New Tank - Need HELP!

I can't say that it will protect the betta TECHNICALLY...but kind of, in theory. The TSS contains a suspended ammonia solution that feeds the bacteria you're trying to grow to cycle a tank to keep them alive until you purchase the bottle and add it to a tank that has a fish to continue producing ammonia to continue feeding them. Since adding TSS is basically speeding up the cycle exponentially by just throwing the bacteria into the tank instead of waiting on them to naturally grow in the tank it means your tank should be cycled in 2 weeks or less instead of a normal, TSS free cycle which takes about 1-2 months.

Since the bottle will have added the ammonia eating bacteria you don't have to worry that the betta is going to get ammonia burn because there will already be something there to start eating it and the bacteria will multiply quickly to take care of the ammonia in the water and the cycle is significantly shortened. It's really an amazing invention! Before TSS you had to do a LOT more work with testing and water changes, etc.

I think people have mentioned how TSS works but I will try to explain the entire thing in one post. Someone wrote to the maker of the product and got an email back explaining just how to use it correctly for best results.

First you want to empty the water from your tank and refill it. Then add your water dechlorinator (Stress Coat+, Prime, or whatever you personally use) and then you want to let the tank sit untouched for at least 24 hours. This gives the dechlorinator time to leave the water as the dechlorinator can kill off the bacteria in the TSS. Dechlorinator is gone in 24-48 hours depending on the one you use but most are gone in 24.

After you have waited 24 hours you add the bottle of TSS. I recommend the small one. You can get it at PetCo for roughly 4.99 and walmart usually carries it as well. Check the bottom of the bottle for the expiration date. A bottle has a shelf life of a year and you don't want to end up with expired or even close to expired bottles. I went to buy some at PetCo in January and the bottles expired 12/13. They pulled them all and I had to have them do a store to store transfer to get my unexpired bottle.

If PetCo has the bottle and they also happen to have the betta for you then, by all means, purchase both and save some gas

When you get home you can add the TSS right away and give it about an hour and then you can add your betta. Try to just add the betta and not the water from the store as the betta cups contain a TON of ammonia...some so much that people here wonder how the betta is managing to survive. After you add the betta all you have to do is feed your betta daily being very careful not to overfeed (any overfeeding will make the tank OD on ammonia at a sensitive time as the food decomposes in the tank).

You completely leave the tank alone for 2 weeks. I chose to start testing my water around day 3-4 because I was really curious to see how the bacteria was working in my tank but it's really just stressful to test and watch the levels rise so I don't recommend it. In 11-14 days when you test, as long as the bacteria did its thing you should be fully cycled and have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite...and you will probably get a fairly high nitrate reading. To fix the nitrates you can, at that point, do a pwc (partial water change) of about 50% and you should be set.

Your betta should love his fully cycled home for years to come. I've done this method and my betta lived for 3 years before dying which is quite awhile since their average life cycle is 2-5 years and I purchased him as an adult so he was most likely 1-2 years old at the time of purchase...possible older as his fins were starting to curl a little at the bottom which is a sign of old age.

I hope this helps!

Edit: As for bioload, it's just a reference to the waste the fish creates and how much bacteria need to be in the filter, gravel, and decorations to effectively turn that waste (pee and poo) from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. It's just a quicker way of explaining all that so you don't have to type it all out, lol.

 

edit: Kellye was faster typing, saying mostly the same I was going to add.

Hope that clarifies some things for you, for whatever else you are suspicious fell free to be asking questions and someone with experience will show up and give advice.

Regards Martin.

 

But, you stated NOTHING about emptying out the entire tank, like Kellye does! You said "50%". There is a difference between taking out 50% and the entire 5 gallons, which is 100%!

AND, you stated using the minnows is fine (didn't say "is fine", but indicated that). Kellye says not to use the minnows b/c of the bioload. Most of the rest of what Kellye said matched what you said.

To be totally honest, this is darn confusing!
Minnows ok to use or not? 50% water change or 100% water change. Geshhhhhhh! LOL (sort of).

edit: Kellye was faster typing, saying mostly the same I was going to add.

Hope that clarifies some things for you, for whatever else you are suspicious fell free to be asking questions and someone with experience will show up and give advice.

Regards Martin.

 

As I metioned in my previous post, there is more than one way to do things. It doesn't necessarily mean any one way is wrong, but some ways are preferable to others. Also, in many instances people are trying to help you get thru with the cycling method you started with, instead of advising you to take a totally new direction.

