I think I messed up. I added 2 guppies before cycling my tank...

[kitta98]

So I've been admiring people with fish for months now. I knew everything I needed for a tank and I got it all. I got extremely excited and bought 2 male guppies right away... And then I read about cycling tanks and that it was a MUST. They have been in the tank for 5 days now and they seem to be doing okay but I'm worried that they are gonna die on me. I have a 55G tank and am planning to add more fish and live plants but since I heard about the cycle I've waited. Should I just keep the guppies in there? I have no where else to put them.

 

[SeanTrollope]

you can (fish in cycle) but it is not advisable. do you have a friend or pet shop that can take them or hold them for you while you cycle the tank.

 

[Essjay]

First of all don't panic. If the tank really is 55 gallons rather than 55 litres (we have had members confuse the two ), the ammonia from 2 guppies in 55 gallons won't build up very fast at all. But if it is 55 litres, I would take them back as Sean suggests.

You really need a testing kit which test for ammonia and nitrite at the minimum. That way you can see when (if) you need to do water changes. If the tank is 55 gallons, I would plant the tank, wait until you know that there is no ammonia or nitrite showing up from the 2 guppies and the plants are growing well, then get more fish slowly, a few at a time, measuring both ammonia and nitrite every day. If at any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite above zero, a big water change will reduce them.
Plants use ammonia as fertiliser so if you have lots of well growing plants and add fish very slowly, you should be OK.


But before you get any more fish, I suggest you find out if you have hard or soft water. This should be somewhere on your water supplier's website. You need both the number and the unit as there are half a dozen units they could use. It is easier to keep fish that have evolved in the same hardness as your tap water. Guppies are hard water fish. it it turns out you have soft water, future fish fish should be soft water fish.

 

[Karen_2656]

All livebearers like guppys, swordtails, platys, mollys need hard water, you have soft water, when your tank has cycled add soft water fish not hard water!

You can cycle your tank with fish in it although it's not preferable. I would take the guppies back because there is a high chance that they will die:
1. You have hard water fish in a soft water tank.
2. Normally you cycle your tank first (you can still cycle it with fish in but I wouldn't)

I would advise that you take them back to the shop and when your tank has cycled get soft water fish! Gourami/Corys e.c.t, I am only telling you to do this because I'm a huge guppy fan! I am also telling you this because if they die on your first ever tank it is pretty heartbreaking and there will be lots of tears because no one likes it when fish die. Hope this helps
~Karen





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kitta98]

First of all don't panic. If the tank really is 55 gallons rather than 55 litres (we have had members confuse the two ), the ammonia from 2 guppies in 55 gallons won't build up very fast at all. But if it is 55 litres, I would take them back as Sean suggests.

You really need a testing kit which test for ammonia and nitrite at the minimum. That way you can see when (if) you need to do water changes. If the tank is 55 gallons, I would plant the tank, wait until you know that there is no ammonia or nitrite showing up from the 2 guppies and the plants are growing well, then get more fish slowly, a few at a time, measuring both ammonia and nitrite every day. If at any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite above zero, a big water change will reduce them.
Plants use ammonia as fertiliser so if you have lots of well growing plants and add fish very slowly, you should be OK.


But before you get any more fish, I suggest you find out if you have hard or soft water. This should be somewhere on your water supplier's website. You need both the number and the unit as there are half a dozen units they could use. It is easier to keep fish that have evolved in the same hardness as your tap water. Guppies are hard water fish. it it turns out you have soft water, future fish fish should be soft water fish.

I did confuse the two my tank is 14G or 55L. Since then I actually kept the fish but i read to do constant water changes to keep ammonia down and bought the test kits. The ammonia and nitrite have been constantly at 0 and i also added plants and now more fish since it has been about a month. All of the fish seem to be doing great except one guppy which has nipped fins which I've now quarantined to let it heal.

 

[kitta98]

First of all don't panic. If the tank really is 55 gallons rather than 55 litres (we have had members confuse the two ), the ammonia from 2 guppies in 55 gallons won't build up very fast at all. But if it is 55 litres, I would take them back as Sean suggests.

You really need a testing kit which test for ammonia and nitrite at the minimum. That way you can see when (if) you need to do water changes. If the tank is 55 gallons, I would plant the tank, wait until you know that there is no ammonia or nitrite showing up from the 2 guppies and the plants are growing well, then get more fish slowly, a few at a time, measuring both ammonia and nitrite every day. If at any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite above zero, a big water change will reduce them.
Plants use ammonia as fertiliser so if you have lots of well growing plants and add fish very slowly, you should be OK.


