Tank Help

[fishkers]

Okay so I have a 10 gallon tank with a heater and a filter system. I used to have 4 Sunset Dwarf Platys, 2 Sunset Platys, 2 Panda Corys, and 1 Julii Cory. Well they all died due to Nitrate poisening about 2 or 3 weeks ago. So I cleaned out my tank and started over this time keeping tabs on water tests. I got 2 panda corys, 1 albino cory, 1 spotted cory to start my cycle. My cycle hasn't set yet so my ammonia fluxes but i don't let it get over .25 nitries are a smidge high and nitrates are a smidge high but not a major concern. Also I have a Frill Plant in the tank.

This morning I woke up to find that my 2 Panda Corys have body fungus. I of course did a water change and treated the whole tank with maracyn. The frill plant was decaying because it had died and so i removed that. What would you recommend that I do because I seem to be having great difficulty with getting my tank going!? I mean i'm getting frustrated.

Another question is: Could the decaying Frill Plant have started fungus in the tank and the panda corys picked that up? What would you recommend that I do to get my tank going properly?



Note: Before my platys died one left me with 8 fry that i'm caring for and they are in a 1.5 gallon tank now (no problems with them! Thank GOD) and they will be needing to move into the 10 gallon in a month and a half or so

Please any help would be greatly appreciated, i just don't know what to do anymore.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I suggest taking the cories back to the LFS and getting a few Zebra Danios. They can usually be found at any good pet store and are EXTREMELY hardy fish. Cories on teh other hand, aren't. Panda cories in particular are known for being delicate. An even better option would be to do a fishless cycle. There's a guide in the pinned topics. It's nicer to the fish, and it's really easy.

 

[Canis-Equus]

Echo that - fishless cycle. Might be boring but it doesnt kill fish. Sorry.

 

[erk628]

Echo that - fishless cycle. Might be boring but it doesnt kill fish. Sorry.

Ummm, panda corys in a uncycled tank very bad idea. Panda corys are very sensitive to water conditions. So basically thats why there in the condition there in. You need to take them back. Also do a fishless cycle, and please research fish before you buy them this could have saved these corys, now it may be to late for them. I hope they pull through, keep us updated on there conditon.

 

[fishkers]

erk628 "Also do a fishless cycle, and please research fish before you buy them this could have saved these corys, now it may be to late for them." Thank you for pointing out my flaws and making me feel bad and by the way i refuse to do a fishless cycle because I don't think that is a very good way.

Sorry about the improper quote i'm not quite sure how things work around here yet.

 

[Tolak]

Don't feel bad, you aren't doing anything different or worse than I or anyone else here has done at first. Most everyone starts with too many/the wrong fish, cleans filters with tap water, doesn't use dechlor, the list of things is endless, my personal list is. Like anything else there is a learning curve with aquatics, and it seems somewhat steep at first.

Panda corys are a sensitive fish to be cycling with, if you want to cycle with fish the general guideline is one inch of hardy slim bodied fish with a maximum adult size of 3 inches, per 5 gallons of water. This generally means a couple of zebra danios, platys or guppys for a 10 gallon.

Fishless cycling is relatively new, everyone used to cycle with fish. Fishless cycling does have the advantages of not having to do daily water changes, and not risking damage to fish from ammonia & nitrite. The fish you need for cycling may not be the sort of fish you want to keep long term. You can also start with a full bio load once the tank has cycled. It is a very good way of cycling a tank.

The biggest problem with fishless cycling is that you have to look at an empty tank while it cycles. I would get used to this, one thing aquatics will teach you is patience. You should be doing tests on a cycling tank with fish or without, so that doesn't matter.

Either way it's a personal choice, but if you cycle with fish you need to do it with the right type & quantity of fish to have any success.