But the advice Kellye8498 gave you is a very good, workable method of cycling (I've cycled this way myself several times). I would highly recommend that you follow her advice.

 

To clear the confusion, what Kellye8498 said is all correct and I totally agree on it, 100% water change will give you ammonia, nitrite and nitrate free water, and should additionally reduce the stress on whatever fish you use to finish cycling.

My suggestion on the minnows was because you didn't want to use the betta at first place.
As I mentioned, I still have the fish that cycled my tank, I love them very much and unconditionally and I'll keep them until they are alive.

Martin

 

Does this mean taking all the décor and gravel out? I think I can handle taking the 5 gallons out, but the rest?? When I read about the TSS pretty much protecting the Betta, I was starting to change my mind about using the minnows. Kellye also said something about "bioload" and using the Betta instead of using the minnows to cycle and then taking them out and putting a Betta in. Minnows to Betta wouldn't be a good idea.
Still trying to figure this all out, but will keep reading.

To clear the confusion, what Kellye8498 said is all correct and I totally agree on it, 100% water change will give you ammonia, nitrite and nitrate free water, and should additionally reduce the stress on whatever fish you use to finish cycling.

My suggestion on the minnows was because you didn't want to use the betta at first place.
As I mentioned, I still have the fish that cycled my tank, I love them very much and unconditionally and I'll keep them until they are alive.

Martin

 

And, not to totally scare you, but worth mentioning...

Since you are using (or thinking of using?) the minnows, they were not qt (quarantined) first, so you don't know if they were healthy or not and could transfer a disease or parasite to your new betta (same tank and equipment).

 

If you use the minnows and they happened to have Ich or another disease that could also be another risk to your betta so starting with the betta is the safest option for him or her.

Otherwise the betta could pick up any disease the minnows had as soon as you introduce him to your tank.

There is no reason to remove the gravel or decorations. Just the water. The decorations and gravel don't hold on to ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates as they just sit in the water. The reason for the 100% water change is to rid the toxins from the minnows and start with fresh water and let the betta you plan to keep aid the TSS in cycling your tank.

 

No you don't need to take the decor and gravel out, just the water, don't clean the filter since you want to conserve all the beneficial bacteria that is already on it.

About the bio load question, bad thing is to add more bio load to what the filter is used to, by saying filter I'm referring to the bacteria colony. If the bio load of the 2 minnows is bigger then the load of 1 betta then she will be fine, but if they have less, and the bacteria is established for that amount of bio load, adding the betta when the cycle is done will cause MINI cycle, which is not dangerous but we prefer to avoid it.

Hope this helps a little bit on that.

Martin


edit: typo

 

Look, you're going to get a lot of conflicting advice with the way this is going down.

I will say that I've kept probably close to 30 bettas over the years. They are among the hardiest fish out there and will tolerate just about any feasible water condition, from a ph of 4 to pH so high it's off the chart. Since they breathe air from above the surface, they can easily tolerate a cycling tank, with or without a bacterial additive.

Do yourself a favor and reduce the stress Empty your tank of water, let it sit dry for a day (in case the minnows that were in it had something - likely to be ICH which won't survive out of the water), then fill it up, dechlorinate, and add fish the next day. If you want to add Tetra Safestart, this would be the time. If you don't, feed the fish sparingly and do a large water change daily for the next two months.

 

Yeah, don't let it get too confusing or overthink it. Everyone everywhere is going to have a different way of doing things and they will say their method is tried and true because, well, it is

There is more than one way to skin a cat and they almost all work to some degree and, as Junebug said, bettas are very hardy. I mean, they sit in those cups of death with ammonia readings that can be off the charts for days and go home with an owner who knows next to nothing about tanks...even owners who throw them in water and just feed and never learn about cycling...and live for years. Then again, some don't. Whatever you do, you're going to do fine because you're already so concerned about doing the best thing for your fish and you haven't even met it yet. Read the advice here and research online more if you would like and then make a plan and stick to it. It's easier than you would think...if not a bit stressful for the fish AND their human lol. With all the advice in this thread alone you have it covered and will have a happy betta!

 

Ok, empty it, but "let it sit for a day empty"?? Next day, fill the tank, add Conditioner and wait another 24 hrs for the Conditioner to do it's thing. Next day, get the SafeStart and Betta. Put the SafeStart in, wait a few minutes and then put the Betta in. Actually, have to let the Betta get use to the water temp, so it has to float on top of the water for a short time before putting in.
How is that?

