clownfish question!!!!!!!!??????????

[clownfish83]

so today i went and picked up 2 true percula clownfish both about medium size the guy was parting out his tank so i took his rock sand and fish well i had a 26g aquarium that i was gonna put them in just for about 3 weeks until my 80g was ready...well the filter wouldnt work for the 26 so i had to put them in my 48 that still has 1 week maybe less to go of cycling im getting a filter tomorow though and hooking everything up to the 26g will they be ok for 24hrs in my tank????? it was either that or they were gonna sufficate in their bag i just fed them not to long ago and they ate good and my 3 damsels dont seem to be bothering them will they be ok till tomorow in my 48 i should i maybe expect dead fishies in the morning

 

[clownfish83]

oh and i just did a water change yesterday and my nitrites are still way high!!!! but 0 amonia and the nitrates are "ok"

 

[clownfish83]

ohh and no the clownfish will not be living in the 26 just gonna put them there until my 80g is ready about 3 weeks or so maybe less

 

[specvjeff]

Clownfish are pretty tolerant of poor water quality. They should be just fine. You can probably just leave them in there and not worry about moving them to the smaller tank. If the Damsels are doing OK, they should too.

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[rajkovich207]

Watch their gills and breathing, that's your first clue, and watch your trites I had my cycle stall on me because they got too high. I used Dr Tim's one and only though.

 

[clownfish83]

thank you they are all still living thank god!! i was up until 4am checking on them every 5 min and im not going to transfer them into the smaller tank i am going to start my 80gallon today for them

 

[clownfish83]

yea my nitrites are still a little on the high side but my ph is "ok" i have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrates

 

[ReeferBob]

If your nitrites are high, your cycle is not done. Nitrites come right after (and during) the ammonia stage. Your cycle is about 1/2 way through. Nitrates are next. You should not be putting any fish in that tank.

 

[petco]

hey bob, wonder if you can answer me this; in his situation with the 0 ammonia, high nitrite and low nitrate would he be able to add a nitrifying bacteria supplement such as bio-spira or biozyme? after a 20% water change and the addition of the extra bacteria it should finish his cycle off fairly quick don't you think? and then with all those nitrite turning to nitrate he would just perform another partial and it would be fish friendly.

 

[fragmatic]

Adding a bacteria, fish, rocks, sand, etc can cause a cycle alone. IMO, adding more or different bacteria at this point is not a good idea. The cycle is in progress let it reach a balance.

 

[petco]

so what is there like different strains of nitrifying bacteria? and if you don't add the exact same strain that you have cycling the tank already it could throw off the balance? is that what you're saying

 

[fragmatic]

The following is my own opinion.

I am saying every tank is different. If the tank is in process of balancing and you even add a bunch of the same bacteria you can throw it off. For example, for several weeks I increased my feeding to my fish, and my coral, and the amount of phyto slowly so I could "feed my tank" more. I had to do it slow or I could of crashed my tank, I had to grow a larger crop of bacteria. I wanted to grow that larger crop of bacteria. Now if I was to cut way back on that feeding quantity I could starve my new crop of bacteria and their deaths could cycle or crash the tank. This is why we work so hard to be consistent and steady, is why you don't add a bunch of fish in all at once. Adding bacteria any time is a serious eco change to a tank, removing bacteria form a tank is a serious change. It is about eco balance. Just adding a few bio-pellets will cloud your tank, and they are not much more than pieces of carbon. By increasing my feeding volume slowly, I increased my bacteria naturally. In my opinion this is how you add bacteria after your first cycle. Unless you want to add a new specified strain, then you had better do it slowly. It is a whole different story when you start with a virgin tank with no life, that is when you do add bacteria if you want.

 

[ReeferBob]

hey bob, wonder if you can answer me this; in his situation with the 0 ammonia, high nitrite and low nitrate would he be able to add a nitrifying bacteria supplement such as bio-spira or biozyme? after a 20% water change and the addition of the extra bacteria it should finish his cycle off fairly quick don't you think? and then with all those nitrite turning to nitrate he would just perform another partial and it would be fish friendly.

I would not go this route. The tank should be days away from completing the cycle on its own at this point. I am not a fan of bottled bacteria. You can trick the cycle with it if you are lucky but still is better to wait it out and be stable for a few weeks before adding livestock. I ghost-feed and put a piece of fresh shrimp (from the supermarket) in new tanks to get the cycle going.