Darn You Nitrites.....cloning Cycle Failed...*mourns Death Of Blue Ram

[QuotheRaven]

I was told by a select bunch of people that a cloning cycle would be ok for the swap from a 10 gallon to a 32 gallon, it wasn't my nitrites are at 5.0ppm or over (if possible) and I lost one of my blue rams Ification (Ram-Ification get it? ) Its been almost over a week with the nitrites at 5.0 ppm or over.

I have only fed my fish once in a week and have Nitra-Zorb in the filter (gee fish owners a re cynicle to products like Nitra-Zorb....and is Jack wattley really "World Famous") I will do updates on my tank. (This post really wasn't a question more an open forum to ask stuff...Lol)

Also out of these fish Im thinking of getting what would be a good one to go with my fish in my 32 gallon currently (see siggy and subtract one blue ram) Im thinking of either
A Kribensis, a Halfbeak, 2-4 Headstanders, Leopard Cory cats, Glass Catfish.

Suggestions?

 

[andywg]

Cloning isn't about cycling. Cloning is about taking mature filter media and putting it in a filter and stocking immediately. There is no cycle, you move the media over and the bacteria carry on working.

I'm sorry for your loss. I have cloned 7 tanks now with 0 losses, so it does work.

My initial thoughts are as to whether enough mature media was used compared to the initial stocking. Also, did the media spend any time out of the water? Once media starts to dry you have very little time before the bacteria die off in fairly large amounts.

 

[Bex]

We cloned our 105 uk gal tank from our Jewel Rekord 120 and it worked perfectly. No losses, no nitrites and no ammonia so I wonder what happened with yours? Did you transfer enough of your filter media?

Sorry about you Ram, they are lovely fisheys!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi QuotheRaven

If you used the old filter material and didn't increase the number of fish right away, cloning should have worked for you. Quite simply, the existing bacteria continue to do their job.

I suspect the Nitra-Zorb might have interfered with the normal actions of your beneficial bacteria, and some of them died off. It's generally not a good idea to use this type of product. In this situation, nothing can be better than the way Mother Nature planned it.

 

[Griz]

As I was reading this, I suspected the Nitra-Zorb might be the culprit too. If it absorbed the ammonia (which is what it's supposed to do) then it may have starved the bacteria to death. If that's the case, your tank will now have to cycle. If your nitrites are 5.0+ and have been for a week now that's not good but it is to be expected. Have you done any water changes? If you haven't - do so. It'll help your fish along. Is there any measurable ammonia in there at all? You definitely want to get this sorted out before you think about adding anything.