Look, you're going to get a lot of conflicting advice with the way this is going down.

I will say that I've kept probably close to 30 bettas over the years. They are among the hardiest fish out there and will tolerate just about any feasible water condition, from a ph of 4 to pH so high it's off the chart. Since they breathe air from above the surface, they can easily tolerate a cycling tank, with or without a bacterial additive.

Do yourself a favor and reduce the stress Empty your tank of water, let it sit dry for a day (in case the minnows that were in it had something - likely to be ICH which won't survive out of the water), then fill it up, dechlorinate, and add fish the next day. If you want to add Tetra Safestart, this would be the time. If you don't, feed the fish sparingly and do a large water change daily for the next two months.

So, putting the Betta in, instead of using the minnows, would be better for the Betta......correct? And, of course, the other things I was told to do with the tank before adding the Betta.

Still wondering about letting the tank sit empty for a day?

Just want to make sure we have this all correct.

Just done a water perimeters test........same as it was this morning when means NOTHING is happening in the tank......I guess.

 

If you don't want to let the tank sit empty just make sure you give the gravel a good long rinse in a strainer and rustle it around. You just want to get rid of any Ich or other parasites the minnows may have had that you didn't know about.

Your plan sounds great to me I think you're set You probably won't be able to float the betta because he will be in a weird plastic cup instead of a bag but that's ok. Instead just dump a little of his cup water out and slowly add some of your tank water, wait a bit, add a little more of your tank water to the cup, etc. Itll slowly acclimate him to both the temp and the difference in water quality as your fresh tank will have no ammonia while his death cup will be full of it. Acclimating this way will reduce his stress. You're going to do great!

 

I was told NOT to touch the gravel due to the beneficial bacteria that would be under/in it. Don't want to take the gravel out (out with the décor and everything else.....?), so letting it sit for 24 hours empty would be better for us.

Also, Martin told me "don't touch the tank for 2 weeks and feed moderately. Correct?

Still just checking to make sure things are done right. Obviously I trust you folks and Kelly.......you've been a GREAT help!!

If you don't want to let the tank sit empty just make sure you give the gravel a good long rinse in a strainer and rustle it around. You just want to get rid of any Ich or other parasites the minnows may have had that you didn't know about.

Your plan sounds great to me I think you're set You probably won't be able to float the betta because he will be in a weird plastic cup instead of a bag but that's ok. Instead just dump a little of his cup water out and slowly add some of your tank water, wait a bit, add a little more of your tank water to the cup, etc. Itll slowly acclimate him to both the temp and the difference in water quality as your fresh tank will have no ammonia while his death cup will be full of it. Acclimating this way will reduce his stress. You're going to do great!

 

Everything you said except I do not think there is any reason to let the tank sit for a day without water in it. Just empty, refill with dechlorinated water, wait 24 hours & add the SafeStart and betta at the same time.

But I'm almost afraid to bring this uo but...you should acclimate the fish. Since the water chemistry in the death cup will probably be different then the water in your tank, it is a best practice to slowly acclimate your fish to your water. You do this by adding a little of your tank water every 10-15 minutes. You should do this for about an hour to an hour and a half. You can take some of the water out of the death cup to make room for your new tank water that you'll be putting in. If it gets full, take some more water out of the cup etc. I can't tell you exactly how much water to put in each time, it's kind of a judgement thing, but I would think that 5%-10% of what is in the cup should be good.

But don't sweat it too much. Believe it or not my old betta died on Monday. So yesterday I went to Petco and got a new one. I had his cup (with him in it) floating in the tank. After about 15 minutes to get a temperature match, I poured in a little tank water to start acclimating. When I went back to add more water to the cup I found the cup capsized and sunk to the bottom and here was the betta swimming around. So he really got no acclimation but he is doing great.

On to one of your other comments...things happen slowly when cycling, so it is not surprising that there is no change in your water. If you were to cycle fishless you would add enough ammonia to your tank to reach 4ppm. Then nothing would happen for about 3 weeks (sometimes even longer). Then bacteria finally develops and then it will usually take another 3 weeks of rising nitrites before they finally drop.

It seems like good things happen very slowly, but bad things happen very fast. That's why counterintuitive as it may seem, keeping a big tank is easier than keeping a small tank (except on water change day of course). With a larger volume of water things do not happen quite as fast.

