare tonight. I'm more worried about the journey they've endured to get here! Given the current situation I've gotten myself into, if there's anything anyone can recommend to give them a better chance, let me know.

One more thing...

I've also read the "add a few fish" vs. the "add them all since you have all the BB right now" debate. I tend to agree with mattgirl and the theory behind the latter, but, ya know...I'm new and inexperienced and dumping a bunch of fish in there at once just seems like a potential disaster. And yes, I know I just said above that I like to go by facts and science (!). But...it's just so often repeated to NOT ADD TOO MANY FISH.

My boys and I are going to pick up some fish tomorrow afternoon. Our plan was to bring home 7 tetras (single species)- either silvertip or diamond depending on which was available (we plan to have 7 of each...and yes, there have been many opinions about stocking on another thread, but that is what most people suggested on this site and another forum). I could just as easily bring home all 14 if they have them in stock, but I dunno....it just makes me nervous. What if the ammonia does get out of control? And with the poor shrimps in there...

Yay or nay on adding more fish all at once tomorrow?

 

I just would like to add that overdoing it with the ammonia dose can cause the tank to get cloudy for a while after you add the fish. The amount of ammonia is intended to simulate the expected bioload and 2 ppm per day is generally enough to fully stock the tank on day one. I have seen the excess dying bacterial plaque sloughing out of sponge filters during water changes, and I'm convinced it causes bacterial blooms, especially if the cycle was complete but was maintained for a while with ammonia before adding fish.

 

I just would like to add that overdoing it with the ammonia dose can cause the tank to get cloudy for a while after you add the fish. The amount of ammonia is intended to simulate the expected bioload and 2 ppm per day is generally enough to fully stock the tank on day one. I have seen the excess dying bacterial plaque sloughing out of sponge filters during water changes, and I'm convinced it causes bacterial blooms, especially if the cycle was complete but was maintained for a while with ammonia before adding fish.

That seems logical. Bacteria without enough food = dead bacteria and they have to go somewhere. I can deal with cloudy water as long as it's not toxic to the fish/shrimp.

So, is that a vote for add more fish tomorrow, rather than less?

 

I am very happy to hear that you do question and research advice. That really is the best way to decide what to do.

I will give you an example of what I consider not just cycled but also established. When I set my 55 gallon tank back up 3 years ago it took right at 5 weeks to cycle. (fish in cycle) The ammonia and nitrites were holding at zero. My nitrates were going up. My water wasn't totally clear though. It took a couple of weeks for the water to get crystal clear. That told me that the cycle was finally complete. I could be wrong about that but at that point I considered my tank to be firmly established and felt sure I would have no glitches in the cycle. Personally I don't think it takes a great deal of time until one can consider their tank established.

It could be some folks don't consider a tank established until it has grown a lot of bio-film. Personally I don't think it takes months and months for that to happen. Look at how quickly that film grows on airline tubing or feel the inside of the glass and you can feel that film that has grown there. that happens fairly quickly in a cycled tank. I don't know for sure but I am thinking the reason folks recommend not adding shrimp right away is lack of naturally growing food.

I agree with you. Some things are said so often they soon become fact even if there is nothing to really back it up.

You have to do what you are comfortable with as far as how many fish you want to add at a time. If it were me doing it I would go ahead and get all of them if I was sure that my tank is in fact cycled. If you are seeing 0,0, and some I would have to think the tank is in fact cycled.

I can't remember if you have Prime or not. If you don't please get some. If you should have an ammonia spike it will detox low amounts of ammonia and will protect your fish. Just keep a very close eye on the numbers. If you see ammonia at less than one add enough Prime to treat the full volume of your tank. If it gets up to or above one do a water change to get it back below one and again add prime.

It looks to me like you have done your research on the type of shrimp you are getting and know how to acclimate them properly so hopefully all of this worry will be for nothing and they will be fine.

 

I really hope you're right in that all of this worry will be for nothing! You just never know, until you do it. My boys are prepared, they've been involved since day one and they know about they cycle, things that can go wrong, fish die, etc. But we obviously care and want to do the best we can to be successful and make our new fishies happy and healthy. I do have Prime and will keep a close eye on the numbers.

As it stands now, I can dose up to 2 ppm ammonia and have it all disappear in 12 hours (or slightly less). That is, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites.

I have two large and one smaller piece of driftwood and they are biofilm producing factories. Brown diatom algae is growing on the tank walls and plants. I have a timer for my light, but so far have been unable to get it to work (the timer). So, I have been turning it on in the morning and then due to my work schedule, it doesn't get turned off until I get home. Which means that the tank gets way, way too much light. I'll get the timer situation fixed soon, but at least for now, more algae = more food for snails and shrimp. I have Bacter AE, GlasGarten Shrimp Dinner and spirulina flakes on hand if necessary. I can always come up with veggies. I don't want to overfeed though, so I will probably watch and wait and see how they're eating what's in the tank before trying too much additional food. After all, I do want them to help clean the tank and not be too spoiled!

Thanks for the info on "established" tank. It makes sense, I just wanted to know what everyone's opinions are since a lot of times it seems like people just assume some kind of magic voodoo occurs (or that's what it can seem like for a beginner trying to make sense of all the advice, LOL!).