But before you get any more fish, I suggest you find out if you have hard or soft water. This should be somewhere on your water supplier's website. You need both the number and the unit as there are half a dozen units they could use. It is easier to keep fish that have evolved in the same hardness as your tap water. Guppies are hard water fish. it it turns out you have soft water, future fish fish should be soft water fish.[/QUOT

First of all don't panic. If the tank really is 55 gallons rather than 55 litres (we have had members confuse the two ), the ammonia from 2 guppies in 55 gallons won't build up very fast at all. But if it is 55 litres, I would take them back as Sean suggests.

You really need a testing kit which test for ammonia and nitrite at the minimum. That way you can see when (if) you need to do water changes. If the tank is 55 gallons, I would plant the tank, wait until you know that there is no ammonia or nitrite showing up from the 2 guppies and the plants are growing well, then get more fish slowly, a few at a time, measuring both ammonia and nitrite every day. If at any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite above zero, a big water change will reduce them.
Plants use ammonia as fertiliser so if you have lots of well growing plants and add fish very slowly, you should be OK.


But before you get any more fish, I suggest you find out if you have hard or soft water. This should be somewhere on your water supplier's website. You need both the number and the unit as there are half a dozen units they could use. It is easier to keep fish that have evolved in the same hardness as your tap water. Guppies are hard water fish. it it turns out you have soft water, future fish fish should be soft water fish.

I'm not too sure if i have soft or hard water though and i have both hard and soft water fish. I have 1 molly, 3 guppies, 6 neon tetras and a gourami.

 

[kitta98]

I'm not too sure if i have soft or hard water though and i have both hard and soft water fish. I have 1 molly, 3 guppies, 6 neon tetras and a gourami.

 

[Essjay]

You do have problems with your stocking if this is a 55 litre tank as mollies are big fish and need a larger tank.
And there's the problem of hard and soft water fish. One or other will not be happy, and mollies tend to become sick very easily if kept in soft water.

Look on your water company's website, they should give the hardness of your tapwater on there somewhere. If you can't find it, tell us the name of the company and we'll look. If it isn't on there, you could try phoning them.
Once you have the hardness, post it on here. You need both the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen units.

 

[fish boi]

I'm not too sure if i have soft or hard water though and i have both hard and soft water fish. I have 1 molly, 3 guppies, 6 neon tetras and a gourami.

what type of gourami

 

[kitta98]

what type of gourami

Flame Dwarf Gourami

 

[kitta98]

You do have problems with your stocking if this is a 55 litre tank as mollies are big fish and need a larger tank.
And there's the problem of hard and soft water fish. One or other will not be happy, and mollies tend to become sick very easily if kept in soft water.

Look on your water company's website, they should give the hardness of your tapwater on there somewhere. If you can't find it, tell us the name of the company and we'll look. If it isn't on there, you could try phoning them.
Once you have the hardness, post it on here. You need both the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen units.

I checked and it the total hardness was 38 - 45, the calcium hardness was 29 - 34, Magnesium hardness 8 - 11 and they were all measured in the unit mg CaCO3 /L.

 

[Essjay]

The figure you need is total hardness. Your 38 to 45 mg/l CaCO3, also called ppm, converts to 2.1 to 2.5 dH (aka German degrees) These are the two units used in fish keeping.

With water that soft, the livebearers will suffer especially the molly. And mollies also get too big for a 55 litre tank. I would see if the shop will take back the guppies and molly. Failing that, are there any websites in your area for selling fish? In the UK we have aquarist classifieds, so anything similar to that.
Once you have rehomed the molly and guppies, I would get more neons. A gourami and a large shoal of neons would look good together.

Can I ask the dimensions of the tank? We have had two members recently with 54 and 55 litre tanks - one was 60 cm long, the other a 40 cm cube. The swimming length of the tank does affect which fish are suitable.

 

[kitta98]

I'm gonna try and take them back to the petstore today. I was planning to take the molly and black neon tetra back anyway because they are harassing the other fish. The dimensions are 58 x 32 x 42.5cm (LxDxH) its a 70l tank but i fill it to 60l because the filter is built in and it gives the water more flow.

 

[Essjay]

If the neons were black neons, then they do need a bigger tank. This highlights a problem with common names because black neons are not related at all to neons, and their behaviour is different. Ordinary neons (the blue and red fish) would be fine.
And at 60 cm (or thereabouts) you have a lot more choice than with a 40 cm long tank of the same volume.

If you look up fish before buying on Seriously Fish you can check if a species that catches your eye is suitable for your tank size and water hardness.

 

[kitta98]

I done the stupid thing of believing a lps worker when they told me that I didn't need to buy a school of black neon tetras because one would school with my normal neon tetras... my fault for believing her i guess