Initial Ammonia cycle

[nanu156]

yeah your bacteria colony just wasn't large enough to support the number of fish you had you still need to get rid of the ghost knife fish asap

while water changes and dechlor can contribute to ammonia in a small way your issues is not the water changes (the changes also slow the cycle) the trouble is you have fish trying to live in poison water that being said the water changes aren't really optional

 

[IThinkTherefore]

BTW, I've been showing nitrates the whole way along. My tank appeared to be cycled for a few weeks until this enormous ammonia spike appeared. So as of now my tank reads:

Ammonia - 4
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 5 (low because of the daily water changes)

Can nitrate production happen without the necessary bacteria breaking down ammonia and nitrites?

Your tank is cycled - nitrates are being produced by bacteria breaking down ammonia and nitrites. However, it is impossible for the bacteria to break down as much ammonia as is being produced by your fish.

What you're doing now is only a temporary measure. The tank can't balance out until these guys:

Pictus Cat
Rainbow Shark
Cuvier Bichir
2x Black Ghost Knife
2X Clown Loach

are rehomed.

There are so many great options you have with such a large tank! We can help you find alternatives that will look awesome while not forcing you to do massive water changes twice a day

 

[nanu156]

Your tank is cycled - nitrates are being produced by bacteria breaking down ammonia and nitrites. However, it is impossible for the bacteria to break down as much ammonia as is being produced by your fish.

What you're doing now is only a temporary measure. The tank can't balance out until these guys:

Pictus Cat
Rainbow Shark
Cuvier Bichir
2x Black Ghost Knife
2X Clown Loach

are rehomed.

There are so many great options you have with such a large tank! We can help you find alternatives that will look awesome while not forcing you to do massive water changes twice a day

yeah he is right on the rehome list while i am really focused on the murderous ghost knife that entire list is bad news

i think he just added too many fish and caused a mini cycle though for the ammonia id bet the fish are all still juveniles thus they increased the bioload but at current sizes are not too much for the tank

honestly return them for a refund now because in a couple weeks you will be stuck giving them away to the lfs

 

[haricots]

I appreciate the advice. So how long do you figure the blacklisted fish will outgrow my tank? They are all currently juveniles. I can't return the rainbow shark or the birchir - I've had them for 6 months or longer. I'll probably end up returning the black ghosts and the clown loaches in the next couple of days. Too bad, as these are really cool fish. I'm undecided about the pictus. I can see myself getting a bigger tank in a few more years if necessary but if you tell me that they will be full grown in the next year or so .... yikes.

BTW, I'm not overly worried about getting money back, just having happy fish and of course less maintenance for me. Water changes, water testing everyday is a PITA.

 

[IThinkTherefore]

The rainbow shark isn't the worst one, and should be okay, though territorial.

A bichir could grow to be 16 inches "within months" according to this:
Dinosaur Fish (Bichir) Care Sheet - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com
The cuvier bichir should grow to be about a foot and will need a 100gal tank:
Fish Index: Cuvier Bichir (Polypterus senegalus)
Although I don't know any specifics as far as growth rate.

As far as the pictus, it prefers to be in groups, and I guess the most important concern with it is having enough room - it's extremely active, doesn't need a ton of gallons but most sites recommend at least 48", so if your tank is that large, no problemo
Pictus Cat (Pimelodus pictus) - Seriously Fish
Pictus cat Profile, Pimelodus pictus care and upkeep with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish

 

[IThinkTherefore]

Okay, I'm playing with aqadvisor.

If you have

1x Senegal Bichir
2x Angelfish
1x Rainbow Shark
4x Bronze Cory
1x Pictus Catfish

It says:

Note: Rainbow Shark may jump - lids are recommended.

Recommended temperature range: 25 - 26 C. [Display in Farenheit]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.