For example, the 2 ppm and 12 hours comes directly out of the much cited fishless directions from this site (I believe stickied on the beginners forum). I guess having to much BB is probably better than not enough. I suppose I'm going to have to convince myself by tomorrow that bringing home all the fish will work.

 

I have never had shrimp but it sounds to me like you are providing them a very good home and very good food sources. Both naturally growing and additional if needed.

 

I agree. I think 2pmm is just a guideline number. If the cycle will process that much ammonia in a 24 hour period then the tank is ready to be fully populated with bacteria left over. I don't say it out loud but do disagree when folks are advised to add just 2 or 3 fish at a time after building up enough bacteria to process 2ppm or more of ammonia in a 24 hour period.

By not going ahead and adding all the fish they plan on having in the tank right away they are allowing all that bacteria they worked so hard to grow to just die off and have to slowly grow it back as they gradually add fish.


The reason I was up in the air about the shrimp is because they are supposed to arrive today. Had that not been the case I would have advised to wait a while before getting them. Like you I was thinking this tank is too new for shrimp but they are going to have to go somewhere. Hopefully Tamatoa has a back up plan with an already established tank.

I missed the “arriving today.”

Sorry.

Yet I always add the most delicate last but in this case that isn’t an option.

After reading your last couple of posts, I think you’r shrimp will be fine.

IMO 2ppm in 24 hours will allow you to fully stock your tank and you exceed that.

Just do enough water changes to eliminate nitrates.

I have shrimp in one tank. From what i’ve Researched, they don’t handle changing parameters well. So that tank is lightly stocked and gets less water changes than my other tanks. And they do well.

 

So far, so good! I drip acclimated them over a 2 hour period and then netted them into the tank. They were so funny, hanging on to the net, creeping up to the edge like it’s a cliff and then diving off to “fly” through the tank and land on a plant, driftwood or rock. They immediately started devouring algae and biofilm in the driftwood and have been happily leaping around the tank since. Almost forgot that I added a few Amanos on to my order at the last minute. Those guys are little piggies! Haven’t found any bodies yet, so I think everyone is still alive. They’re quite difficult to find when they’re not swimming as they tuck themselves into plants quite well.

 

Ok all, we did it! We brought home our entire tank’s worth of fish. I feel good about it though. I know the tank can handleand process 2-3 ppm ammonia in 8-9 hours’ time, so I think we have plenty of BB. I added stress coat and a dose of Prime, not sure I needed it. Will keep a close watch on water parameters over the next couple of weeks and make sure we don’t see an ammonia spike. I have plenty of prime, plus nitrasorb media I can use if needed.

Tank inhabitants:
- the shrimp!
- 1 happily exploring nerite snail
- 6 rummy nose tetras
- 6 Pristella tetras
- 5 JuliI corydoras (will hopefully add 1-3 more when they get more this week)
- 1 baby albino BN pleco (may eventually trade hI if he gets too big or messy...or maybe I’ll just need a second, larger tank!!!)

I’m so relieved I was able to talk my 6 yo out of diamond tetras. I’ve read so many accounts of aggression toward other tank mates and I didn’t want the other inhabitants to just hide all day. I think we have a nice, peaceful group and interestingly so far, the RN tetras and Pristella tetras keep schooling together.

 

I can feel your excitement Please keep us updated.

 

Day 2 update:

Doing pretty well, a few hiccups. Small ammonia spike (0.25 ppm on API master kit), no nitrites, nitrates still 10 ppm. Dosing with Prime once a day, added a nitra-zorb packet for the short term. Did a 30% water change. All fish are active and eating.

Now the bad: Lost one rummy nose and one juliI corydora this morning, and one RN broke with Ich. I was concerned about the corydoras because they were brand new (arrived hours earlier) to the store and a couple appeared to have slightly red gills, guessing ammonia burn during shipping. I think we ended up with two that were slightly pink, one worse than the other. The worse one is the one that died, the other looks better today and is eating and shoaling well. Others are fine.

With the RN, I visited the lfs (big box store) and it appears about 2/3 of their RN also now have Ich. Bummer. I ordered Ich-X, will be here Wednesday. Starting Microbe-Lift Herbtana in the meantime. I’m hoping I caught it early enough and can save the tank. Only one RN has visible spots. There may be a single spot on the dorsal fin of a pristella tetra, hard to tell, they move fast.

Would anyone do anything else? Turn the heat up? It’s 80 F currently.

Wish me luck!

 

Well shoot. I am sorry to hear that you now have to deal with this. Hopefully you did catch it quick enough to stop it in its tracks. I have never had to deal with it so can't give advice as to how to deal with it. Hopefully the meds you ordered will give precise instructions.

I do remember reading that heat helps and it is important to keep on top of vacuuming the substrate to get the ich out of there as it falls off the fish.

 

Thanks. It’s the one that Aquarium Co-op recommends and says they haven’t had problems with shrimp, plants, snails, etc. Keeping fingers crossed. Otherwise the fish seem really happy exploring, playing in the current, etc. Hoping we can get through this without too much loss.