New Fish Hobbyist Here

[SwordtailLover]

Hello all!

This is actually my first post, and definitely will not be my last. I recently purchased a 10 gallon starter kit tank for my girlfriend for Valentine's day. I had it set up and running on a Wednesday, and surprised her with it on a Saturday following, and kept it running until a week or so later, in which I added three Zebra Danios. I had read some/spoken with people about cycling, fishless vs fish in, and also water testing. I chose to go with fish-in cycling, because to be honest, I just couldn't wait.

I understand that in my haste it's created more work for me, but I definitely do not mind! I have a water test kit which I am using frequently and doing regular water changes of 20%. However, I spoke with a certain individual at my LFS and he suggested that I could add a Swordtail or two to get the cycle going faster.

So here I am with three Zebras, and two Swordtails (A male and female, I'm assuming because she's not showing signs of a sword...yet), and I am having a few problems all ready. I was admiring my swords, when I noticed that they had white specs on them...which I'm assuming is Ick. The Zebras were in the tank for a whole week without any signs of it, and I believe I might have introduced all of the fish to it now by adding the Swordtails. I've purchased some medicine for the disease, which is to be added every other day for five days, and hopefully that will clear it up. The problem is...I had to remove my filter in order for the medicine to work properly, so my question is, will this stunt the growth of bacteria for the Ammonia breakdown?

Also, I have some question about the female sword. The reason that I am so reluctant to believe that she is, in fact, a she, is because she chases the male around like crazy. He seems to just want to relax, and when he slides on over by her, she chases him to the other side of the tank. The male is about 2 inches long excluding the tail, and the female is smaller, about an inch and a half. I had read that it takes about a year for their tails to form sometimes, so could she just be a male in waiting?

Thank you all for your help, and I cannot wait to hear from you. : )

 

[fatheadminnow]

The problem is...I had to remove my filter in order for the medicine to work properly, so my question is, will this stunt the growth of bacteria for the Ammonia breakdown?

Yes, is will stunt the growth of the bacteria. The beneficial bacteria that live in your filter, and that is where 99% of them live, need ammonia to live. Ammonia is produced from fish waste, and food that has been left over in your tank. If you take the ammonia source away from the bacteria, i.e. removing your filter, you are most likely going to kill off all the bacteria; especially if you had to remove your filter for five days. Also, someone correct me if I am wrong, adding medicine to your tank can also kill off some of the beneficial bacteria as well. So I would put the filter back in, if you have not already done so, let it run for at least 24 hours and check the water again for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You will most likely have nitrate in your tank, but if you are getting any ammonia readings, then you know at least some of the bacteria have died; which is unfortunate. Also, adding more fish during your cycle is not going to speed up the cycle at all. The bacteria will grow at a given time as long there is trace amounts of ammonia present; and according to your water. It is also going to take longer to reach a higher count of bacteria with more fish in the tank, than it would with less fish in the tank.

I do not have an answer regarding your sword fish, however, someone will come along and have one for you soon.

Hope this is helpful to you?
-FHM

 

[dcarmor927]

Welcome to TFF!! where to start...well with fish in cycling you dont want to stock it too full because ammonia will be produced faster than you can remove it, im not sure how close you are to being fully stocked with those fish as i've never kept them, and therefore couldnt answer your question about the swordtails...for more info i would ask the same question on the livebearers section, as most members dont check the New To The Hobby section all that often As far as ich goes, i've also never dealt with it, but i dont think you need to remove the filter...what kind of filter do you have? if it is a standard HOB (hang on back) filter it should have a pad in it with black coals...this is carbon and removes medicine from the water, if you could remove that it would be ideal, as opposed to removing the whole thing...If its at all possible i would rehome your new fish and cycle the tank with out fish, (i did a fish in cycle, and regret it lol) it might be really hard treating ich if you have to change the water all the time due to high ammonia because the meds will be taken out with the water...maybe post this in the tropical emergencies section...Sorry i couldnt help you more...

Welcome once again

 

[SwordtailLover]

I have been doing tests regularly (almost twice a day) checking for Ammonia, and I have still not reached a reading of over 0 mg/l. I have been doing water changes frequently though, every two or three days, and the swordtails are relatively new to the tank.

I am trying to rid the tank of Ick before I continue cycling, because I am not very far into the cycle, and I am assuming that helping rid the fish of the parasites will be much more helpful than doing the water changes every few days to keep the ammonia levels down. I am keeping the filter in some of the tank water in a bucket beside the tank, but the water is not being oxygenated, which I have read is important in keeping the bacteria alive.

So would I guess which is the lesser of two evils, the ick of the chances of the ammonia rising too high? Like I said, I knew that I was going to do a fish-in cycle when reading up on cycling, so I am prepared to do water changes frequently. I just would rather not let my fish be overtaken by parasites.

Thanks again for all of the help!

but i dont think you need to remove the filter...what kind of filter do you have? if it is a standard HOB (hang on back) filter it should have a pad in it with black coals...this is carbon and removes medicine from the water

Welcome once again

Thank you for the reply!

