Betta tank progress... Real plants, hammock, few fish

LauraLeigh

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#1
I've had the tank tested and the tolerances are good now, I added the tetras and Cory's (sp?) and two live plants, one silk, along with a hammock

I have some danios and ghost shrimp coming next week... And if young son hasn't printed my background by then I'll make or buy one myself

Going to give it a week from the last fish added then get my boy....

 

Saintgirl

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#2
That's pretty quick for a cycle. They usually take 4-8 weeks when doing a fishless cycle. Right now you will be good and the fish you have in there will certainly help the cycle along but if I were you I would wait before adding anything else. While your water may test ok right now it is when the filters need to be doing their jobs with the added fish waste now in the water that your levels are going to get funky (the proper bacteria in your filters has NOT had a chance to reach proper levels- even with water added from another running tank). Keep testing your water and be on the watch for rising nitrites and ammonia. Be prepared to do some big (like 50%) water changes. Small tanks are so much harder to balance during cycles and adding the fish and it sounds like you want to stock your tank pretty full pretty quick. Patience will pay off in the long run. Remember that the rule of thumb for your freshwater community tank is 1 inch per gallon. So a tank at full capacity will be 10 1 inch fish in a 10 gallon aquarium, but I prefer to leave a little extra room and personally wouldn't exceed 8 inches in a 10 leaving room for after a betta (2 Inches) only room for 7 more inches! If you want your betta to thrive your tank won't be ready for him for a few more weeks at minimum. The good news is that the cycle will be faster now because you are doing a fish cycle oppossed to a fishless one.
 

LauraLeigh

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#3
I'm only going on the advice I'm being given, my ammonia level was good, and with the partial water from the other tank helping out I was told I was good?

I'm not trying to rush, in fact lol I thought I was being patient, last time I had a tank I waited 48 hours and added all my fish (ironically I only lost one fish, and was totally clueless) I know better than that now, tanks been running for about a week and a half... I can wait longer to get my boy if that's better... Still can't find a source other than petsmart for him and not sure I want to go there.. My others have all come from my friend whose water I am using
 
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#5
Did you add ammonia? A fishless cycle you would add ammonia everyday and then wait for those to zero out (while adding). Then the nitrites go up, then level out....all while adding ammonia. Or when you use fish, same cycle happens but you have to be very careful to watch that the fish dont stress.

If you didnt cycle adding ammonia, I personally would go ahead and add some safestart. Its not as good as a real cycle but definitely can help.

Neons and cories tend to be pretty sensitive to ammonia so keep an eye out.
 
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#6
The thing is, water from another tank really doesnt have much of the good bacteria. There is a very minimal amount. Most is in the filter...if you can get some filter media from a running tank that would help a ton...or even some gravel would help "seed" the tank.
 

Xandra

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#7
The ammonia level isn't important at this point... brand new water is going to be nice and clean and have ammonia of ~0ppm.

The thing is, is as soon as you put fish in, they're going to start polluting the water and you want the 2 types of bacteria needed to convert ammonia->nitrite->nitrate to be plentiful at that point. If your water has no nitrate, that indicates your bacteria populations aren't established yet and the ammonia is going to stay ammonia and build up in the water.

Try not to worry about it, but test your water frequently. Yes, the water from the other tank should help things along (though most bacteria lives on gravel/filter sponge/glass vs floating around in the water so you may not have gotten as much as you'd thought).

As far as getting the betta, I would just go to Petsmart if that's all you can find. Shipping one is pricey and I'd imagine fairly risky at this time of year in ON.
 

Saintgirl

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#8
It's addictive! I feel like I live in an aquarium sometimes with the amount of fish in my house.

Adding the water from your friends tank will speed things up a bit but in order for it to really make a difference s/he would have had to given you biofilter from their own filter with an already established bacteria colony. Gravel from another tank will work too but not as good as filter material. You need the bacteria in the filter to help keep your nitrite and ammonia levels at 0 and water from another tank does not carry nearly the bacteria needed as do other ways.

Especially in a small tank is this important. Many hobbiest do not recommend under 20 gallons for a starter tank because your water levels are so much harder to control.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

There are some really great fish forums out there that have GREAT tips that even lurking them will give you better explainations than I ever could! Have fun!
 

LauraLeigh

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#9
One of the plants was his, and he did put something in my filter, he was puttering around and I did not watch close, he gave me a little bottle to add 1/4 teaspoon if daily...

He really has been doing everything including giving me fish... That's why I may wait on the Betta, he doesn't have any Betta and I'm liking the way the tank looks and think if I add some Danios the tank will be full...

So I may get another for my boy and have just him, and maybe some shrimp in it...
 
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#10
Be careful with bettas and shrimp....some get along great...others eat them all. My daughters newest betta decimated all the cherry AND amano shrimp within like a day :/

But yes, fish tanks are SOOO fun!
 
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#12
Can be, all depends on the betta. Amanos are bigger than ghost and were eaten by mine. Really, no harm in trying as long as yo dont mind likely loosing the shrimp:)

My other betta lived with cherry shrimp) just fine
 

CharlieDog

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#15
That is SO very cute!!

I just had to break my 48 gallon down. I got some sort of parasite, and I still don't know what it was, but it wasn't responding to the stuff that's supposed to get rid of it. It murdered all my fish anyway, so I wasn't about to add more, even though EVERY level in the tank was fine.

Let me tell you, it is a bitch to get 48 gallons OUT of a tank, and nearly 40 pounds of sand off the bottom. But I did, and I bleached ALL THE THINGS, so if/when I do set it back up for fish (which I probably won't) everything will be okay for them.

Currently, I'm considering a Crested Gecko instead lol.
 

frostfell

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#17
I want a bearded dragon some day ... I heard they were a good reptile for newbies
They are, but they have some funky lighting and nutritional requirements. Leopard gecko or crested gecko are a better choice, if you care for their look. I <3<3<3<3<3 Crested geckos and their lil curly toes <3
 

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