Okay so, being the newbie I am, I did fish-in cycling (not that I meant to). With the help of a few of you, we decided that even though I was showing no nitrates, that I had finished cycling. I have always shown a reading of 0.25 ammonia (0 nitrite) throughout all of this- even now, and still show no nitrates, no nitrites either.
I did my last water change Thurs 5/22: 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0.25 ammonia before changing. I have also previously tested my tap water to see if it has ammonia- it was 0. Friday & Saturday everyone/thing looked fine. Sunday we were out all day.
Monday am, I got up and both of my guppies were dead. My betta was fine, and my cory cat was barely moving (he's still hanging on though).
I tested my water, and my ammonia was at 1.0 (0 nitrite & nitrate still). Obviously, they died of ammonia poisoning. I just didn't understand where all the ammonia was coming from.
So, I prepared for a water change. Typically I leave the decor and plastic plants in the tank and just move the decor and vacuum around the plants. Yesterday I decided to take out the plants and decor and vacuum all the gravel really well. I thought I did a pretty good job as it was. Apparently not. My gravel was full of old food and poo. It was disgusting. I also took the filter off and rinsed it out with clean conditioned tank water. I'm not sure if it was the best thing to do, but I continued to vacuum the gravel and added clean conditioned water as I did so. I took out about 8 gallons of water.
Okay, does anyone know how my gravel got so gross? I don't.
I feed my betta about 4-5 granules a day. I fed the guppies a sprinkle of flakes every other day, and I would drop in a 1/4 of an algae wafer every 2-3 days for the guppies and cory. If anything, I have always felt like I was starving my fish.
All my plants are plastic. I've never really had an algae problem. I had 2 male guppies, my cory cat, my betta.
I do water changes twice a week, and before I do, I test my water. I most always show .25 ammonia, sometimes .50; 0 nitrite; 0 nitrate.
I honestly thought that I was being pretty thorough with my gravel vacuuming. My water has always stayed pretty clear.
I think my filter totally sucks. Of course, I bought it a couple years back from WalMart and it was a complete cheapo so you get what you pay for.
Anyone understand how my gravel can get so gross? I'm at a loss and I don't want this to happen again, or with my new tank. Thanks for reading.
I did my last water change Thurs 5/22: 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0.25 ammonia before changing. I have also previously tested my tap water to see if it has ammonia- it was 0. Friday & Saturday everyone/thing looked fine. Sunday we were out all day.
Monday am, I got up and both of my guppies were dead. My betta was fine, and my cory cat was barely moving (he's still hanging on though).
I tested my water, and my ammonia was at 1.0 (0 nitrite & nitrate still). Obviously, they died of ammonia poisoning. I just didn't understand where all the ammonia was coming from.
So, I prepared for a water change. Typically I leave the decor and plastic plants in the tank and just move the decor and vacuum around the plants. Yesterday I decided to take out the plants and decor and vacuum all the gravel really well. I thought I did a pretty good job as it was. Apparently not. My gravel was full of old food and poo. It was disgusting. I also took the filter off and rinsed it out with clean conditioned tank water. I'm not sure if it was the best thing to do, but I continued to vacuum the gravel and added clean conditioned water as I did so. I took out about 8 gallons of water.
Okay, does anyone know how my gravel got so gross? I don't.
I feed my betta about 4-5 granules a day. I fed the guppies a sprinkle of flakes every other day, and I would drop in a 1/4 of an algae wafer every 2-3 days for the guppies and cory. If anything, I have always felt like I was starving my fish.
All my plants are plastic. I've never really had an algae problem. I had 2 male guppies, my cory cat, my betta.
I do water changes twice a week, and before I do, I test my water. I most always show .25 ammonia, sometimes .50; 0 nitrite; 0 nitrate.
I honestly thought that I was being pretty thorough with my gravel vacuuming. My water has always stayed pretty clear.
I think my filter totally sucks. Of course, I bought it a couple years back from WalMart and it was a complete cheapo so you get what you pay for.
Anyone understand how my gravel can get so gross? I'm at a loss and I don't want this to happen again, or with my new tank. Thanks for reading.