What A Nice Man...

[willowstwin]

So, I visited an lfs (well, a 40 mimnute drive away but highly reccommended) and I was explaining to the owner about my problems (cloudyness, being scared to dose with ammonia, etc).

So he gave me a bag of poo... fish poo... it was a bag of the decaying matter from the bottom of his tank. He said with me being scared to ammonia dose (and with most lfs's around here, they don't agree with it) that sticking natural bacteria food in there was my best bet. He also agreed that the bottles of "bacteria" sold by pet shops dont work. He told me to take a water sample in in a week so that he could check it too, and if he didnt think I was suitable, he wouldnt sell me fish

He said zebra danios are hardy, so if in a week I wanted to add some fish, they would be a good choice, and that I could take them back and swap them for the fish I do want when my tank is fully established.

He was very helpful... even if he did give me a bag of "poo" hehe

 

[StandbySetting]

The bag of 'poo' which is more than likely mulm will contain a large amount of beneficial bacteria, empty the contents over your filter and dose with ammonia, it will speed up your cycle some what, if you don't want to dose ammonia then a fish in cycle or silent cycle is your only other option really.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

They dont agree with adding ammonia becuase they dont fully understand thats it better or they want you to keep going back after the fish die or suffer from ammonia if your not 100% commited to water changes?

 

[willowstwin]

I dont mind water changes. I think it's part and parcel of owning a pet that you do the leg work to keep it clean and happy. It's like I always say about dog owners - don't get a dog if you're not prepared to pick up it's poop!

plus, back and forth with buckets of water will keep me fit

 

[Wills]

I dont understand why are you against adding bottled ammonia?

 

[willowstwin]

Im not against it... it's because I know if you add too much it promotes the wrong kind of bacteria. and adding too much would be as simple as water changes.... but that's not simple for me because of the location of the nearest tap to my tank....

I could only afford a dip strip testing kit for the mean time until payday, and they're not majorly accurate.

This man was not about the money or making a quick sale. He stated that if he wasn't sure I was right, or that I wasn't confident enough, he wouldn't sell me fish. He also could've sold me different expensive water treatments or additives, which are unnecessary and cost a fortune, but he didnt. His fish were all healthy and all the tanks were clean. He has experience and the display tanks he had set up ( ya know, the "not for sale, display purposes only" tanks) were immaculate. He even had a marine one with clown fish and allsorts in it.

He was reccommended to me by people on this site, who said he had a beautiful collection and was very knowledgable, so I trust peoples experiences. In talking to the man, he didn't try to blag me with products, and he didn't poopoo the ammonia adding method, he just said he didnt' agree with doing it, and understood my nervousness. Hence why he suggested trying some natural decomposing material (as I'd told him about the mature media in my filter).

I added the bag of "poo" 5 hours ago and the cloudyness I was suffering with is nearly all cleared... it's amazing the difference in the water!

 

[StandbySetting]

The poo you added is worse than adding ammonia, at least with ammonia you can be sure of the concentration you're adding, where as with poo you can't.

 

[Randi]

Glad you found a good LFS, they are hard to come by. Good luck with your poo!

 

[BigbruiserAl]

What i dont understand which not fault of yours is what is there not to agree on adding ammonia lol

As long as you use the calc on how to much to add(4-5ppm) the right bacteria will grow and the fish have a better water when done as it will fully support their bio load. The wong bacteria will form only if you dont follow the guide and the ammonia id approx 8ppm+

Maybe standby or WP can correct me on the ppm for the wrong sort of bacteria growth?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Good for you..... Hope you invited him to be a member here.... we can use helpful/knowledgable people on this forum....

