Fish Cycling Tiger Barbs....seems Stuck...

[soulm8salways]

Hi Everyone,
New to Fishkeeping and in the process of cycling a 29 gallon tank with 5 Tiger Barbs. We initially had six Tigers, but lost our shy and smallest tiger barb with our first spike of Nitrite. We have added Bio Spira twice to our tank hoping to speed up the process of beneficial bacteria which was recommended at another tropical fish site. We use an API master test kit.

Prior to adding bio spira we had no readings outside of Ammonia for most of a week which seemed to stay between .25 and .50 We were doing water changes of 30-50% trying to keep the ammonia below .25 and finally someone suggested we test the water from our tap for ammonia and it turns out the water from our tap comes out at .25 ammonia. It was suggested we do nothing to change this as once cycling is complete it will be consumed by the bacteria colony.

Anyway after introducing bio spira our readings were Ammonia .25 to .50, Nitrite .50 and Nitrate 5.0. This has been steady for about five days regardless of water changes. Nothing new in our readings. Our PH is High 8.4 and consistent. The fish seem to be doing well, but we are wondering where we are in this cycle and whether we have done anything that might have stalled it? We thought first ammonia would appear, then nitrites, then nitrates. We have all three consistently with no changes in low levels. We try to change the water at least every other day, or daily most of the time to keep it to lower levels of nitrites, and ammonia. Not seeing much change regardless.

We switched from an aqua clear power filter to a marineland penguin 200 bio wheel power filter adding in the bio sponge media from our aqua clear filter hoping to see better results and still nothing. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[mark.w.jones]

You are experiencing the joys of cycling with fish this is why most people here fishless cycle with ammonia solution rather than use fish. The problem with cycling with fish is that you end up in a catch 22. Without a measured amount of ammonia and nitrite being present in your water the bacteria which "eat" them won't grow at all. On the other side of the coin if the levels get too high you'll damage your fish. Keeping the levels at 0.5 or less will keep your fish very happy but you have to accept that your bacterial growth will be a lot slower. When cycling with fish you also end up keeping your temp at 25 degrees which is great for you fish but not so great for bacterial growth.

With a fishless cycle, ammonia runs at 4ppm not 0.5 and with your tank temp raised to 30 degrees bacterial growth is much faster.

You sound like you are doing all the right things, you just have to be patient. Eventually you will get 0ppm readings for you nitrite. When this remains at 0ppm for a week you can think about adding your next school of fish and repeating what you've just done. With a fishless cycle you can fully stock your whole tank the day you finish.

good luck with things and please fishless cycle next time.

 

[LineDropper]

Hi Everyone,
New to Fishkeeping and in the process of cycling a 29 gallon tank with 5 Tiger Barbs. We initially had six Tigers, but lost our shy and smallest tiger barb with our first spike of Nitrite. We have added Bio Spira twice to our tank hoping to speed up the process of beneficial bacteria which was recommended at another tropical fish site. We use an API master test kit.

Prior to adding bio spira we had no readings outside of Ammonia for most of a week which seemed to stay between .25 and .50 We were doing water changes of 30-50% trying to keep the ammonia below .25 and finally someone suggested we test the water from our tap for ammonia and it turns out the water from our tap comes out at .25 ammonia. It was suggested we do nothing to change this as once cycling is complete it will be consumed by the bacteria colony.

Anyway after introducing bio spira our readings were Ammonia .25 to .50, Nitrite .50 and Nitrate 5.0. This has been steady for about five days regardless of water changes. Nothing new in our readings. Our PH is High 8.4 and consistent. The fish seem to be doing well, but we are wondering where we are in this cycle and whether we have done anything that might have stalled it? We thought first ammonia would appear, then nitrites, then nitrates. We have all three consistently with no changes in low levels. We try to change the water at least every other day, or daily most of the time to keep it to lower levels of nitrites, and ammonia. Not seeing much change regardless.

