New 29 Gallon - Am I Doing Something Wrong, Or Just Bad Luck?

(Sorry in advance for the super long post)

I set up a new 29 gallon aquarium about a week and half ago. I've had a cycled 2.5 gallon betta tank for years, but this will be my first community aquarium.

I've planted the new tank with water sprite, java fern, anubias, val and one other plant I can't remember the name of. The plan was to move over a big chunk of filter media from the betta tank to jump start the cycle and start with 6 harlequin rasboras (checking water parameters daily and doing water changes when necessary).

Well I got the fish Thursday and I've lost 5 of the 6 in three days . The tank parameters are still 0 nitrates, 0 nitrites and close to 0 ammonia (definitely less than 0.25). Was this just a bad batch of fish, or is it something I did?

One thing that may have contributed was we had a power outage the morning after I got the fish, so the filter and heater were off for about an hour and a half. Could that have stressed them out?

My main question is what should I do next?

1) Wait it out with the single rasbora until I know the tank is cycled (I'm sure he's stressed without a school, so I don't know how long he's going to last. Also, will a single rasbora even produce enough waste to cycle the tank?)

2) Wait and see if the last rasbora dies and then do a fishless cycle

3) Get a few more rasbora from a different store and hope that these ones are healthier

4) Move my betta to the new tank and cycle it with him (either by himself if the last rasbora dies, or move him in with the rasbora if it survives). If I do this, I'm worried the betta will stress out the rasbora even more, since he doesn't have any of his buddies to school with.

5) Any other options, advice?

Thank you!

 

I am sorry for your losses. It is really sad when one starts out with this kind of experience.

I don't think the power outage would have caused the deaths but lack of water movement might have caused an ammonia spike so it is possible. If it should happen again in the future you can help by having a battery operated air pump hooked up with an air stone on hand. If you don't have one just dip some of the water out of the tank and pour it right back in every 10 minutes or so. That will add some water movement.

How did you acclimate the fish? If you just floated the bag the difference between your water and the water in the bag could have cause enough distress to eventually kill them. I can help you with the proper steps for acclimation if you just floated the bag.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I floated the bag for about 20 minutes, then added some tank water to the bag using an old betta cup. I did that about 4 times over the next hour and then used a net to move the fish into the tank.

They seemed fine for the first day - they were all swimming around together. But then 3 died the first night, and the rest have been huddling together behind a piece of driftwood. I lost the 4th one the next night, and the 5th last night. The 6th one has actually been swimming around a bit this morning, but I don't have high hopes for him at this point.

 

It doesn't sound like acclimation was the problem then. what I do when I get new fish is first get them out of the bag by pouring them into a container big enough to hold enough water to double the amount in the bag. I then check the PH of the water they had been living in. If it is close to the PH of my tank acclimation can be done fairly quickly but if there is a big difference it can take much longer to slowly get it to match.

It is very possible that you did everything right and they still didn't make it. Do you have any idea as to how long the fish store had them in stock before you bought them? If they had just came in they could have already been stressed out and being netted, bagged and into a new tank may have been more than they could handle.

I realize you put them in an uncycled tank but your numbers should have been safe when they were put in there.

Did you add a water conditioner to your tank when you set it up? Something like Seachem Prime or Tetra AquaSafe

 

HI there, I think the fish deaths were from misconception. Your tank isn’t cycled if everything is still reading at 0. You should be testing water daily and if you’re doing it right, you should see an ammonia spike, followed by a nitrite spike, then both at 0 and a lot of nitrates. When you have the nitrates above 0 and ammonia/nitrite are at 0 then you do your PWC to get the nitrates down, and rest again the next day. If your nitrates are constantly below 20 it’s safe to say your tank is cycled. But if you’re still cycling and doing a fish in- they probably died because they aren’t very tough fish.

 

I used the water conditioner that came with the tank when I first set it up, then when I got the fish I added some of the Stress Coat I already had on hand.

I'm not sure how long the fish were at the pet store, but I got the last 6 that they had. The girl had a bit of trouble netting them, and I'm sure the stress from that didn't help.

I know the tank isn't cycled yet - I've been checking the parameters twice a day and I haven't seen any ammonia spikes yet. Is it possible the plants are helping keep the ammonia down? How long does it take for the ammonia to build up to harmful amounts?

 

I used the water conditioner that came with the tank when I first set it up, then when I got the fish I added some of the Stress Coat I already had on hand.

I'm not sure how long the fish were at the pet store, but I got the last 6 that they had. The girl had a bit of trouble netting them, and I'm sure the stress from that didn't help.

It sounds like they were very stressed. Is it possible to return the remaining fish? If so that would probably be the best option. If you want to do a fish in cycle you will want to get something like zebra or pearl danios. They are tough little guys and as long as you keep on top of the ammonia and nitrite spikes that will happen and are willing to keep up with almost daily water changes they should survive the process.

Or you may choose to do a fishless cycle and not risk the life of any fish. You just have to add the ammonia that the fish would have produced. just be sure the ammonia is pure ammonia as in, no additives at all.

there are any number of ways to do a fishless cycle but since I've never done one I will have to leave that to someone that has. I know some used bottled bacteria and have had good success. Others have just added ammonia and have also been successful.

I wish you much better luck which ever way you choose. We will be here to help all we can.

 

Thanks for all your help. I think I'd rather try a fishless cycle instead of getting danios just to cycle the tank. I'll see how the last rasbora does over the next few days (I probably wouldn't be able to return him until next weekend anyway, since the stores are closed for Easter, and I'll be working during the week).

 

Thanks for all your help. I think I'd rather try a fishless cycle instead of getting danios just to cycle the tank. I'll see how the last rasbora does over the next few days (I probably wouldn't be able to return him until next weekend anyway, since the stores are closed for Easter, and I'll be working during the week).

You are very welcome. I wish I could have helped more.

Since you most likely won't be able to return the last survivor you may want to go ahead of move him to your betta tank so you can start your fishless cycle but only if you can keep a very close eye on them. Mr. Betta may be fine with the little guy but depending on his personality he could very well either kill it outright or harass it to death.

 

I would doubt one rasbora would produce enough ammonia in a 29 to cause an ammonia spike. I would think putting the rasbora in with your betta is too risky to the betta who has been healthy & happy. I would monitor water parameters for the week until you can return him, then if you want to do fishless go ahead & do so.

 

An hour and a half power outage shouldn't be long enough to harm anything - I wouldn't even bother aerating the tank if it's that short of a time period.

It sounds like you got a bad batch, but fishless cycling is a great way to go!

 

I would doubt one rasbora would produce enough ammonia in a 29 to cause an ammonia spike. I would think putting the rasbora in with your betta is too risky to the betta who has been healthy & happy. I would monitor water parameters for the week until you can return him, then if you want to do fishless go ahead & do so.

You are absolutely right. I was just trying to find a place for the little guy if it can't be returned.