Recent content by CxN

Don't you love those overconfident FB guys?!:beer:

In a fishless cycle, I would not change water for a while until the plants (if you have them) require and do mostly 30% WCs. Its not so much that bacteria lives in the water, its more letting the biofilm grow and keeping things undisturbed for the bacteria to settle in. Depending on the...

Second the use of timers. I've hard slow growth & algae on my low tech and co2 tanks when I was manually turning the lights on and off. When I started using a simple mechanical timer switch (5$ off Amazon) - things started to look better in a matter of couple of weeks. Like other organisms...

Really sad to hear about midnight's passing. You have done all you could but this was unavoidable. Stay strong.❤

Yes cattappa may not work as fast as formalin based meds but they also dont stress the fish like those meds. Double down on cattappa leaves. Keep temp and water quality stable. Do not feed him anymore. Next time you feed him after 2-3 days at least, ensure that its peas. If its bloat, it is...

Yes, we are doing all these to gently help him come back to his health. But as with anything in this hobby patience is the key (that's what I learnt so far). I dont think you need to buy a new heater. 78 is ok for now. Heating pad is not a good idea as it makes the temp higher then lowers as it...

From my experience cattappa leaves work slowly (give it at least a day or two).. being natural, it releases tannins and other beneficial nutrients slowly. If the water color is the same after a day, you can leave another leaf in a bowl of hot water for an hr or so and make a tea. And add it...

If you've been using stress coat, that's perfectly fine. Do not spend too much on these products. Slime coats usually work as a protective layer for them. I usually boil the peas to make it mushy along with some crushed garlic. Most fish go crazy over the smell of garlic, so they will eat it. So...

The tannins in the water is an easy problem to solve. Your fish won't mind it at all - it is merely an aesthetic issue for us. I've used purigen or a cheaper alternative, activated charcoal to clear the tannins with great success. Don't worry about that.

You did the right thing by going for cattappa leaves. Terrific advice. I fully vouch for its effectiveness. My female dwarf gourami had a similar problem when I got her, I did not want to treat her with meds without knowing what's wrong with her. Added 3 leaves in to my 20 gal and raised the...

That's very helpful to know! I would not go for fish in cycling by choice - its obviously much easier to wait and let things happen naturally than watching fish suffer. In my case, it was a mini-cycle triggered by a filter change. Appreciate you taking time and sharing your thoughts.

Fully agree. Sorry to deviate from OP's topic, in fishless cycling how do you keep up with ammonia supply once you are in the nitrite phase? I ask this, because ammonia wasnt easily available and fish food was causing snail problem. But i guess the best bet is a pinch of fish food everyday to...

I do agree, nitrites should always be zero. In my case, too many WCs were slowing down my cycling process. So I went with Prime-Stability on alternate days (As recommended by Seachem on its website) but I did know it's a bit of a risky pursuit.

Here's what I did with my volatile nitrite levels. Clearly, for me the reason my nitrite levels persisted was because of too many water changes. Do WCs only weekly if you can - only when there's supply, there'd be demand. Keep the nitrites high and long so that the nitrobacter consume it &...

Thanks Essjay. Appreciate this post. Yes I had moved out the fish but to keep up with the demand of the bacteria I've been adding a bit of fish food. Nitrites did go up a bit again, so as you've correctly pointed out, cycling isn't done. I'll start adding back the hardiest ones slowly. Also...