Help Me Avoid A Disaster

[Yoshi'sdad]

Hi everyone, First of all I want to say I should have known better. I have a 125 gallon frontosa tank and a 220 frontosa gallon tank for over 5 years without any deaths, but I did something really stupid. I set up a new 20L tank and over bought fish because they were on sale and got overly excited. I added 5 zebra danios and 5 serpae tetras. they are all under 1 inch each. My tank was not cycled so I added rocks from my other tanks to help establish a bacteria colony. Here is the problem. This morning I discovered a dead danio. I removed him immediately and did a water test. The ammonia levels were very low and they had only been in there around 12 hours. Water temp is 78 and I have an aqua clear 200 running. The other fish are shoaling and don't look stresses or unhealthy. To be sure, I took out a foam filter insert from my aqua clear 500 from my 220 tank and put it in my new tank as a precaution. I bought my fish at a chain store since we do not have any lfs. Do you think it is from not being in a cycled tank or just a sick fish? Should I do a 50% water change when I get home? Tropicals have always been difficult for me so that is why I have african cichlids.
thanks
Yosh's dad

 

[rabbut]

[quote name='Yoshi'sdad' post='1862322' date='Jan 3 2008, 02:07 PM']Hi everyone, First of all I want to say I should have known better. I have a 125 gallon frontosa tank and a 220 frontosa gallon tank for over 5 years without any deaths, but I did something really stupid. I set up a new 20L tank and over bought fish because they were on sale and got overly excited. I added 5 zebra danios and 5 serpae tetras. they are all under 1 inch each. My tank was not cycled so I added rocks from my other tanks to help establish a bacteria colony. Here is the problem. This morning I discovered a dead danio. I removed him immediately and did a water test. The ammonia levels were very low and they had only been in there around 12 hours. Water temp is 78 and I have an aqua clear 200 running. The other fish are shoaling and don't look stresses or unhealthy. To be sure, I took out a foam filter insert from my aqua clear 500 from my 220 tank and put it in my new tank as a precaution. I bought my fish at a chain store since we do not have any lfs. Do you think it is from not being in a cycled tank or just a sick fish? Should I do a 50% water change when I get home? Tropicals have always been difficult for me so that is why I have african cichlids.
thanks
Yosh's dad[/quote]

This could be due to an uncycled tank or poor quality fish, being a chain store. Do you have a nitrite test? Are your tests liquid or dip strips? A small amount of media (never remove/clean more that 1/3 of the media in one week) will soon sort the problem of cycling, as it should carry enough bactiria to suppot all those new fish in one go The waterchange would be advisable if you have detectable ammonia or nitrite, and I would test before the waterchange, adding the mature media after Having re-read your post, it appears that you already have moved the mature media over, so a test for ammonia and nitrite will confirm if a water change is needed. Anything detectable warrents a water change. If nothing is detectable, leave all be untill you feed them for the first time

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Yoshi'sdad]

[quote name='rabbut' post='1862581' date='Jan 3 2008, 06:40 PM'][quote name='Yoshi'sdad' post='1862322' date='Jan 3 2008, 02:07 PM']Hi everyone, First of all I want to say I should have known better. I have a 125 gallon frontosa tank and a 220 frontosa gallon tank for over 5 years without any deaths, but I did something really stupid. I set up a new 20L tank and over bought fish because they were on sale and got overly excited. I added 5 zebra danios and 5 serpae tetras. they are all under 1 inch each. My tank was not cycled so I added rocks from my other tanks to help establish a bacteria colony. Here is the problem. This morning I discovered a dead danio. I removed him immediately and did a water test. The ammonia levels were very low and they had only been in there around 12 hours. Water temp is 78 and I have an aqua clear 200 running. The other fish are shoaling and don't look stresses or unhealthy. To be sure, I took out a foam filter insert from my aqua clear 500 from my 220 tank and put it in my new tank as a precaution. I bought my fish at a chain store since we do not have any lfs. Do you think it is from not being in a cycled tank or just a sick fish? Should I do a 50% water change when I get home? Tropicals have always been difficult for me so that is why I have african cichlids.
thanks
Yosh's dad[/quote]

This could be due to an uncycled tank or poor quality fish, being a chain store. Do you have a nitrite test? Are your tests liquid or dip strips? A small amount of media (never remove/clean more that 1/3 of the media in one week) will soon sort the problem of cycling, as it should carry enough bactiria to suppot all those new fish in one go The waterchange would be advisable if you have detectable ammonia or nitrite, and I would test before the waterchange, adding the mature media after Having re-read your post, it appears that you already have moved the mature media over, so a test for ammonia and nitrite will confirm if a water change is needed. Anything detectable warrents a water change. If nothing is detectable, leave all be untill you feed them for the first time

HTH
Rabbut
[/quote]
thanks I got home and all is well, I have strip tests and all of them are on the bottom range, safe level, I did do a quick water change, only a 1/3, i fed them last night. I think it was just a sick fish, I will continue to monitor the water daily

thanks again

yoshi's dad

 

[rabbut]

I would advise you to get some liquid drop tests, as the dip strips are notoriously inaccurate. Other that that, it would seam that all is well I use Tetra test kits, but many on here recomend API kits. they should cost arround £25 all in, and last for ages (50+ weeks adverage)

All the best
Rabbut