Lost First Fish Whilst Doing Fish In Cycle ,what Could Have Caused It/

[maisy12345]

Hi all,tank has been cycling now for five weeks,but for at least last week ammonia levels have been going between 0.25-0.50,so have been doing 60 percent water changes daily ,but when checked on fish today one of my bronze corries had died ,and my shrimp was trying to eat it[have got 4 glowlight tetra,2 bronze corries,1 albino cory and 2 shrimp in a 28l tank].
Took it back to pet shop ,as they`d quaranteed it and they said that the fish had probably died due to stress ,caused by daily water changes ,and that i should only be doing a 20 percent one once weekly ,they did give me another one after testing my water,but what does everyone think?.Also he advised me to add oxygen tablets as this helps fish when ammonia gets high,does anybody else do this?

 

[doresy]

Basically Cory are not ideal fish to use in a so called "Fish-in Cycle" in my opinion

 

[coldcazzie]

The fish probably died due to ammonia poisoning. As said ^^ cories are not the best fish for a fish-in cycle. The reaosn your ammonia levels are higher is because you have more fish now than you did when you started: you shouldn't be adding more fish while your tank is still cycling.

Also, oxygen tablets are a waste of money.

 

[maisy12345]

Hi,am new to this and was given wrong advice by shop ,who told me that i could add fish after 3 days,so was unaware of the fishless cycle

 

[StandbySetting]

Hi all,tank has been cycling now for five weeks,but for at least last week ammonia levels have been going between 0.25-0.50,so have been doing 60 percent water changes daily ,but when checked on fish today one of my bronze corries had died ,and my shrimp was trying to eat it[have got 4 glowlight tetra,2 bronze corries,1 albino cory and 2 shrimp in a 28l tank].
Took it back to pet shop ,as they`d quaranteed it and they said that the fish had probably died due to stress ,caused by daily water changes ,and that i should only be doing a 20 percent one once weekly ,they did give me another one after testing my water,but what does everyone think?.Also he advised me to add oxygen tablets as this helps fish when ammonia gets high,does anybody else do this?

It more than likely died from ammonia or nitrite poisoning, keep up with your water changes of 60%, oxygen tablets are useless, there is no need to use them, air dissolves into the water column via gaseous exchange, even more so when the surface is rippling due to the increased surface area, so there will always be sufficient levels of air in the tank. He's just trying to make money.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks for your replies,if oxygen tablets are useless,how else could i oxygenate the water,and would it help the fish ,also should i still be doing these huge water changes still ,so confused?

Thanks Standby setting, added replies at same time.

 

[StandbySetting]

You don't need to oxygenate the water, it occurs naturally, continue with the 50% water changes, do them every 12 hours.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks,does anyone else agree with us,or has any other advice please?

 

[coldcazzie]

Can you take some of the fish back Maisy? Maybe go right down to just the 4 tetras, finish your cycle and then slowly build it back up again.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged at the surface of the water. If the water surface is rippling then there is sufficient gas exchange occurring - you don't need to add anything like oxygen tablets - like I said, they are a waste of money.

Extra oxygen in the water wont make the blindest bit of difference to ammonia poisoning. The only thing that will reduce ammonia poisoning is reducing the ammonia. You do that by changing the water, having less fish and feeding less food.

As for whether you should be doing the large water changes still, you have answered your own question when you stated that your ammonia reading is 0.25-0.5ppm. Question: is the reading 0pm? Answer: no. Therefore, you change the water until it does read 0. When you can go 1 whole week without changing the water, and still have 0ppm ammonia and nitrite readings, that is when you are cycled. Until then, you change the water as often as you have to to keep the readings at 0.

I'm sorry to keep going on about this, but it seems that you don't understand it. If 60% water changes are not bringing the level down to 0 then you do larger ones. Or you do multiple large ones. You change as much water as you have to to keep the level at 0. If that means 100% water change, so be it. If it means 2 90% water changes straight one after the other, then so be it! Ammonia = dead or poorly fish. I don't know how much clearer I can be about it. The stress caused to the fish by water changing is far, FAR less than the stress caused to them by ammonia poisoning.

 

[fluttermoth]

I don't want to sound too harsh, maisy; I know this isn't your fault, but I don't think your tank, at 28l, is suitable for corys, cycled or not.

I thiunk you should re-home them and stick with just the tetras and the shrimp, even when your cycle has finished.

 

[PJPJ]

Maisy,

If you are adamant or stuck with doing a fish in cycle, please use Seachem Prime or Amquel?

Use this in place of your normal water conditioner.

For the sake of the fish, please protect them from their own poisonous waste.

Cory's really ought not be introduced for at least six months that is until the aquarium is near settled.

Adding oxygen into the water will reduce the toxicity of Nitrite, the best way to achieve this is to ensure the output of your filter is breaking the waters surface.

Even better would be to return the fish to the store and complete a fishless cycle.

Otherwise, make sure you keep the ammonia below 0.25ppm

Regards

PJPJ

 

[maisy12345]

Hi everyone ,thanks a lot for everyones advice ,all advice is appreciated and noted,i`ll continue with the water changes,and feed fish sparingly,how long can fish go without food safely for,also i`ll look up your product PJPJ,is this similar to thttp/cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTERPET-AQUARIUM-AMMONIA-REMOVER-125ML-/250411356563?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item3a4dae1193his ?

 

[StandbySetting]

Ammonia remover is defeating the point of a fish in cycle, you need there to be some ammonia present for the cycle to work, if you stick to the large water changes all will be fine with in a couple of weeks.

 

[maisy12345]

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTERPET-AQUARIUM-AMMONIA-REMOVER-125ML-/250411356563?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item3a4dae1193

Thanks Standby setting

 

[coldcazzie]

how long can fish go without food safely for

Weeks.

Not that I recommend not feeding your fish for weeks at a time, but you can certainly cut back to twice a week safely.