Fish In Cycle.... There Is Hope But Not For The Fish.

[The chilly dipper]

hello again guys.

i had just cycled my 60 litre bio orb (yes i know i know)lol.
but it wasnt without its problems lemme explain...

please note excuse the school boy errors

WEEK 1:
i got the bio orb and cleaned it out as well as i could, the previous owner didnt want it anymore so i got a 60 litre for 50 quid..bargain!!!

i was unaware of cycling or anything like that for the 1st week so no tests or anything were carried out.
i put fish in straight away!!!! which i now know was a dumb idea lol.
i had 5 fish in it. a blackmoore, telescope,lionhead ,and two random fantails i dont know the name of. after 3 days or so i lost the telescope and just put it down to stress.
and by the end of the week the blackmoore was dead too- bullied to death

WEEK2

alarm bells started to ring so i set about doing intense weeklong research(its amazing how much you learn in a week).
ammonia poisoning symptoms went unnoticed for a good few days into week 2.
but fish were lathargic and had red fins and just sat on bottom.

i sprang into action and went toget the important test kits.
when i got home i tested every thing....it was all off the scale so going into week 3 this is what i did.... please note test were done over the week day after day.

ammonia off scale
nitrite off scale
nitrate not tested

75 % water change (fish not well at all )

ammonia 1.2 ppm
nitrite .25ppm

15 % water change next day

ammonia 1.2 ppm
nitrite .25 ppm

this is when i realised big water changes were needed daily.

50 % water change
ammonia 0.8
nitrite 0.5 ppm

the next day i tested my levels and they had had risen

i was one fish down so i checked for him, he was found dead under a rock he normally hid in

50 % water change

ammonia 1.3 ppm
nitrite- 0.4ppm

50 % water change
ammonia 1.2
nitrate 0.5ppm

85% water change

ammonia 0.4 ppm
nitrite 0.1 ppm

50 % water change
ammonia 0.4 ppm
nitrite 0.0 ppm
nitrate 20 ppm (i finally got one)

50 % water change
ammonia 1 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm

the start of week 4 i got the best results yet so 3 fish down and many changes
of water later i got:

ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm

so my cycle looks to be stable now so im gonna keep an eye on the reading but no more water changes untill the end of the week.

im amazed my remaining fish have put up with my tinkerings but they seem happy and healthy now.

i may have many errors here but after 3 or so weeks i inadvertently cycled my tank without knowing about it lol

moral of the story is research research research before keeping fish!!!!

i still have a lot to learn too.
thanks for reading my story

 

[CrazyAirborne]

poor fishies

 

[The chilly dipper]

i know i cried at the loss of my fish but they are well now thank god

 

[Randi]

Sorry about your fishies
I think it is good for people to realize that they are not the only ones who make these mistakes (my first tank went through a similar process) so thanks for sharing.

 

[The chilly dipper]

no problem randi i guess your right.
i just feel sorry for the fishies and that i thought water,pump,food ..sorted
but i was very wrong freddie the black moore,jeffey the telescope and anglica the silver calico will never be forgotton.

like members of the family these fish are lol

 

[The chilly dipper]

no problem randi i guess your right.
i just feel sorry for the fishies and that i thought water,pump,food ..sorted
but i was very wrong freddie the black moore,jeffey the telescope and anglica the silver calico will never be forgotton.

like members of the family these fish are lol

 

[seizethecupcake]

I'm sorry about the loss of your fish I'm also doing a fish-in cycle (I didn't know any better, now I've been educated) and maintaining good water quality is back-breaking work. I swear, it takes fifteen minutes for the ammonia to creep up to dangerous levels. I'm testing constantly and doing water changes accordingly. I know one thing: that API test kit was a godsend.

 

[L_Plates]

With my first tank i fell into a fish in cycle but please be aware not all is lost.

My cycle went on for 8 weeks with a water change everyday !

TEST TEST TEST is what i recommend. I never lost a single fish but you will have to test daily and water change daily until for over a week you have had zeros on ammonia and nitrite.

 

[The chilly dipper]

I'm sorry about the loss of your fish I'm also doing a fish-in cycle (I didn't know any better, now I've been educated) and maintaining good water quality is back-breaking work. I swear, it takes fifteen minutes for the ammonia to creep up to dangerous levels. I'm testing constantly and doing water changes accordingly. I know one thing: that API test kit was a godsend.

the 30 pound api all in kit ?
i have never done so many tests and i have never worried so much lol.
last night i got out of bed just to see if my water was still stable lol

With my first tank i fell into a fish in cycle but please be aware not all is lost.

My cycle went on for 8 weeks with a water change everyday !

TEST TEST TEST is what i recommend. I never lost a single fish but you will have to test daily and water change daily until for over a week you have had zeros on ammonia and nitrite.

as my levels are low how much water do you reccommend me taking out?
also consider its a 60 litre bio orb.

 

[seizethecupcake]

I'm sorry about the loss of your fish I'm also doing a fish-in cycle (I didn't know any better, now I've been educated) and maintaining good water quality is back-breaking work. I swear, it takes fifteen minutes for the ammonia to creep up to dangerous levels. I'm testing constantly and doing water changes accordingly. I know one thing: that API test kit was a godsend.

the 30 pound api all in kit ?
i have never done so many tests and i have never worried so much lol.
last night i got out of bed just to see if my water was still stable lol

Yes, the API Master's kit. I'm going through so many tests that I'm bound to need a new one before too long

 

[The chilly dipper]

I'm sorry about the loss of your fish I'm also doing a fish-in cycle (I didn't know any better, now I've been educated) and maintaining good water quality is back-breaking work. I swear, it takes fifteen minutes for the ammonia to creep up to dangerous levels. I'm testing constantly and doing water changes accordingly. I know one thing: that API test kit was a godsend.

the 30 pound api all in kit ?
i have never done so many tests and i have never worried so much lol.
last night i got out of bed just to see if my water was still stable lol

Yes, the API Master's kit. I'm going through so many tests that I'm bound to need a new one before too long

lol i know how you feel i spent about 30 quid my self down at maidenhead fish and i will need more by the end of the week lol

 

[The chilly dipper]

as my levels are low how much water do you reccommend me taking out?
also consider its a 60 litre bio orb. also while your here how many fancy do you think would max out 60 litres?

 

[OldMan47]

Now that you have gotten your chemistry under control, you could back off to only doing 50% water changes 2 or 3 times each week. Test once a week right before that water change and see how you are doing. After a couple more weeks, you should be able to back down to a weekly water change. Again, test right before the change to make sure all is still being controlled. If all is well at that point, you could even reduce your water change to around 30% weekly.
Once you have gotten past the present crisis you will need to address your overstocking. I know full well that your tank looks empty with only 2 fish in it, but a single goldfish should be given about 20 US gallons and each added one requires at least another 10 gallons. Your 60 litre bio orb is only 15 US gallons total. For a short time things will be OK, since your fish are not nearly full grown, but they inevitably will become full adults and will need the added space.

 

[The chilly dipper]

thanks alot i will follow that to the letter

 

[The chilly dipper]

oops mini cycle ???
my gravel is to blame for a ammonia jump grrrrrrrrrr