Oh dear, sorry to keep going on about this. Just trying to be helpful. The advice your LFS gave you is basically bad advice - but it's so common, unfortunately. Adding 10 gallons of water from another tank is not going to mature your filter.
Ah, one thing I didn't ask last time... when you set up the new tank, did you transfer over the filter from your old tank or did you use a brand new filter?
That makes a whole difference...
It might be an idea to have a read through all the filter cycling notes on this website to get a fuller understanding of the whole process and how it works. Relying on what shop staff tell you isn't always the best thing as they are there predominantly for one reason...to sell and keep the business profits up! Of course, some LFS staff are better than others, so I'm not throwing them all in the same pot
As for the sick fish - you definitely need to medicate otherwise you'll more than likely have more deaths. So, as you need to do water changes to lower any possible ammonia in there, I would medicate in the morning and do the water change in the evening. That way your fish will have the benefit of the meds throughout the day. Start the whole process off with a 50% water change, though.
Also, it's best to feed very sparsely (some recommend not at all) until the major symptoms have cleared up.
All the best - Athena
Ah, one thing I didn't ask last time... when you set up the new tank, did you transfer over the filter from your old tank or did you use a brand new filter?
That makes a whole difference...
It might be an idea to have a read through all the filter cycling notes on this website to get a fuller understanding of the whole process and how it works. Relying on what shop staff tell you isn't always the best thing as they are there predominantly for one reason...to sell and keep the business profits up! Of course, some LFS staff are better than others, so I'm not throwing them all in the same pot
As for the sick fish - you definitely need to medicate otherwise you'll more than likely have more deaths. So, as you need to do water changes to lower any possible ammonia in there, I would medicate in the morning and do the water change in the evening. That way your fish will have the benefit of the meds throughout the day. Start the whole process off with a 50% water change, though.
Also, it's best to feed very sparsely (some recommend not at all) until the major symptoms have cleared up.
All the best - Athena
