My first tropical fish.

This is my first large tank, a 50 gallon, and I had it setup for a week so it would cycle and I was trying to decide what to put in it and found a group of dwarf gourimies I believe three females and a single male. So I accommodated the tank temperature for them and bought them. They were doing fine until just recently I noticed the male was just lying on his side at the bottom of the tank. Normally I keep more tempurate fish and don't know what could be wrong with him is there anyway I can help him or not. I want to try so I'm asking you guys.

 

Cycling takes a month so you probably added them into the middle of an incomplete cycle. I would reccomend doing a few water changes, and if you have a test kit, test your water parameters.

 

Your tank was not cycled yet. How did you cycle the tank?

 

I was using plants since i wanted a more natural tank. So I figured it would be able to cycle faster since plants consume more nitrogen than bacteria I waited til I saw new growth on the plants and tested the water and it came out to be a cycled tank. Normally I would take my water to be tested at a fish store tho and since covid 19 my local store isn't doing any so I did it myself

 

What are your readings

 

Amonia 0
Nitrate 15
Nitrite 0

The thing is that none of the other three seem to be having any trouble but he

 

That all looks good, it could have been that he was just sick prior to you buying him

 

I did buy them off Craigslist the person I bought them off of said he was getting rid of all his fish. I normally buy from people looking to get rid of there old fish because I know they go to a decent home and not just killed or released. Although he didn't say anything about them being sick.

 

Whats the temp. set at?

 

It could have been merely stressed out from being netted and transported by the seller.


Dwarf Gourami aren't the hardiest of fish.

If you can't got to local fish store, then I suggest to check our the Aqua Huna website. They are a wholesaler in the Northwest that also sells to the public online. They have cheap shipping, $12 I think, and a very good policy and guarantee regarding receiving alive and healthy fish.

Their fish prices are very reasonable as well, perfect to stock a 50g with.

 

What kind of test kit are you using? The most common test kit is the API Master Test Kit. That doesn't have a reading for 15 ppm nitrates. Are you using test strips?

 

They are also very susceptible to infection and diseases.

 

I was using plants since i wanted a more natural tank. So I figured it would be able to cycle faster since plants consume more nitrogen than bacteria I waited til I saw new growth on the plants and tested the water and it came out to be a cycled tank. Normally I would take my water to be tested at a fish store tho and since covid 19 my local store isn't doing any so I did it myself

If you didn't have a source of ammonia, the cycle will not happen. Plants can help with the cycling process because they have biofilm that can seed the bacteria colony, but you need to add either pure ammonia, or do a fish-in cycle. You said you waited a week to add fish, but you didn't say how long ago you added the fish. How long have the fish been in the tank?

 

The temp is currently 77 in the tank.

Whats the temp. set at?

If you didn't have a source of ammonia, the cycle will not happen. Plants can help with the cycling process because they have biofilm that can seed the bacteria colony, but you need to add either pure ammonia, or do a fish-in cycle. You said you waited a week to add fish, but you didn't say how long ago you added the fish. How long have the fish been in the tank?

I added some fritz turbo start along with the plants to help kick things of could that be what I did wrong

 

I've never used bottled bacteria and see lots of people who use it with of problems getting their tanks cycled. Some people swear by it, and I don't want to trash it because different things work for different people. Even those who suggest using it will say it doesn't work as advertised. It does not create an "instant cycle," and you cannot "safely add fish immediately." It will mess with your test readings and you can't tell what's going on, you just have to dump it in and pray.

An API Master Test Kit and willingness to do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites at 1 ppm or below (daily at first) will protect your fish while allowing the tank to cycle. That's the natural method. Lots of water changes. It's almost impossible to do too many water changes. Unfortunately, instructions for the bottled bacteria usually tell you not to do any water changes while the tank is cycling. Water changes are the most potent ammo in my arsenal. I'm not going to put anything in my tank where I can't be aggressive with water changes.

 

I've never used bottled bacteria and see lots of people who use it with of problems getting their tanks cycled. Some people swear by it, and I don't want to trash it because different things work for different people. Even those who suggest using it will say it doesn't work as advertised. It does not create an "instant cycle," and you cannot "safely add fish immediately." It will mess with your test readings and you can't tell what's going on, you just have to dump it in and pray.

An API Master Test Kit and willingness to do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites at 1 ppm or below (daily at first) will protect your fish while allowing the tank to cycle. That's the natural method. Lots of water changes. It's almost impossible to do too many water changes. Unfortunately, instructions for the bottled bacteria usually tell you not to do any water changes while the tank is cycling. Water changes are the most potent ammo in my arsenal. I'm not going to put anything in my tank where I can't be aggressive with water changes.

