Starter help!
- Thread starter SKSands
- Start date
What kind of tetra? Tetras are shoaling fish and do not act 'normal' if alone in most cases.
Curious, why did you add more fish if the tank was not completely cycled?
Are you sure it is not the nitrates that are very high, and ammonia and nitrite a little high? 'Very high' nitrites will kill fish quickly. What are the actual numbers of the readings? Opinions about 'a little high' or 'very high' vary from person to person.
Curious, why did you add more fish if the tank was not completely cycled?
Are you sure it is not the nitrates that are very high, and ammonia and nitrite a little high? 'Very high' nitrites will kill fish quickly. What are the actual numbers of the readings? Opinions about 'a little high' or 'very high' vary from person to person.
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UPDATE: did a 50% water change this morning, before the morning feeding and the daily dosage of prime and Stability. also, the tetra nipped a small bit of the guppies tail off. Took the tetra back, and asked a few questions. it's just my little guppy now, he seems so lonely. the water tested slighty better that yesterday, but i still havn't been able to find a tester. i might just mail order one. ammonia and nitrates are at acceptable levels, but nitrite is still high. i'm going to keep dosing the tank with prime and stability. i do about .25-.3 mL of stability and about less that .1 mL of prime daily, every morning. should i step up the dosage/ammount, or decrease it? Also, should i be on the lookout for fin rot? i know that it can happen after a fish's fins have been damaged.
EDIT: I managed to snap a higher res picture, remember to right click, and open it in a new tab
EDIT: I managed to snap a higher res picture, remember to right click, and open it in a new tab
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If you have a 'calibrated' dropper syringe, why not dose it correctly at 1ml per 10 gallons? To detoxify nitrite, you need to add aeration and overdose 5x.
Two drops per gallon is what is listed on my smaller bottle of Prime (I use it due to the dropper top, and refill it with my 2liter bottle). 10 drops in a 5 gallon bucket for water changes is pretty easy to do.
Two drops per gallon is what is listed on my smaller bottle of Prime (I use it due to the dropper top, and refill it with my 2liter bottle). 10 drops in a 5 gallon bucket for water changes is pretty easy to do.
I agree here. Detoxifying nitrite is a short-term 'solution' and the underlying problem must be addressed. If I had any measurable nitrite, I would follow Prime's instructions to detoxify it, followed by 50% water changes every few hours until it tests no nitrite.
I've used it when we had a power outage that lasted 4 days during a heat wave (temps over 100). It destroyed my biofilters. We had to use battery powered 'bait bucket' air pumps to keep the water oxygenated. Somehow, after all that, we lost only one fish in 8 tanks. Ammonia ranged from 20-40 ppm with nitrite 5ppm.
Once the lights were back on (fish room was in a basement with no windows), the plants helped soak up the ammonia and nitrite, and Prime took up the slack. I had to trim a lot of plants that had died back with no light, but what was left worked overtime to clean the water!
I've used it when we had a power outage that lasted 4 days during a heat wave (temps over 100). It destroyed my biofilters. We had to use battery powered 'bait bucket' air pumps to keep the water oxygenated. Somehow, after all that, we lost only one fish in 8 tanks. Ammonia ranged from 20-40 ppm with nitrite 5ppm.
Once the lights were back on (fish room was in a basement with no windows), the plants helped soak up the ammonia and nitrite, and Prime took up the slack. I had to trim a lot of plants that had died back with no light, but what was left worked overtime to clean the water!
Sounds like a nightmare OC. So far in my fish keeping days we've only had a power outage for about 12 hours (hurricane Sandy). Sorry Sksands for the hijack, but you know what would be a good thread or article here... a "preppers guide to fishkeeping". You know incase of a power failure situation, or if you happen to survive the apocalypse and still want a nano reef tank or something like that?
UPDATE: Did my 2nd 50% water change today, and made it easier on myself by using a 5gal bucket washed out with vinegar and water. i figure wal-mart buckets to be safe, but rather safe than dead fish. on the topic of dead fish, i found my guppy wedged up between the filter intake and a spiky plant, dead. me thinks he swam too close to the intake, and couldn't get out. so when i did my 50% today, i remodeled the aquarium so that the intake is completely unblocked. should i go ahead and get another guppy? or does the cycle the way it is now need more fish? i want to kill as few fish as possible, the poor things. 
so, I HAS A BUCKET!!!
EDIT: any derail is acceptable if it includes bacon. on an off topic, grandfather's buddy raises hogs, slaughters them, and smokes his own bacon...best thing ever tasted.
so, I HAS A BUCKET!!!
EDIT: any derail is acceptable if it includes bacon. on an off topic, grandfather's buddy raises hogs, slaughters them, and smokes his own bacon...best thing ever tasted.
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