Help! Several Noob Questions!

[Imperata]

Hi everyone! I am very happy to have finally found a good resource! Ok, so question 1: For some reason my 55 (us) tall gallon is reading ammonia 0.5-nitrite 0- nitrate in betwixt 0 and 20ppm. Is this ok? I do a fifty percent water change on fridays. I had to do an emergency 50 on wednesday because i got to 1ppm ammonia. I completely fishless cycled the tank before I introduced fish. Current inhabitants are;1 dwarf gourami;5 platys; 2 small clear mystery fish that look like a guppy species.
Question 2: I want the 55's eventual stock to be the above plus 4 angels and 10 zebrafish. Is that overstocked? I am running a cascade 700 and a aquatech 30-60.

Okay, question 3: I have a 40 tall that I would like to stock as follows: 2 kribensis; 12 tiger barbs; and 12 zebrafish. This tank has a cascade 500 and a 30-60. Is this okay stocking level? I intend for this tank to be HEAVILY planted. I like hygrophila.

Oh and my feeding regime is really small amount 3 times a day. The fish eat it all in about 2 seconds flat. once a week a brine shrimp cube.



Thanks so much for your time.

 

[Althamon]

How long ago was the tank cycled? And when did you last add fish? Reason being is that if you recently added fish then you will have needed to allow for the bacteria to increase to deal with the new bio load and same with the nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Imperata]

How long ago was the tank cycled? And when did you last add fish? Reason being is that if you recently added fish then you will have needed to allow for the bacteria to increase to deal with the new bio load and same with the nitrifying bacteria.

I added fish like two at at time. This tank has been set up for about 8 weeks.

 

[Imperata]

Wow , I am very suprised that i have only gotten one response! I am really disappointed bc I really want healthy tanks and fish. Please respond!

 

[Randi]

0 ammonia is best - don't let your nitrAtes get above 30
Do PWCs to get your ammonia down

 

[Caprichoso]

Any ammonia is bad. It should always be at 0. Once you get the ammonia sorted out, you can safely add those fish. Not sure how the Angels will act toward the others once they get mature but that's your experiment, not mine. Also, having a tall tank is not ideal for certain fish, like zebra fish(you are talking about Danio's right?). As far as what you want in your other tank, it sounds fine to me(as far as stocking goes). I'm sure someone else may chime in though. Your feeding regiment sounds good too.

Good luck!

 

[This Old Spouse]

+1 ... you should always aim for a 0 reading with ammonia, and nitrites.

I think you should put tiger barbs in the 55g and the angels in the tall tank, IMO. Tiger barbs really like to swim from end to end of my 55g. I know they would NOT be happy in a tall tank! Plus, they are pretty well know for nipping, and angels would be the perfect snack for them.

Can you get photos of the "small clear mystery fish" so we know what they are?

And finally,

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Yeah I wouldnt put the 4 angels in the 55g, put them in the tall as a centerpiece and have smaller fish with them. You could get away with 3 in the 55g.


For the ammonia just do water changes, the bacteria will eventually grow enough to consumer the ammonia, it may take 2-3 weeks but just bare with it

 

[trikidy]

as said before, 0 ammonia.


too often feeding, your fish will not appreciate it.

it is best to get a regime, for example every day when you put afternoon lights on, etc.

i do mine once every 2 days, this ensures uneaten food is eaten

 

[waterdrop]

It is sometimes hard to figure out the cause (slow cycling filter or a bit more food than necessary or incomplete weekend-gravel-clean-water-change habit or whatever) but luckily the action to take is always the same and simple to remember (if hard work sometimes.) You just have to consider yourself to still be in a fish-in cycling situation and figure out the pattern of water changes needed. You want to figure out the percentage and frequency that works for you to keep that ammonia at or below 0.25ppm (nitrite too if it were to show) until you can next be home to change water again. As said it make take a couple weeks of bothersome work, but it is the way to avoid permanent gill or nerve damage to your stock.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miles_hot]

did you fully cycle the tank and then start adding fish two at a time or did you put a lot of fish in as soon as the cycle had completed? If the former is it possible that your bacteria died back due to the lack of food for them whilst you slowly brought your bio load up?

Miles