Is My Tank Cycled/ready Yet?

[Ruskull]

This is from AquariumFish.net

Aquarium Salt has no additives such as iodine or calcium silicate. Small one-pound boxes of Aquarium Salt, like the one shown at the top of this page, are sold in most places that sell freshwater fish. A one-pound box of Aquarium Salt is very inexpensive.

Salt, NaCl, does not change the pH of water. It also does not change the hardness.

A few fish do not tolerate aquarium salt. Corydoras catfish and many live aquatic plants do not do well with salt in their water.

In my aquariums both Corydoras and many plants will tolerate 1 Tablespoon of Aquarium Salt per each 5 gallons of aquarium water, and they do poorly with 2 Tablespoons of Aquarium Salt per 5 gallons.

Salt lessens the number of pathogens in the water. For example very few, perhaps only one or two groups, of freshwater bacteria tolerate aquarium salt well. My experience is that salt is slightly effective in preventing fish trouble in freshwater aquariums but only slightly.

 

[Ruskull]

Here's a couple of pics of her from yesterday:

I'm going to post these in the Gourami section as well as other forums.

 

[Ruskull]

I tested my son's levels and they were zero for ammonia & nitrite, nitrate is a bit high at 40-80 ppm. I'll do a 30% water change for him tomorrow night.

My 36 gallon's ammonia & nitrite are also at zero. My nitrates are low at around 30-40 ppm, still has a slight tinge of orange to it. That means I can feed them some frozen brine shrimp!

 

[Ruskull]

Just completed a 50% water change for my son's 20 gallon. The fish seem happy about it.

I also lightly fed his tank & the 36 gallon. Then I treated the 36 gallon with the disgusting smelling rid-fungus stuff. I'll do a big water change on that tank tomorrow. The female Pearl is looking slightly better but I'm still not sure if she's healing like the Gold Gourami female did. I'm trying to remember what I did last time to help her heal and maybe this thread will remind me.

A poster here named Colleen says the pics don't look like Ich and I don't know what to think now. She says it might be fungal or bacterial. The fact that I've been repeatedly dosing the tank with the rid-fungus tells me it might not be fungal but bacterial. The only med I have for bacterial infections is API T.C. Tetracycline.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I didn't think it was ich either seeing the pictures. You are probably correct that the problem is more bacterial, not fungus given the meds you are adding. I can't speak regarding what type of med to use. I do hope that this all clears up. I would say that more water changes would benefit your fish more than anything else at this point, especially if you don't know what to dose. Clean, clean, clean water will give the fish's natural immune system a chance to take care of things itself. It will also help the other fish from having anything spread to them.


I would say 75%+ would be good, as often as possible. I would suggest a minimum of 50% daily would be needed for the water to stay clean enough for the fish to heal itself, if possible. I don't know that this will happen, but without knowing the proper med to recommend, water changes are the best medicine.

 

[Ruskull]

Good advice. I'll start the massive water changes tomorrow since I already dosed the tank with the smelly stuff. We;ll see how she looks tomorrow. The arrow shaped thing is gone but the cloudy gray whitish stuff is still there. She's hanging out at the top not doing anything but swimming in place. I looked at her through a magnifying glass & there isn't any thready, tufts or cottony looking stuff around those areas. All the other fish seem fine, even the Corries. I haven't seen the Oto in awhile though..........but there's a good amount of stuff for him to hide behind or inside.

 

[Ruskull]

When I shut the light off this morning the Oto came out!

Today I'll pick up some Stress Coat & something for Ich. It may just be that I have a different kind of Ich since the stuff worked last time to save my Gold Gourami.

 

[Ruskull]

Okay, I bought (2) small bottles of API Super Ich Cure and I did a half dose after a 60% water change. We'll see how this regimen goes. Next dose is in 48 hours.

 

[Ruskull]

Weell last night the female Pearl didn't look good at all. She had less of the grayish whitish patches on her head but more right around her dorsal fin. Also, there was some white stuff around her mouth and the front face area was a bit red. Her eyes were slightly cloudy too. She wasn't interested in eating and she was kinda jumping across the top of the water, probably trying to get air to her gills due to the stuff around her mouth.

This morning I found her dead at the bottom. I removed her immediately & flushed her. She'll be missed, especially by the male Pearl, King Leeri. He's not getting a replacement girlfriend for awhile either, I just don't feel confident in the water conditions whether it was Ich, another parasite, bacterial or fungal. So far none of the other fish show any signs that are similar. The Opaline female does still brush a bit against stuff but not that often or that harshly. The small Gold Gourami female does have some stringy poo sometimes but otherwise she looks & acts normal. The male Pearl seems perfect, at least for now. All the Tetras, Barbs, Corries & the Oto seem okay.

I just tested my ammonia & nitrite and both are zero. The pH is 7.1, which is awesome since I did that 60% water change & didn't have to add any pH Down or anything to get that either. I guess the (3) pieces of driftwood are doing their thing.

Should I continue with the scheduled Ich treatment I planned to do tonight? I mean, the tank looks great & no other fish are showing signs, except the slight rubbing of the Opaline & the sometimes stringy poo of the Gold.

 

[Ruskull]

Well time for an update:

A couple of days ago I lost another Cory. It was at the bottom on it's side. I also lost the Gold Gourami female that I had originally saved, the one that had the stringy poo. She was somewhat lethargic lately & she wasn't eating for the last couple of days. I should change my name to Gourami Killer.

I measured my 36 gallon's ammonia & nitrite and both are perfect zero. Nitrates are 20-30 ppm. I'll do a nice, 50% water change tomorrow night.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm sorry. These things tend to have a cumulative effect on the fish.

 

[Ruskull]

After I do a 50-60% water change I'm going to put in a new filter cartridge in the empty slot. This will help clean out any leftover meds.

My only question is, will my cycle be okay without the old scraps from the fish store & my son's tank? I mean, the cycle is really strong now no I hesitate to disrupt it in any way.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You never want to remove more than 1/3 the media at a time. More than likely the bits from your son's tank and the store are more colonized than the other stuff. It might be safer to remove the "new" piece rather than the other bits. And to help keep things safer, steal another bit from your sons tank and keep a very close eye on it for the next 48 hours. Don't feed at all for the next 2 days or until you have consistent zeros. If this takes longer than 4 days, feed them every other day.


You remember the water change routine, right? Just be prepared, if necessary. If you see a color at all, other than the yellow and blue you want. Do a partial water change, even if it is only a tinge. Always better to be overly careful than not.

 

[Ruskull]

Oh yeah, I got the whole water change thing down to a science. To be honest, it only takes 3 or 4 five gallon buckets full and I dump it into the garden tub. Then I rinse out the 5 gallon bucket & refill with treated water right there in the tub. The only hard part is pouring the treated water into smaller buckets to pour back into the tank.

My son's tank is even easier since 2 buckets does better than half the water in his 20 gallon if you take into consideration the substrate, decorations, etc. Both tanks are getting at least 50-60% changes tonight.

I'll take the donor cartridge from my son's tank out of my filter and I'll remove the plastic & the spent carbon. This way it'll be much smaller and I can return the important part back in it's entirety. I certainly don't want to take a chance on an ammonia spike.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Ruskull]

36 Gallon:

Zero for ammonia & nitrite, about 30 ppm for nitrate. The pH registered about 7.5, which means it's back up again. I guess I'll just leave it there and hope for the best. I have 3 pieces of driftwood in the tank and it hasn't consistently lowered the pH.

20 Gallon:

Zero for ammonia & nitrite, about 30 for nitrate & the pH is also around 7.5.

25-30% water changes later tonight.