Water Cycling

[Bailz]

hi i'm new to fishkeeping and want some advice on water cycling i have lost 2 neon tetra in last 3 days ihave tested my water wi a dip stick test n all seems fine please help me dont want to loose any more cheers BAILZ

 

[mwood2]

chances are your in for a "fishin" cycle. Dip sticks tend to be in accurate and nothing beats a liquid based test kit.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355

The above will explain the cycling process and will give you good info on whats going on in your tank. Neons also tend to be one of the worst choices for a new tank since they are extreamly sensitive to there surroundings. any amount of ammonia/nitrite will have them dropping like flies. They are recommended for tanks setup for close to half a year since the are well established and dont change in condition. If you no longer have any fish in your tank I would recommend a fishless cycle. If they only recently died you may be able to save yourself some time on the cycle even.

 

[onebto]

Hello Bailz welcome to TFF

Sorry to hear of your loss

Did you cycle your tank before adding your fish?

Those dip stick tests may not be giving you a very good idea of your water stats I consider them next to useless but this is only my humble opinion .

A lot of people round here prefer the API fresh water master test kit I have one they are very good considered quite accurate and they last an age you can get them on ebay at a very competitive price.

You mentioned that you are new to fish keeping so I would recommend this link to you it is this forums Beginners Resource centre there a lot of very good articles that will arm you with some very sound advice on looking after and setting up an aquarium correctly: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=277264
To help those here that can help you with identifying the cause of a problem in the future and suggest a course of action, I recommend that you post some more information the more the merrier :

Ideally: Size of tank (volume), Type of filtration(e.g internal or external filter make and model), Type and number of fish you have (also known as stocking)

Water stats : PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and water temperature.

History of the effected fish: Where they fine and one morning you came and found them dead or did they have odd symptoms for a day or week before they passed did you notice any abnormality's on the fish. Also it helps to supply pictures (i know you have probably got rid of your dead fish already but for futures sake and I really hope you do not have to heed this advice) decent close up pictures of sick fish in particular pictures of any abnormality's that you have concern for.

I hope this will help you I know the link will if you give those articles some time

Regards onebto