We switched from an aqua clear power filter to a marineland penguin 200 bio wheel power filter adding in the bio sponge media from our aqua clear filter hoping to see better results and still nothing. Any advice would be appreciated.

I would take your tap water (and aquarium water) to your LFS to get tester. I thought I had .25 ammonia for the longest time and it turns out I really had 0. If you use API's liquid test kit for ammonia, I don't think the reading will ever get to a strong yellow like the chart shows. If it looks a little less than the .25 color -- you might be at 0.

This is just based on my experience... wouldn't hurt to get someone elses opinion of your water.

 

[eschaton]

From my experience, Tiger Barbs are highly sensitive to nitrite. You can tell when they're not having fun when they start hovering in the tank and slowly pointing their nose downward. Watch out as they have a strong tendency to get pop-eye when tank conditions get too poor.

 

[soulm8salways]

From my experience, Tiger Barbs are highly sensitive to nitrite. You can tell when they're not having fun when they start hovering in the tank and slowly pointing their nose downward. Watch out as they have a strong tendency to get pop-eye when tank conditions get too poor.

What do I watch for in pop eye? We are brand new to this and learning as we go. So far the barbs seem to be doing well outside of the little one who acted differently from the start. We started using prime as our water conditioner since it seemed most widely suggested and might afford them some protection. We also used the bio spira twice and would use it again if it would help, but we keep hitting this plateau with all three readings ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. We change the water anytime it's above .25 on the nitrites or ammonia but usually it takes a day for it to come down any if at all.

We kept betta's for years and never heard anything about cycling...thankfully our fish were okay. We learned after the fact about cycling in this instance. Not all fish stores will tell you what needs to be done. They just sell you the equipment and you are on your way with new fish. We are trying to do anything we need to do to get these guys through it. Fish and tank were set up October 4th.

 

[backtotropical]

It can take what seems to be forever, but you are tackling it correctly.

Don't let anyone convince you to add more and more chemicals. Dechlorinator is the only chemical you need. Water changes are the key.

Water change, water change, water change, and your fish will be fine.

It could be a long frustrating process, but stick in there. It's worth it in the end. Welcome to the world of fish-in cycling.

Also, i see you are new on here, welcome to the forum.

 

[eschaton]

What do I watch for in pop eye? We are brand new to this and learning as we go. So far the barbs seem to be doing well outside of the little one who acted differently from the start. We started using prime as our water conditioner since it seemed most widely suggested and might afford them some protection. We also used the bio spira twice and would use it again if it would help, but we keep hitting this plateau with all three readings ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. We change the water anytime it's above .25 on the nitrites or ammonia but usually it takes a day for it to come down any if at all.

You'll notice pop-eye if you see one or both of your fish's eyes start to swell. It can be treated with antibiotics, but those of course could inhibit the cycle. there's around a 50/50 shot the fish survive if you treat them, and they usually lose vision in the affected eye, so here's hoping it doesn't happen.

 

[soulm8salways]

It can take what seems to be forever, but you are tackling it correctly.

Don't let anyone convince you to add more and more chemicals. Dechlorinator is the only chemical you need. Water changes are the key.

Water change, water change, water change, and your fish will be fine.

It could be a long frustrating process, but stick in there. It's worth it in the end. Welcome to the world of fish-in cycling.

Also, i see you are new on here, welcome to the forum.

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! We are definitely doing the water changes even though the levels don't seem to change much right away. We are hoping just to keep them in check. The fish thankfully seem to be doing well so far. Tonight our levels were slightly different when I checked before bed
Ammonia was .25 (which might be due to water change since this is our reading straight from tap and we changed 40% today)
Nitrite was down to 0
Nitrate was 10
This is the first time in a week that our nitrites were down to 0..but ammonia still exists so not sure what this means outside of the possibility that the ammonia is from the tap and our water change. We will check it all again tomorrow. I'm checking three times a day so I can do water changes as needed. Definitely a frustrating process. Shocked that we made it all those years with our betta and we did 100% water changes weekly too. Little did we know.