Ok thanks for the help I quarentined the fish and am hoping he'll bouce back by tommorow I'll do some water changes and post back tommorow with an update on him. Again thanks for everything.

 

I was using plants since i wanted a more natural tank. So I figured it would be able to cycle faster since plants consume more nitrogen than bacteria I waited til I saw new growth on the plants and tested the water and it came out to be a cycled tank. Normally I would take my water to be tested at a fish store tho and since covid 19 my local store isn't doing any so I did it myself

So plants dont cycle your tank, they actually SLOW the cycle. The term "cycle" refers to the nitrogen cycle, which is this:

Fish waste (also decomposing food & plant matter) produce ammonia. When ammonia is present a bacteria called Nitrosomonas grows to eat it. Their byproduct is nitrites. Then a bacteria called Nitrospira grows to eat that. Their byproduct it nitrates. In a cycled tank there is a big enough bacteria colony living in your filter media to consume all ammonia thats present and convert it to nitrates.

Plants actually consume some ammonie, nitrites and nitrates too, so in a new tank having live plants with slow the growth of your beneficial bacteria colony.

Since you didnt cycle your tank to begin with (this is done by adding daily doses of ammonia up to a certain ppm for a month to 2 months) when you added your fish there was no bacteria to consume their waste. It takes a week or so, depending on bioload, to have an initial ammonia spike in a new tank. Then it takes weeks for Nitrosomonas to grow to consume it. Then another week or so for the nitrite spike. Then ANOTHER few weeks or so for Nitrospira to grow and consume the nitrites.

Youll need to start doing LARGE water changes to keep ammonia and eventually nitrites in check until your tank is cycled. Again, it will take longer due to the live plants, but luckily your live plants will help filter the water too. HOWEVER, if your plants start melting heavily or die off completely, youll be in WAY deep. In the meantime, keep an eye on things and do necessary water changes to keep your parameters safe.

 

With live plants you don't need as much "beneficial bacteria" BECAUSE they use up the ammonia. It does not slow up the cycle, as they are part of it. I've been using large clumps of floaters like Water Sprite, Guppy Grass, and others to instantly cycle tanks for decades. Works great for breeding tanks as you can't waste time waiting for something to happen when it's already happening with the plants. Not only do they use most of the ammonia themselves, they carry a colony of bacteria on their leaves. Add an aged Sponge filter and a pair of Apistos or conditioned Tetras, and inside of two weeks you have fry swimming around, instead of still testing to see if your ammonia has dropped.

A lot depends on the type of plants used and the amount. Also how many fish are placed in the tank. Four Dwarf Gouramis in a 50 gallon tank aren't even enough to cause a cycle if you have any filtration at all. The male may have been older, or was exposed to some other problem in the move. Or, the females may not all be females. I hope he comes back around.

 

If you have a heavily planted tank sucking up ammonia and nitrites, it most certainly is slowing your cycle. The "cycle" is the beneficial bacteria that consumes and converts ammonia to nitrates. Its not plants sucking up some of the byproduct of the cycle. If the plants were removed, you have a tank that isnt cycled. Adding plants isnt an "instant cycle" and thats very misleading to people who are new to the nitrogen cycle or might not have a good grasp on what it is exactly, what it does and what its for.

 

Whether it's plants or bacteria taking out the ammonia, it's still part of the cycle. The cycle is any process that removes ammonia or replaces it with less toxic chemicals, such as nitrates. Yes, if you remove the plants you have removed a portion of the process, just like removing a filter pad from an HOB. But the bacteria are already there - say in a well aged sponge filter - and will populate quickly to recover the balance.

The bacterial cycle is needed for new aquarists who don't yet understand the balance of keeping live plants. One of the reasons it came to the fore in Freshwater aquaria was because of Rift Lake Cichlids. Plants don't survive in a Malawian tank, so they needed to go another way. Because it doesn't require plants, it was also realized that it was a good way to care for beginner aquaria. But some people have gotten fanatical about it, and don't seem to realize that plants were the original means of keeping chemical balance in aquaria.

You still have to do water changes to replenish minerals and remove the stuff that the plants and/or bacteria can't process.

 

Well update,
He has from what I've observed all day been bouncing back, and none of the others have had any obscure behavior, so I don't believe it to have been the cycle. But I will keep him quarentined until I know for sure that he's back on track, as always thanks for your help