need some advice please

[echoofformless]

Freakin' PetsMart with their aquarium salt. The information cards on their tanks say you need aquarium salt for all kinds of species. Even blue gouramis!

They must be in cahoots with AP - that is the only brand of aquarium salt they carry.

I actually wrote a letter to them regarding that misinformation, along with many other things on those stupid cards. Would you believe they say to keep african cichlids in minimum 20g tanks?

And don't listen to most of the people who work there - they are just random people who go through a basic training and take a little test. They aren't necessarily experienced aquarists who really know what they're talking about. You wouldn't believe some of the crap they have spewed to people and even to me on days when I go there.

Ex - When I went to buy black tetras the girl (a nice girl...nothing against her) asked me who else is in the tank. When I got around to my angel she was like, "Oh they're semi-aggressive. You really shouldn't be putting these community fish in with a semi-aggressive."

So you see, obviously she was just going by her training. Everyone knows that you can have a school of tetras with an angelfish.

Okay rant over. Long story short, listen not to PetsMart. I don't think they should even be selling advanced fish like dwarf puffers or african cichlids.

 

[Newbiepuff]

I have had fish before, not a puffer. I had done reading and thought I had enough infromation...now Im afraid I didnt do everything right....the whole cycle thing? Id never heard of it before, is Gir going to die because I didnt? the PH, amonia and nitrites all all great PH is 7.0 and the a & n are at zero....should I worry, change something? or is it out of my hands now

 

[Steph_D]

If the ammonia and nitrItes start going up, do partial water changes to bring them down again. It'll be a pain, but it'll help. Do you know of anyone with an established aquarium? If so, see if you can borrow one of their dirty filters and swish it around in your tank water. It'll look nasty brown, but that's good and it'll clear up pretty quickly. That'll help to get that good bacteria going fast. Be sure to keep it wet when you move it from their tank. I've always used a ziploc bag with some tank water in it. Good luck!

 

[Newbiepuff]

yes actually my dad has a huge tank in the living room with two dual filters, so I just take the white cartridge and swish it in the water? I checked the levels again today everything is great let me know about the filter thing and Ill do that

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

yep... that'll work kinda... but the bacteria is hard to dislodge. i suggest a handful of the gravel from an established tank put into a stocking and hung over the side.

 

[f8fan]

Is there any way you can cut out some of the filter pad/floss/sponge, etc from your dad's tank's filter and place this in your filter the DP is in? If you do that - wham bam, thank you ma'am, you've got a HUGE cycle jump start... That's where the good bacteria is living.

 

[Newbiepuff]

sweet thanks!!!

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

Is the tank set up and cycled yet?

that was the big question riding in my brain... i am assuming it is not since he has all the questions about salt and such. Nothing wrong with starting out we all do. I would not start with DP though, just because i only see solo in the stores and alot of dead ones in the tank eaten. I would keep the one i suppose and see how it goes but just beginning i would have started with danios or something hardy to get a feel for it. JMO so take it for what it is worth.

 

[Newbiepuff]

that was the big question riding in my brain... i am assuming it is not since he has all the questions about salt and such. Nothing wrong with starting out we all do. I would not start with DP though, just because i only see solo in the stores and alot of dead ones in the tank eaten. I would keep the one i suppose and see how it goes but just beginning i would have started with danios or something hardy to get a feel for it. JMO so take it for what it is worth.

I am a She and this isnt 'al'l new to me, I have a 100 gallon tank in the living room fish have been around here for quite some time. As for the dwarf puffer I had never seen one before and wanted to give it a try, (I couldnt help the cute lil face) my main questions were of the conflict advice I was getting, I just wanted some help with him as for the whole cycle I have never heard of it, our 100 gallon was never "cycled" and my fish have been in there for 4 years + the only death was my 12" pleco that hit his head on the lid glass he had a habit of jumping....just didnt want you to think I was a newbie to fish in general [pic of 100 gallon enclosed]

~~~~*~~~~
2 big kissing fish
2 yellow tail barbs
3 black skirt barbs
5 tiger babrbs
pleco
3 corys
2 blue opaline gouramis

 

[homebunnyj]

as for the whole cycle I have never heard of it, our 100 gallon was never "cycled" and my fish have been in there for 4 years +

Tanks cycle whether we help them along or not. Your 100g cycled, obviously, since your fish are living in it. I bet you guys added fish gradually when you set it up instead of dumping them all in at once, right? Maybe you did more frequent water changes the first month or six weeks? Those two actions allow for the inevitable buildup of ammonia and nitrite to be less stressful on your fish, minimizing chance of fish loss.
However, with a small tank, for instance a ten gallon, the toxic substances build up way faster than in a bigger, lightly stocked tank. That's why people are concerned for your dp.
When I set up my first ten gallon tank a couple of years ago, I had no other tank to 'borrow' bacteria from to jump-start the cycle, so I tested for ammonia every day and did a fifty percent water change whenever it was too high for my fishes' health. I also tested for nitrites and did the same until both those went down to zero. When I had zero ammonia and nitrites and I was getting a reading on the nitrates I knew my tank had a healthy bacterial colony established and went to a regular weekly water change schedule.
I test for nitrates weekly and that's how I know if my water change schedule is good enough. I test for ammonia and nitrites if any fish seems to be having a problem.

Do you have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that you use for your 100g? If so, I highly recommend using them to determine your water quality in the early stages of your puffer tank. If you don't, it'd be a great idea to go get some, to be sure about the cycling of your tank now and to have in case of other issues later.

 

[MissFishy]

That tank looks a lot smaller than a 100g to me? Are you sure it's not a 55? or maybe even a 27? If it's a 55, it is really overstocked with those large fish in there, I hope you are doing frequent water changes.

 

[Newbiepuff]

Do you have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that you use for your 100g?

yes I have the big test kit with ammonia, nitrite, PH and all that jazzy stuff
I tested the water before I got the puffer and I check it daily to make sure hes ok. so far so good

 

[Newbiepuff]

That tank looks a lot smaller than a 100g to me? Are you sure it's not a 55? or maybe even a 27? If it's a 55, it is really overstocked with those large fish in there, I hope you are doing frequent water changes.

uh....I know what size my tank is, it measures 67'H X 64'L X 22W I was there when I picked it out and bought it. so no maybes its 100 gal. Dont mean to sound rude but I feel like I was just called a liar or just plain stupid....

 

[MissFishy]

67'H X 64'L X 22W

Ok, I'm going to assume you meant 67"x64"x22" inches, and not feet.

67x64x22=94336 in3 = 408.38 gal

So the measurements you gave me are for a 408 gallon tank? I'm not doubting you, I simply said it doesn't look like a 100 gal, your measurements don't add up. It may look smaller because your fish are huge?

 

[Newbiepuff]

thats what my dad said it measured, yes my fish are pretty big the kissing fish are around 6 inches long