Recommended water change schedule: 25% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 94%. [Generate Image]


With your current stocking:

Note: Rainbow Shark may jump - lids are recommended.
Note: Black Ghost Knife Fish only eats live or frozen foods, no flakes. Need a well planted tank with lots of hiding places.
Warning: Black Ghost Knife Fish is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 18 inches.
Note: Clown Loach may pretend to be dead at times.
Warning: Clown Loach is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 12 inches.
Warning: At least 5 x Clown Loach are recommended in a group.
Warning: At least 4 x Bronze Cory are recommended in a group.


Recommended temperature range: 25 - 26 C. [Display in Farenheit]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.



Recommended water change schedule: 69% per week. (You might want to split this water change schedule to two separate 44% per week)
Your aquarium stocking level is 208%.
Your tank is seriously overstocked. Unless this setup is temporary, you should consider a larger tank. [Generate Image]

 

[nanu156]

yeah they grow pretty fast

the problem with the knife is that they have electric currents and they need to be feed fancy food not flakes he is also going to start munching your other fish

what happens when a fish is in a small tank is that their bodies stop growing while their guts continue to grow this causes them a painful death eventually so being in your tank is already stunting their bodies but their organs are still going

kuhuli loaches have the eel ish shape and stay small they would be good for your tank (maybe replace the bichar with them)

there is another catfish that looks like the pictus cat but stays much smaller they are really cute as they swimm wobbly and upside down and are always in search of something to rub their bellies on my brain cant conjure up their name at the moment but i will repost when i can remember

oh oh oh thanks wikipedia Synodontis petricola sometimes called petricola cats really cool they like groups and will act all silly for you

i havent kept a rainbow (red tailed shark) in may years i dont remember mine being too much of a pain and i dont think a solitary fish that reaches a max of seven inches is problematic

so yeah the dump list are:

knife fish
loaches
bichar
pictus cat

i would replace the pictus with petchacola and the bichar with kuhli loaches maybe the clown loach with a yoyo loach then get some more angels instead of the knife fish

my biggest issue is for the knife fish their personalities are beyond aggressive they need live food they are electric and they get huge

 

[haricots]

The two black ghost knife fish are gone. They are back at Big Al's. I'll certainly miss them ....

Interestingly enough I explained my current ammonia problem with one of the guys who works there. He tested the water that I transported my fish in - it only showed 0.5 ammonia and 0 nitrites. I tested the water with my API test kit before I left and it was registering around 4ppm. What the hell?

Anyway, I bought one of the suggested Seachem ammonia disks. It says to leave it for a couple of days for an accurate reading.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

How did he test the water? Liquid or strips? Are you sure you are following the directions to the letter witht API kit?

 

[haricots]

He tested with strips. Could there be that much of a discrepancy?

I re-read (again) the API test instructions and I am following them correctly - 5ml of water in the tube, 8 drops of Ammonia #1, 8 drops of Ammonia #2, shake for 5 seconds, let sit for 5 min.

 

[nanu156]

yeah the strips are pure garbage there can be that much of a discrepancy

we had someone on here reading zero across the board and they couldn't figure out why they were not cycling when they finally tested with liquid the numbers were entirely different

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

I think you answered your own question.....Yes they are notoriously wrong. Keep up with the water changes, you are on the right track!

 

[haricots]

My ammonia levels appear to be dropping slightly but not as fast I would hope. I did buy the Seachem Ammonia Alert device and it is consistently showing 'alert' status which is not good. This is still despite 50% water changes and ammo chips and Ammo-Lock. F*cking hell this is frustrating. My fish still appear to be fine which is dumbfounding. Their activity is slightly subdued but there are no physical signs of ammonia poisoning.

 

[nanu156]

I would stop using the chips and the lock, just keep changing the water, i would be doing a 50% change daily if it were me (25%am 25%pm) while you wait it out.

I know it's frustrating

 

[haricots]

Turned out to be my bloody piece of driftwood! I removed it, a week later ammonia is 0. I had a small nitrite spike for a couple of days and it is now at zero. This took 8 weeks - I lost two fish in the process. Everyone is much happier now too!

 

[IThinkTherefore]

Wow! Congrats on figuring that out!