 

Most beneficial bacteria live in your filter media instead of the gravel and when you add the TSS all the beneficial bacteria are in that bottle so you won't have to worry. TSS is meant to cycle a tank in two weeks that started with absolutely no bacteria. Cleaning the gravel has more benefits than risks. The only benefit of leaving it is it may have bacteria on it but it also may not. The risk is that the gravel may now have live parasites that will kill your new fishy. Ich is a pain to treat and don't even get me started in trying to get rid of columnaris! Eck! It's better to start over adding your own bacteria knowing that there is no chance of a death from a illness the minnows may have carried.

Yes on no touching for two weeks. I'm glad you found my advice helpful. I'm glad you're working so hard to keep your fish safe and double points for asking prior to making a fish purchase!

 

Was told about keep the tank empty for 24 hours to allow any bad stuff from the minnows that were in there to disappear. It was that or take out the gravel out and run thru a strainer to get anything the minnows might have left. Although, I was also told not to touch the gravel due to beneficial bacteria being in it.
Lord, help me..........WHO do I listen to?? LOL

Everything you said except I do not think there is any reason to let the tank sit for a day without water in it. Just empty, refill with dechlorinated water, wait 24 hours & add the SafeStart and betta at the same time.

But I'm almost afraid to bring this uo but...you should acclimate the fish. Since the water chemistry in the death cup will probably be different then the water in your tank, it is a best practice to slowly acclimate your fish to your water. You do this by adding a little of your tank water every 10-15 minutes. You should do this for about an hour to an hour and a half. You can take some of the water out of the death cup to make room for your new tank water that you'll be putting in. If it gets full, take some more water out of the cup etc. I can't tell you exactly how much water to put in each time, it's kind of a judgement thing, but I would think that 5%-10% of what is in the cup should be good.

But don't sweat it too much. Believe it or not my old betta died on Monday. So yesterday I went to Petco and got a new one. I had his cup (with him in it) floating in the tank. After about 15 minutes to get a temperature match, I poured in a little tank water to start acclimating. When I went back to add more water to the cup I found the cup capsized and sunk to the bottom and here was the betta swimming around. So he really got no acclimation but he is doing great.

On to one of your other comments...things happen slowly when cycling, so it is not surprising that there is no change in your water. If you were to cycle fishless you would add enough ammonia to your tank to reach 4ppm. Then nothing would happen for about 3 weeks (sometimes even longer). Then bacteria finally develops and then it will usually take another 3 weeks of rising nitrites before they finally drop.

It seems like good things happen very slowly, but bad things happen very fast. That's why counterintuitive as it may seem, keeping a big tank is easier than keeping a small tank (except on water change day of course). With a larger volume of water things do not happen quite as fast.

 

Well duh...you should listen to me!

Did I miss something, is there definitly bad stuff in your tank from the minnows? If you feel that the minnows somehow contaminated your tank, then I would empty the tank and rinse the tank and all ornaments in a solution of 1 part bleach to 19 parts water. Then rinse everything until you no longer smell the bleach. Then fill tank (with ornaments) with water that has been overdosed with dechlorinator. Then empty again and refill. Oh yeah and toss the old gravel and get new.

That would be the safest course of action. I'm not sure letting it sit empty for a day would do anything since your gravel will not dry out in a day and I'm not sure that anything in on the ornaments would necessarily die off in a day either..

But decontaminating the tank is probably unnecessay unless you are sure the minnows contaminated it. But it's just a matter of how much risk you are willing to take. After my betta died, I did not sterilize my tank or drain and refill before putting the new betta in. I was willing to take that risk since I percieved it to be a rather low risk. But some people in the same situation might tear down the tank.

 

Here's what you should do:

1) Empty the tank. Because the minnows may have had something, rinse everything very well. Because your tank has not started to cycle yet (due to lack of nitrites and nitrates), don't worry about destroying BB. If you like, leave it empty for a day dry so that any parasites die.

2) Fill it back up, put in decorations and the heater, get the filter running, and let it sit for 24 hours to stabilize the temperature and plug the filter in.

3) Go get TSS and your betta. Add the TSS and acclimate your betta according to jdhef's directions.

4) Let it sit for a week unless ammonia gets higher than 1PPM for more than 24 hours. If it does, do a massive water change to bring ammonia down, then re-add TSS after 24 hours.