 

[willowstwin]

he was very nice though... even if he doesn't agree with some methods here - if his method works for him, why should he fix something tht isn't broken? He wasn't the usual annoying BS'er where they blag you, talking at a million miles an hour until the next thing you know you're standing outside the shop with a bag of stuff you don't actually need and an empty wallet thinking "how the hell did I get here?!" ... all he did was give me what he thought was right (which was free), told me to come back for a FREE water test in a week so he could show me what I was looking for and so he knew my water was safe for the fish he would sell me. Now, bearing in mind that this man had never seen me before in his life, I don't have any obligation to go back to him, especially seeing as I live a 40 minute drive away (in good traffic), and he could quite easily have sent me away with lots of fish that wouldve died. But he didnt. He also talked to the fish in a very nice manner (I know they don't hear him nor understand but it's something I do, and he even knew the temperaments of some of his personal - not for sale - fish) and it just showed he cared for them.

I know you all swear by ammonia dosing, but just as you know this works, he knows his methods works, so why are either of you wrong?

As I said with the dosing, I only have a dip strip testing kit which isn't very accurate, but it was all I could afford until next months payday. So I'm trying to get as many different points of view as possibly as to what is best for ME. Please remember I'm completely new to this hobby (apart from a fair goldfish I won when I was 9 that lasted 3 years in a tank with no filter, no leaving it to cycle, no dechlorinator, just tap water, weekly to fortnightly water changes and bog standard flake food - and he was a healthy happy fish), and all this information, especially when you have lots of people writing about how they do this or do that, it's very confusing... should I be putting ammonia in my tank? or dead shrimp? or bacon? or fish poo? or fish food? or just a couple of fish at a time...? Some people don't write clearly, or there are 2 threads on the same topic saying different things. I'd rather talk to people face to face, but that's not always possible (especially in this town where lfs's are pretty much none-existant and fish owners must hide in the wood work).

This man seemed genuinely nice, and helpful, wasn't tryin to make a sale, and was just doing what has worked for him. I'll take my water to him next week, and see what he thinks. I just hope people on here won't judge regardless of what I choose to do... I like it on these forums, but just as lfs's are so anti ammonia, I wish you guys weren't so anti other methods... you all seem to forget what it's like to be new and absolutely clueless

 

[BigbruiserAl]

There is no right or wrong way, but when most people advise of adding ammonia does that not tell you something? Just me alone have cycled over 6 tanks which are in A1 condition with this method. The store keeper may be nice but i assume he is older and thats the way people used to do cycle back then, ask him the reasons why he wont add ammonia i would love to hear it and he might even teach us something? The hooby has moved on there are better, safer less stressfull ways now (fishless cycle).
Alot of people on here disagree with the fish in cycle for one reason not beacuse of their love for ammonia its cruel now that there is option to avoid it. IMO a fish keeper who puts himself before the fish should not keep fish but thats just my 2p.
I hate to add but that goldfish was not happy and healthy they can live up to 40years (NOT a dig at at all your were 9) but you can see how learning whats best for the fish will make them live longer and often they show terrific colours etc when there at their best.

Any way im sure you will research some more nad make a decent choice

 

[raptorrex]

They dont agree with adding ammonia becuase they dont fully understand thats it better or they want you to keep going back after the fish die or suffer from ammonia if your not 100% commited to water changes?

they dont agree with fishleess cycling because it makes the sell less fish! because you kill less.

lol,"promoters the wrong sort of bacteria". what rubbish.

far from being a "good" LFS. this one should be avoided. its fine to want to do an 'in fish cycle" but not lie as to why.

honestly OP, find a new place to buy your gear/stock.. this man is no good.

 

[hanny93]

They dont agree with adding ammonia becuase they dont fully understand thats it better or they want you to keep going back after the fish die or suffer from ammonia if your not 100% commited to water changes?

they dont agree with fishleess cycling because it makes the sell less fish! because you kill less.

lol,"promoters the wrong sort of bacteria". what rubbish.

far from being a "good" LFS. this one should be avoided. its fine to want to do an 'in fish cycle" but not lie as to why.

honestly OP, find a new place to buy your gear/stock.. this man is no good.

dont think it should be avoided, especially if the owner seems to be fairly knowledgable about his stock, only visited with caution.

 

[Miles_hot]

Raptor - I thought our own guidance mentions that if you go above 5ppm you get the wrong sort?