 

[soulm8salways]

Hi Everyone,
New to Fishkeeping and in the process of cycling a 29 gallon tank with 5 Tiger Barbs. We initially had six Tigers, but lost our shy and smallest tiger barb with our first spike of Nitrite. We have added Bio Spira twice to our tank hoping to speed up the process of beneficial bacteria which was recommended at another tropical fish site. We use an API master test kit.

Prior to adding bio spira we had no readings outside of Ammonia for most of a week which seemed to stay between .25 and .50 We were doing water changes of 30-50% trying to keep the ammonia below .25 and finally someone suggested we test the water from our tap for ammonia and it turns out the water from our tap comes out at .25 ammonia. It was suggested we do nothing to change this as once cycling is complete it will be consumed by the bacteria colony.

Anyway after introducing bio spira our readings were Ammonia .25 to .50, Nitrite .50 and Nitrate 5.0. This has been steady for about five days regardless of water changes. Nothing new in our readings. Our PH is High 8.4 and consistent. The fish seem to be doing well, but we are wondering where we are in this cycle and whether we have done anything that might have stalled it? We thought first ammonia would appear, then nitrites, then nitrates. We have all three consistently with no changes in low levels. We try to change the water at least every other day, or daily most of the time to keep it to lower levels of nitrites, and ammonia. Not seeing much change regardless.

We switched from an aqua clear power filter to a marineland penguin 200 bio wheel power filter adding in the bio sponge media from our aqua clear filter hoping to see better results and still nothing. Any advice would be appreciated.

I would take your tap water (and aquarium water) to your LFS to get tester. I thought I had .25 ammonia for the longest time and it turns out I really had 0. If you use API's liquid test kit for ammonia, I don't think the reading will ever get to a strong yellow like the chart shows. If it looks a little less than the .25 color -- you might be at 0.

This is just based on my experience... wouldn't hurt to get someone elses opinion of your water.

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll see what our LFS does to test water. I know the one store does test strips which I've heard are inaccurate. Actually we have been to all three LFS in our area and I'm not terribly impressed with any of them. Out of three only one makes any real attempt to keep tanks clean, and has few dead fish. The others are just ridiculous to the point I will not buy fish there. Even the better of the three had a dead fish in the tank last time I was there. Not many options sadly. The API ammonia test on our water out of the tap definitely reads a distinctive .25 in the lime green color. Originally though my fishtank ammonia was 0 when we first started up. Lately...always .25 out of tap and in the tank even with changes in water. UGH!

 

[soulm8salways]

What do I watch for in pop eye? We are brand new to this and learning as we go. So far the barbs seem to be doing well outside of the little one who acted differently from the start. We started using prime as our water conditioner since it seemed most widely suggested and might afford them some protection. We also used the bio spira twice and would use it again if it would help, but we keep hitting this plateau with all three readings ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. We change the water anytime it's above .25 on the nitrites or ammonia but usually it takes a day for it to come down any if at all.

You'll notice pop-eye if you see one or both of your fish's eyes start to swell. It can be treated with antibiotics, but those of course could inhibit the cycle. there's around a 50/50 shot the fish survive if you treat them, and they usually lose vision in the affected eye, so here's hoping it doesn't happen.

eschaton, thanks, I will keep an eye out for it, and we are trying our best to keep the nitrite levels as low as possible with water changes. Tonight they came down to 0 but our ammonia was still .25 (though that has been the reading from tap too) Will hopefully know more tomorrow as to where we are in this cycle. This was the first time in a week that our nitrite was down to 0. Hopefully it's not the prime giving me faulty readings. Anyway appreciate the advice

 

[wolfwolf]

This was the first time in a week that our nitrite was down to 0. Hopefully it's not the prime giving me faulty readings. Anyway appreciate the advice
[/quote]


As far as I know Prime will not affect the nitrite reading from your API test kit. After my own search I found that Prime will be absent from a tank 24 hours after introduction. (Seachem website)

Make sure the Bio Spira is kept cold. Did you check to make sure that Prime will not affect the Bio Spira?