 

Was told about keep the tank empty for 24 hours to allow any bad stuff from the minnows that were in there to disappear. It was that or take out the gravel out and run thru a strainer to get anything the minnows might have left. Although, I was also told not to touch the gravel due to beneficial bacteria being in it.
Lord, help me..........WHO do I listen to?? LOL

Leaving it out to dry for a day probably wouldn't help much since ich and other parasites can live in very little water and you wouldn't get it totally dry without removing the decorations and gravel and drying those as well. It makes me sense to just wash the gravel and decorations and tank out with hot water and replace them which will kill and rinse down the drain any parasites that may be in the tank. It'll be like starting new.

After that you can put your tank back together, fill with dechlorinated water and you will be ready to go out tomorrow around this time and get TSS and the betta of your dreams and get your tank started.

 

You wouldn't have enough beneficial bacteria built up in your gravel for it to matter if you cleaned. EITHER wash the gravel out in really got water OR let the whole tank sit dry for 24 hours to kill anything that may be in there.

 

Did I miss something, is there definitly bad stuff in your tank from the minnows?

No, it's not known that the tank is contaminated but pet stores don't generally take any kind of care with the feeder fish as they will be quickly sold and fed to other larger animals so they usually have ich and other parasites from the fish farms they originally came from.

Better safe than sorry I always say. If there are parasites in the tank and they attach to the pretty new betta than he's going to waste money on a bottle of TSS that he will have to dump and restart and a betta that he will love that will likely succumb to parasites (again, if there are any from the minnows in the tank). I'm currently battling ich from a pet store fish that showed no signs and it is NOT fun. Just trying to save him the 2 weeks of raising the tank temp to 86 or higher and doing salt baths and water changes and cleaning gravel, etc, etc.

I wouldn't worry about letting the tank dry because, as others said, the gravel isn't going to dry in a day so the parasites will keep going. just rinse with hot water a couple of times and put it all back. No biggie.

Also, don't worry about beneficial bacteria in the tank right now. Adding TSS will give you all the beneficial bacteria that you need. Destroying a couple on some gravel isn't a big deal but you don't have any yet anyway. If you had a good colony started then you wouldn't have high ammonia and nitrites. Don't worry about any good bacteria in the tank until after you add the TSS. Less stress, more FUN!

 

Letting the gravel dry out will kill any parasites, but as others have said, it will take more than 24 hours to dry.

If you want to sterilize with letting it dry, you can let it dry, then let it sit dry for 24 hours.

Hot water will kill most things, but not all. Boil it to be extra safe if you go this rout.

 

Kelly......this (first paragraph) is what you told me here. Here you're saying that I have the option of letting the tank set empty for some time OR taking out the gravel and rinsing it off.

Now, it your last reply to me you say "rinse off the gravel". I'm having people in other forums I'm in telling me that's not necessary. I really don't want to take out all the décor, rince it off and rinse off the gravel. Sounds like "paranoia" here about minnows! If these minnows were that bad, people's ducks and turtles would be sick or dying and that would be on the news!

I really appreciate all your help, but tearing apart this aquarium over two past minnows............????

I can let it set empty for a day or two, but AGAIN some Aquarist's are telling me "that's not necessary".

If you don't want to let the tank sit empty just make sure you give the gravel a good long rinse in a strainer and rustle it around. You just want to get rid of any Ich or other parasites the minnows may have had that you didn't know about.

Your plan sounds great to me I think you're set You probably won't be able to float the betta because he will be in a weird plastic cup instead of a bag but that's ok. Instead just dump a little of his cup water out and slowly add some of your tank water, wait a bit, add a little more of your tank water to the cup, etc. Itll slowly acclimate him to both the temp and the difference in water quality as your fresh tank will have no ammonia while his death cup will be full of it. Acclimating this way will reduce his stress. You're going to do great!

 

Oh my goodness.

My head just exploded.

This thread has gotten way too complicated.

Let's get back to the basics.

ClassicRockGuy a couple of simple questions.

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate right now.
Are there fish in the tank?
If not have you added any alternate source of ammonia or other additives?

 

Will NOT let the tank set empty for 24 hours! My opinion, and some others........some folks get TOO paranoid over minnows that have been in an aquarium before. These minnows in the store are being bought/fed to ducks and turtles and I haven't heard of an outbreak of ducks and turtles getting sick or dying from minnows!
I will clean the tank inside the best way possible, but not going to start all over with a completely empty tank.

