My 55 Gallon Tank

[Miamisportsfan45]

I have a 55 gallon fish tank that I just got started about a month ago. I cycled the tank by filling it up with water, of course, and getting the filter up and running. The first day I put in about 4 flakes of Tropical Fish Food to get the ammonia within the tank, so that the filter can produce the beneficial bacteria awhile. About a day later, I bought three Goldfish to put into the tank to produce the ammonia so that the filter can adjust at a much quicker pace. Unfortunately, one of the Goldfish died within the first week of this in doing so by getting stuck/absorbed in/into the filter. About three weeks later, I cleaned the filter and as I was doing so, I accidentally managed to lose a 2nd Goldfish as well. Now I have one remaining, and I think I'm finally ready by now, since its been a month, to begin this tank as a Tropical fishtank as I planned.

I have a Male Fancy Guppy in the tank now, as well as a Goldfish. I also have many living plants and I just recently bought bulbs to grow into plants. I just bought the Guppy today. What kind of fish can I put into this tank with the Guppy? I don't want there to be too many fish, to the point where the filter can't handle it, and I want my fish to get along as well. Thanks!

 

[onebto]

I have a 55 gallon fish tank that I just got started about a month ago. I cycled the tank by filling it up with water, of course, and getting the filter up and running. The first day I put in about 4 flakes of Tropical Fish Food to get the ammonia within the tank, so that the filter can produce the beneficial bacteria awhile. About a day later, I bought three Goldfish to put into the tank to produce the ammonia so that the filter can adjust at a much quicker pace. Unfortunately, one of the Goldfish died within the first week of this in doing so by getting stuck/absorbed in/into the filter. About three weeks later, I cleaned the filter and as I was doing so, I accidentally managed to lose a 2nd Goldfish as well. Now I have one remaining, and I think I'm finally ready by now, since its been a month, to begin this tank as a Tropical fishtank as I planned.

I have a Male Fancy Guppy in the tank now, as well as a Goldfish. I also have many living plants and I just recently bought bulbs to grow into plants. I just bought the Guppy today. What kind of fish can I put into this tank with the Guppy? I don't want there to be too many fish, to the point where the filter can't handle it, and I want my fish to get along as well. Thanks!

Have you confirmed your tank is correctly cycled?
Be honest that is not the conventional process of cycling a tank
what are your water stats Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH? Test strips are considered inaccurate next to chemical test kits like the API fresh water master test kit which most people will recommend

I would confirm your cycled or not before adding fish otherwise you may loose them very quickly

 

[OldMan47]

I just answered your emergency post, made an hour earlier than this one, about the way your guppy responded to being dumped into your water. When I look at it in context with this post, I come to the conclusion that you have not yet cycled the tank but have done some of the steps that would be involved. Get started on your big water changes and get that testing kit as recommended by OneBTO. We would be happy to help bail out your fish but need complete as well as accurate information to really give much help. A good start would be the ammonia readings for the last 5 days before the guppy was added and the pH of the water. Much of the tap water in Florida is quite soft while well water tends to be quite hard so it would help a lot to know the pH and hardness of your water too. Hardness tests are not a part of the typical test kit but your water company can tell you in broad terms how hard your water is. That would also help us guide you through this.

 

[Harlequins]

I remembered you recently had a topic about your filter, http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/313408-filter-help/ and it came to light that your tank is not fully cycled has you had 1-3 nitrites and hadn't done a waterchange since the golddfish had been in there.
Oldman and co suggested the best way to deal with your tank at this stage,so i would listen to the advice.

I would suggest in not putting any more fish in until your tank is stable with no nitrite/ammonia showing.

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

I remembered you recently had a topic about your filter, http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/313408-filter-help/ and it came to light that your tank is not fully cycled has you had 1-3 nitrites and hadn't done a waterchange since the golddfish had been in there.
Oldman and co suggested the best way to deal with your tank at this stage,so i would listen to the advice.

I would suggest in not putting any more fish in until your tank is stable with no nitrite/ammonia showing.

I fixed the problem. I now only have two fish in the tank, and the tank is cycled. I'm tanking my water to get checked at my nearby PetsMart before buying any more fish for my aquarium, but I would like to know what fish to put in with Guppies (Fancy), if it is cycled correctly now.

 

[drobbyb]

Not to be rude, but the people giving you advice are very experienced and have a keen eye for this sort of thing. Removing some fish in no way cycle's your tank, it just reduces the amount of ammonia that is being made.

Petsmart uses paper test strips and the results are not to be trusted. Get yourself a good liquid test kit like the API Master test kit. Otherwise you have no way of knowing what stage of the nitrogen cycle you are in.

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

I know that removing fish doesn't help cycle the tank, but I'm aware that it reduced the ammonia. Petsmart gave me the results after checking my water though, too. They did use the test strips, but the water read levels were actually honestly pretty low from there readings.

 

[ellena]

Pretty low isn't good enough, ammonia and nitrite need to be 0. If you add more fish before your levels have reached that stage, they can't be happy.

 

[bitteraspects]

you should really start trying to absorb the information you're given, rather than asking the question only to come up with your own "solution"

the first thing you need to do, is buy an API (brand) water test kit. the is probably the most important tool of the trade. especially for novice fish keepers. this is not only needed for the initial cycle, but also to regularly monitor your water parameters between water changes.

then you need to start your cycle (preferably fishless, but fish in will work too if you decide to go that route) all over again. you are looking at 3-6weeks of empty tank, before you can even think about adding livestock.
your ammonia and nitrItes should read 0, and your nitrates should be very low. even after your ammonia and nitrItes are completely gone, you should wait a week before adding your live stock just in case there is an ammonia spike (which is not uncommon when doing a fresh cycle)

once your tank is properly cycled, then you can begin lightly stocking your tank, until you have the stock youre looking for.
however. be sure to research all your possible livestock choices BEFORE buying them. different fish have different needs in regards to diet, temperature, PH, etc. make sure all the fish you are considering, have similar requirements, and that your tank is properly set up for them.