Killed My Fish

[mark4880]

Hey guys and girls



Well I have had my tank up and running for about 6-8 weeks doing a fishless cycle. My LFS have been tetsing my water with an API test kit and when I was showing double zeros I brought 5 neons. A week I have lost two, I went back to my LFS to purchase 4 sunset platies and they tested my water again and the ammonia went from 0 to 0.5. I guess this is why I lost the fish. They said it was new tank syndrome and very normal to get an ammonia spike after placing your fist fish.


I brought a bottle of bacteria and they gave me some bacteria media balls and wool from their own tank. Im going to put 5ml of bacteria into the filter everyday untill wednesday and re-test to see where I am. I feel as if i did something wrong and feel gutted for the neons as I only have two in there and all they do is hide (guess they are scared).



Has anyone had this and am I on the right path to fixing this.



Thanks

 

[dh058977]

Bottled 'bacteria' are next to useless, you might as well pour it away. The best thing you can do is daily large water changes using dechlorinated water, try to use a dechlorinator that claims to deal with Ammonia. Unfortunately, you also brought neons which from past experience and reading, dont do well in new setups. What were your exact readings? How did you cycle your tank? Were you getting 0 0 for a week?

 

[TheRedDarren]

I have to disagree (sorry dh058977) with the bottled bacteria statement above, I've used it several times and if you follow the instructions to the letter they work well, the trouble comes from badly stored bottles (temperature/date etc) and incorrect usage. I've actually done this myself so I'm speaking from experience. If used in conjunction with mature media and an "almost cycled" filter you should be ok, but you should get yourself a test kit and do your own daily testing during this period.
Also, I've seen neons go into a mature tank and some have died, so although its true the ammonia probably did have an effect, don't kick yourself, I think they are a fairly fragile species.

 

[dh058977]

Personally I wouldnt trust bottled bacteria and wouldnt use it but if you have had success with it then good for you.
The only one that I have seen reported to actually work is the tetra one but I still wouldnt trust it! What bottled bacteria have you got OP?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

dh058977 is correct the bottled one off the shelf in your lFS are usless and this is proven, the point you made was using with establised media the media was doing all the work. There are a few bottles out there that will work i belive which have to be kept stored corretly of which i have never seen to be sold in the uk.

 

[mark4880]

When I said double zeros I meant for two weeks in a row without water changes. I'm looking to get a water testing kit this week, but the LFS said they will test for free anytime. I have had fish in there before as it had a goldfish in which I moved because I want tropical. So I thought origianally I could just get s heater and put in topical so I got some rummynose tetras and they died. That's when I read up on what to do, so the 6 - 8 weeks started. The LFS said I was cycles but this is just NTS. I brought a gravel cleaner today to help do water changes and clean the in eaten food.

 

[Greg_DS]

When you say you had double zeros for two weeks were you adding ammonia or was your tank just sitting full of water??

 

[mark4880]

I was adding the bacteria, so maybe I'm only just starting the cycle now fish are in not sure.

 

[Greg_DS]

You've prob just wasted your time then bud, of course your going to get double zeros with no source of ammonia , with fish in now that would be day 1 of your cycle.

 

[mark4880]

How long have I got to wait now then with the media from the LFS and the bacteria and the neons that are left. ?

 

[Greg_DS]

If its good media not long, get yourself an API test kit rather than taking water into the shop, test everyday, sometimes twice.

Have a read of this : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/224306-fish-in-cycling/

 

[willowstwin]

I'd just like to start by disagreeing with the statement people keep making about neons being bad for new tanks... mine was fully cycled for 2 weeks when I added mine, I lost 1 mysteriously (couldn't find it anywhere in the tank - I pulled everything out), and the only reason why the second lot died was due to them having neon tetra disease and fin rot from the bad LFS I went to. My neons are healthy, so from my experience, I disagree so long as your tank is cycled.

second point would be to cycle your tank, unfortunately you can't add ammonia now youw have fish in there. Buy yourself a test kit and change the water very regularly. and DONT add anymore fish until your water levels are normal (and showing nitrate production). Then, and only then, add 1 more fish, test again until levels sort themselves out (again with regular water changes), and then another fish when these levels stabilise. Either that OR (and I would reccommend this), take the fish back to the lfs, buy a test kit and some bottled ammonia and start cycling (you can find all the info and help on this forum). With the media from the lfs you should be looking at a quicker cycle that usual.

Its all up to you as to how much work you want to put in, how patient you are, and how many fish you want to subject to toxic conditions.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I still wouldn't recommend neons for this tank. But beyond that, the OP did receive established media from the LFS. Putting that in the filter (and ignoring the bottled bacteria, which practically requires an act of God to work correctly) and doing daily water changes for a week or two should make for a nicely established filter. I'd say keep the fish that are there now.

Daily water changes are the key when doing a fish-in cycle. I don't believe there are too many fish in the tank to accomplish this well.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

The fact that you lost 2 lots speaks volumes in new tank im sorry to say IMO. Is not a radom stament is well documented regarding neons

 

[mark4880]

Thought id add a picture of my tank. I have just added a Tetratec air pump and air stone, and I did a 40% water change today mainly to give me room to install the air pump. The lonely two neons are looking really healthy but I guess they need friends so hopefully at the weekend we can get them some friends.