Anyway, will empty tank tomorrow, fill it (as recommended), add Prime and then wait 24 hours for the Prime to do it's thing. I think some folks in these fish forums are pretty paranoid about minnow diseases, etc....that is why the "empty for 24 hours" was recommended.

A question: How much Prime to put into a 5 gallon aquarium after filling it up (5 gallons). Had to look up online and found out that it's 2 drops per gallon from an eye dropper. Is that right? If it is, that would be 10 drops with the eye dropper. ????

I'm also having a difficult time trying to figure out which to buy......Tetra SafeStart or API QuickStart.

 

Lucy......it wouldn't be so complicated if the folks would give me the same (or very close to it) info!

The readings that were taken last night, this morning and tonight:
Nitrate: between 80 and 160
Nitrite: 10
Ammonia: between 0 and 0.5

No fish in the tank! Two Rosy Red's taken out this past Monday w/a 50% water change and 4 drops of Prime (from eye dropper) put in.

Wednesday evening, put 1 flake of fish food in, but was told to take that out by someone on this forum (I think). This morning, used a baster to get what I could find on the gravel.

The tank is now just sitting w/the filter-BIO Wheel running. I turn the light on in the AM for the two live plants in it.

That's it!!

Oh my goodness.

My head just exploded.

This thread has gotten way too complicated.

Let's get back to the basics.

ClassicRockGuy a couple of simple questions.

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate right now.
Are there fish in the tank?
If not have you added any alternate source of ammonia or other additives?

 

Ok, great.

We all do things differently. Many roads lead to the same goal.
The trick is finding what will work for you.

I think your plan is a good one.
Stick with that. (Emptying the tank, refilling with fresh water)

Add your water conditioner of course.

What I'll say next depends on what water conditioner you are have.

So, another simple question....what water conditioner are you using?

 

He asked how much prime to add to 5 gallons so I think he is using prime. ClassicRockGuy, no matter what, if you ask more than one person you will get conflicting advice. It's just the nature of the beast so to speak. Seriously, go with the plan you laid out before and you will be fine. Empty, refill, dechlorinate and add TSS and betta 24 hours or so after. Everything will be FINE! Your fish will love you.

 

Prime. BUT, I need to know how much? I read online that 2 eye dropper drops for each gallon of water. Is that right? Really need to know this..........thanks!

Ok, great.

We all do things differently. Many roads lead to the same goal.
The trick is finding what will work for you.

I think your plan is a good one.
Stick with that. (Emptying the tank, refilling with fresh water)

Add your water conditioner of course.

What I'll say next depends on what water conditioner you are have.

So, another simple question....what water conditioner are you using?

 

Only one thing I can think of to say right now............YES!!!!!!!!!

He asked how much prime to add to 5 gallons so I think he is using prime. ClassicRockGuy, no matter what, if you ask more than one person you will get conflicting advice. It's just the nature of the beast so to speak. Seriously, go with the plan you laid out before and you will be fine. Empty, refill, dechlorinate and add TSS and betta 24 hours or so after. Everything will be FINE! Your fish will love you.

 

Prime= 2 drops per gallon...
10 drops total in a 5 gallon tank.

Get TSS, I've used it over 5 times with success. Many others on this site have also used it with success as well.

 

He asked how much prime to add to 5 gallons so I think he is using prime.

Didn't want to assume anything just yet.

Prime. BUT, I need to know how much? I read online that 2 eye dropper drops for each gallon of water. Is that right?

Yes.

Empty, refill, dechlorinate and add TSS and betta 24 hours or so after.

This

Only one thing I can think of to say right now............YES!!!!!!!!!

Yes!!!!

This should help guide you:

Q & A With Tetra About Tetra SafeStart

Just be aware that not everyone has success with Tetra Safe Start the first time around.
The Q & A goes into that.

I'm so happy that we finally got down to brass tacks here.
Whew!

Good luck!

 

After going through this thread, my head esplode! LOL
I am extremely interested to see how your tank turns out. I would love to see the betta you put in it. The little guy is going to have a great home!

 

Just one thing about SafeStart, and it will be covered in that FAQ above. Add fish within 2 hours of adding it. The bacteria start to die off without an ammonia source.

I have seen a review on Amazon where a guy was complaining it didn't work, and he said he put it in and waited several hours before sticking the fish in.