I have the standard filter that you described, but inside I only have one pad, and it is a white pad. The directions on the bottle say to remove the carbon filter, and having only one actual filter pad within the water filter itself, I'm assuming that's it? I could be wrong, and looking forward to any help/advice available. Thank you again. : D

 

[fatheadminnow]

I have the standard filter that you described, but inside I only have one pad, and it is a white pad. The directions on the bottle say to remove the carbon filter, and having only one actual filter pad within the water filter itself, I'm assuming that's it? I could be wrong, and looking forward to any help/advice available. Thank you again. : D

Sometimes the carbon is inside the filter pad, can you tell if that is where the carbon is? What is the name of the filter you have, and what kind of test kit are you using?
Also, welcome to TFF, I forgot to state that above!
-FHM

 

[SwordtailLover]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! : )

The filter that I have is a Aqueon Power Filter 10. On the back of the box, it describes the filter pad as, "Aqueon patented cartridges contain more activated carbon to remove toxic impurities, odors, and discoloration." That is what I removed from the filter, after reading the directions on the medication.

As for my test kit, I am using a Tetratest Laborett. It tests for pH, NH3, NO2, GH, and KH. It's not a strip test set, it takes test water into a little rectangular container, and then you add certain amounts of chemicals (by the drop) to the water, and then shake and compare to a table. I paid about 20 dollars for it, so it may not be the best quality test kit. I could be wrong, however. And with this website being based in the UK, the brands might not be recognized.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I am keeping the filter in some of the tank water in a bucket beside the tank, but the water is not being oxygenated, which I have read is important in keeping the bacteria alive.

I would, if you can, put an aerator in the bucket and throw some fish food in there as well. The food will break down and produce ammonia for the bacteria.

 

[dcarmor927]

so you have just a white pad? is there a sponge or a "bio-wheel" also? if there is no carbon in the filter pad then i assume its not anywhere else in the filter, so you can keep running the filter with the pad

Sorry just saw you answered that...

You also want to get ammonia NO4 i think idk, its been too long since chemistry lol...

To get the media going in the bucket like FHM stated i would add pure ammonia, which you can find in your hardware store, use the aquarium calculator on this site (link in top right) and add up to 5 ppm ammonia

 

[SwordtailLover]

There is some black within the pad itself, which I believe is the Carbon? But if I remember correctly, the pad was all white with a few spots of black when I opened the package. You'll have to forgive me on my cloudy memory, I was super excited to start this tank up. lol

 

[dcarmor927]

There is some black within the pad itself, which I believe is the Carbon? But if I remember correctly, the pad was all white with a few spots of black when I opened the package. You'll have to forgive me on my cloudy memory, I was super excited to start this tank up. lol

Its all good, my timing is off with this for whatever reason lol, but i edited my last post, so check that out again lol...and as long as you moved as much of the "black rocks" from the pad as you could then im sure the meds will work, also the activeness of the carbon only lasts a couple of days so if the meds dont work right away they will soon

 

[fatheadminnow]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! : )

The filter that I have is a Aqueon Power Filter 10. On the back of the box, it describes the filter pad as, "Aqueon patented cartridges contain more activated carbon to remove toxic impurities, odors, and discoloration." That is what I removed from the filter, after reading the directions on the medication.

As for my test kit, I am using a Tetratest Laborett. It tests for pH, NH3, NO2, GH, and KH. It's not a strip test set, it takes test water into a little rectangular container, and then you add certain amounts of chemicals (by the drop) to the water, and then shake and compare to a table. I paid about 20 dollars for it, so it may not be the best quality test kit. I could be wrong, however. And with this website being based in the UK, the brands might not be recognized.

Yeah, the carbon is inside the pad. And the test kit you are using, though I have not heard of it being I live in the US, looks to be good, since it is a liquid test kit and not a strip test kit. I personally would recommend the API Fresh Water Master Test Kit. Like I said I would put an aerator, if you can, in the bucket with your filter. But if you cant, throw some food in there as soon as you can. This might save you bacteria colony from dieing off.
Hope your fish get better, and everything works out for you!
-FHM

 

[SwordtailLover]

So, it should be okay to put the pad back into the filter and just continue with treatment like normal? I may have misunderstood what you meant by removing the black rocks. I don't believe I could actually remove them without cutting the filter open, and removing them.

 

[fatheadminnow]

So, it should be okay to put the pad back into the filter and just continue with treatment like normal? I may have misunderstood what you meant by removing the black rocks. I don't believe I could actually remove them without cutting the filter open, and removing them.

Activated carbon only works for a couple of days; until all of its properties are used up. So what I think dcarmor927 was saying is that if the meds are not working right now, due to the carbon that was in the tank, they will start working soon when the activated carbon becomes ineffective. Correct me if I am wrong?
-FHM

 

[SwordtailLover]

Ah, so the carbon that is already in the water, would keep the medication from taking its course. But because I removed it, it should hopefully start to work soon. I did a water change after removing the filter, and then added the medicine after putting new water in. I believe that that may have been accidental timing, but good timing at that. Hopefully that will speed up the medicine, and in return, help my fish recover. They're beautiful and I am kind of upset with my LFS after discovering the Ick today.

 

[dcarmor927]

Activated carbon only works for a couple of days; until all of its properties are used up. So what I think dcarmor927 was saying is that if the meds are not working right now, due to the carbon that was in the tank, they will start working soon when the activated carbon becomes ineffective. Correct me if I am wrong?
-FHM

Yea thats what i meant, also if the carbon seems to be infused in the pad then dont worry, just medicate until you see an improvment...in my filter pads you acutaly have to add the carbon yourself...also as stated by FHM, API are good tests (i use them) but im sure any liquid test kit would suffice, steer clear of the test strips!!

Ah, so the carbon that is already in the water, would keep the medication from taking its course.

The carbon shouldnt be in the water, but the water should flow over it when going through the filter, also good timing with the water change