heyandrea_

Lol that mite make their eyes water! hahahaha!!

I went into animates today. Watched the fish in the tanks for awhile. Had a look in the tank with albino catfish, and another species of fish (can't remember what they were). Noticed a dead albino catfish at the bottom of tank, looked like it had been there for awhile, and the other fish had started eating it. Not cool! So I told someone. At least they delt with it straight away.

Can I use stress coat instead of cycle?

I heard that ammonia was more concentrated at the bottom of the tank. If you have bottom dwelling fish, they can suffer more. When I change the water, I try not to disturb the gravel too much, I use a siphon, and try and get rid of all the floaty bits. I've been changing water every second day for the last week. I was just wondering though, would it effect the cycling process, or slow it down at all? Just a sudden thought. Anyway probably better for the fish in the long run.

Would it be okay for me to do water changes more often, say every 2nd or 3rd day while my tank is cycling? Because my tank is small, the ammonia only takes a day or so to reach higher levels. Would the frequent water changes be okay for the fish?

Yeah lol may be large compared to the fish bowl, but it aint large! lol

would i be better off with a 25 watt heater then?

My tank is only 25 litres, I want something that is basic, inexpensive. I've been looking at the Aqua One heater, it's 55 watts and heats a tank up to 50 litres, are they okay? They're on trade me for just under $20.

My fish are still sitting there (day 3), hiding behind a plant. They must be still getting use to their new environment!

This is what it says in my API testing kit instructions: "To detoxify ammonia, use API Ammo-Lock to instantly lock up ammonia. Ammo-lock does not remove ammonia, it simply converts toxic ammonia to a non-toxic form, Ammonia tests kits will still test positive for ammonia, even though treating with Ammo-lock has made it non-toxic. The biological filter will then consume the non-toxic ammonia, converting it to nitrite and then to nitrate."

Im just asking a general question. Was reading about it the other day and wondered what everyone's thoughts were! My understanding is that it converts ammonia into a non-toxic form, and then the bacteria still converts it to nitrite and then nitrate as per normal. It would be useful for emergencies, but it doesnt mention anywhere that you can overdose or anything, so I would be worried about that!

Much appreciated!

What does everything think about Ammo lock?

I learnt that the hard way, goldfish produce alot of waste. My first lot of goldfish died of ammonia poisoning. I dont think I did enough water changes and over fed. Always a learning curve!

Yeah my tank is indoors in my lounge. I have a fireplace going in the winter so always nice and warm. Sorry if it seems that i'm asking stupid questions. My friend has a goldfish in her tank and a bristlenose catfish also. She got it when it was only small and it has grown somewhat and seems happy.

Is there any other types that can handle cold water aquariums and small tanks?

Thats okay then! Should I feed them later today, or wait until tomorrow

for goldfish just to sit there at the bottom of the tank when they're first put into the tank.

Im so jealous, ive been struggling for ages!! grrr

The lady at the pet shop I went to today said you can climatise them so they can live in colder temps!

and they have to be in a tropical fish tank too?

Im looking at getting one, but don't really know alot about them, eg. how to care for them, what sort of conditions they like to live in etc. Does anyone have some info? cheers!

I changed my water 2 days ago, did about a 60% water change. Tested water yesterday and ammonia at 2.0! Still quite high. So I did another 60% water change. Just tested ammonia and its at 0.50. Should I change the water again so it gets down to 0.25? My tank is really small, 5 gal or 23 litres. Should I add one small fish to start with to ease the pressure of the ammonia build up? The prawn thing didnt work for me because I think my tank was too small and the amount of ammonia that the prawn produced couldnt cope in my tank.

So if I carry on with what I'm doing, and do a water change, I wont have to add anymore prawns? Will the tank cycle itself now by adding nothing else??

This tank is driving me insane! But I want to perserve because if I master this tank I can get a bigger one and use this one as a hospital tank or something. Can anyone offer some advice. Should I just clean out the tank and start again, and add one small fish, do weekly water changes and maybe get some ammo lock? Would that be a better way to go. Or should I leave my tank as is, and hope the ammonia levels will drop by themselves? I dont think the bacteria level in my tank can cope with all the ammonia.