Sometimes you CAN get a dud bottle (check the expiration date) but I have seen more successes than failures with it.

 

ClassicRockGuy, I'm closing this thread.

You have a good handle on things now.

If you have any more questions or run into problems using TSS start a new thread.

We'lll try to help as best we can.

 

Hi, I am new to keeping fish and have a 10 gallon tank. I went to a few local pet stores and asked a bunch of questions before adding my fish. I set up my tank and let it run for about a week (unfortunately I think I received some bad information and was not made aware about the nitrogen cycle until after I had added my fish).

Initailly, I was just told to set my tank up and let it run for 24 hours before adding my fish. My tank was running about 5 days when I took a water sample to an aquatic store near my home and had it tested. I was told all of my water levels were fine, and that I was good to go and add fish. He recommended 10-15 fish and few tiger barbs, a few red glass barbs and a few rainbow danios. So I bought 3 tiger barbs, 3 red glass barbs and 4 rainbow danios.

I came home and acclimated the fish for 20 minutes, and then gradually added a half cup of my tank water to the bag. After about 15 minutes I added another half cup of my tank water and let them sit for about 15 minutes before adding my them to my tank. The man at the aquatic store who was assisting me told it would be normal to lose a few fish my first time, so I was prepared for maybe one or two of my fish to not make it.

Within 5 days, I was down to my 3 red glass barbs. My rainbow danios went first, and then my tiger barbs. I was devasted to say the least.

I took another a sample of my water to my local Petsmart and after they tested it, I was told my ammonia levels were a little elevated. I can only imagine what those poor fish went through .

At Petsmart, they told me to try and do a water change to adjust my ammonia levels. I came home and did a 40% water change. That night I stayed up til 2 in the morning and researched all kinds of helpful information to help me better understand my tank and how to properly maintain it. I monitored my barbs closely and they seemed to be doing fine.

I went back to Petsmart yesterday and had them check my water levels again ( I do check it myself but feel better with another opinion) and all of my water levels were perfect. Since my barbs seemed to be doing fine, I picked up a beautiful sunburst male gourami. The woman who was helping me told me I should be okay with this type of fish, but to bring him back if I had any issues.

I came home, acclimated him over the course of an hour and half. I introduced him to my tank and everyone seemed happy.

Maybe about an hour ago, I checked in to see how everyone was doing and one of my barbs was swimming very odd. He or she (I am or sure of the gender) seemed to be swimming to one side and losing its balance and then flipping around rapidly. I tried moving her over to a separate tank. (I do not have a quarantine tank set up yet, it was just one of those little tanks to that I bought when I picked up my fish) but it didn't matter. She (I'm not sure why I am assuming it was a female) died anyway.

My other 2 barbs and gourami are not displaying any of these signs, but I am afraid I am going to lose them too. I am not sure what I am doing, or not doing wrong at this point.

The tank has been up and running for over 3 weeks now, and I perform water changes from 10-15% every 2 days. They were eating tropical flake food but I picked up some frozen bloodworms today to see if they like that better. My tempature has been consistently staying at 74F degrees.

Please help!

 

welcome to fish lore!

what your water parameter?

you should read some articles about fish in cycle.
using prime everyday and water changes daily, continue to do that using a bottle of tss should help a lot!

 

My tempature is currently at 74
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
pH - 7.6
Nitrate - 10 ppm

This is from the water test done at Petsmart. I ran out of strips and bought an API freshwater master test kit online which is arriving on Monday.

I have been using 5 ml of API of stress coat and 5 ml of stress zyme after every water change.

Edit: I am not sure of the exact alk. and hardness, but the woman helping me did say those levels were normal as well.

 

First a 10 gallon is really small especially when done with multi-species tank. I talked about my first 10 gallon in one of my threads:. It was also a disaster. One thing is you should upgrade to a 20 gallon whether it is a long or high. 20s are good if you want to do a couple kinds of fish. Another thing is do you have live plants? Live plants is one of the best ways to cycle a tank. A tank with live plants cycle faster than one that doesn't. Usually, it will take 1 week for the tank to be cycle. Another thing is you shouldn't add a lot of fish all at once especially for a 10g. A picture of your tank will help. There are a couple of speculations on cycling an aquarium. One type of aquarist is to use the kits and be careful of the numbers the other is not using a kit but they still know how not to crash the aquarium. I never used kits and never checked for the parameters in any of my tanks whether it be a 10 gallon or 40g.