newbie next fish and nitrite levels

[kevd]

Hi All,
New to the game (although had pond fish for several years now) and
I have a couple of questions.

Got a jewel rio 125 litre tank. been cycling 2 weeks now. after 1 week
lfs recom. 6 guppies 2 swordtails and a 2 corys. All going well, except
lost 1 female guppie, I wondered if she had the fry that where around 2 days
after putting fish in (they got eaten anyway). Tested water today for
ammonia - level 0, nitrites very high approx 1.6 mg/l

1) Has the nitrite level caused the loss of the guppy and should I do
water changes to lower this level or wait for the bacteria to develop??

2) Can I put anymore fish in yet and if so what should I buy next ??

3) What is the Max amount of fish for this tank

4) the jewel head has an attachment for an air line - but if I put a
pipe on this it turns into a whirlpool bath!! - is this normal - the water
flow from the powerhead does seem very powerful.

Thanks all in advance

Cheers Kev

[Sue]

What did you use to start the cycle in the first week? -just filling with
water doesn't start the cycle!
It sounds like you put about half your tank's fish capacity in an uncycled
tank in one go and your tank has been cycling for ONE week.
The nitrite may well have caused the death of your guppy & is currently
damaging the remaining fish. A 20% water change is in order -repeat after a
couple of days.
Also cut the feeding to once every two days -and then only tiny amounts.

You can't add any more fish until the cycle is finished.( Ammonia, nitrite &
nitrate all at ZERO for a week) This could take another 5-6 weeks. A couple
of bunches of plants will help bring down the nitite - even duckweed helps.

A guide line for stocking this tank -certainly for a newbie -is 1 inch of
fish per gallon -this refers to smallish fish only as really the concern is
how much waste they produce. This should be worked out on eventual size but
guppies are usually sold as adults. So far you have about 8" of guppies, 5"
of swordtails & 4" of cories depending on species. A total of 17" in a 25
gallon tank!
With experience, mature filters, plants & frequent water changes this
guideline can be exceeded but it is as well to stick within it for a while.

You don't need to attach an airline to the filter -just a length or airline
tubing & air will be sucked in.

As to what fish you can have next - at least another Cory or two so they can
shoal & I'd suggest something that swims at low to mid water.
What fish did you have in mind.

BTW find another LFS.

Sue

[kevd]

Hi Sue,
I filled thank tank with tap water that had been treated with
stress zyme and stress coat and also 'fed' the tank with a small amount of
fish food each day to start the cycling off, as recom by the lfs. The tank
was planted from day one with about 20 plants and they are all doing well -
does this help??
Was thinking about more corys anyway - fancy some sort of algae eater as
well - also kissing gouramis or angels - whats your thoughts

Cheers Kev


"Sue" > wrote in message
...
> What did you use to start the cycle in the first week? -just filling with
> water doesn't start the cycle!
> It sounds like you put about half your tank's fish capacity in an uncycled
> tank in one go and your tank has been cycling for ONE week.
> The nitrite may well have caused the death of your guppy & is currently
> damaging the remaining fish. A 20% water change is in order -repeat after
a
> couple of days.
> Also cut the feeding to once every two days -and then only tiny amounts.
>
> You can't add any more fish until the cycle is finished.( Ammonia, nitrite
&
> nitrate all at ZERO for a week) This could take another 5-6 weeks. A
couple
> of bunches of plants will help bring down the nitite - even duckweed
helps.
>
> A guide line for stocking this tank -certainly for a newbie -is 1 inch of
> fish per gallon -this refers to smallish fish only as really the concern
is
> how much waste they produce. This should be worked out on eventual size
but
> guppies are usually sold as adults. So far you have about 8" of guppies,
5"
> of swordtails & 4" of cories depending on species. A total of 17" in a 25
> gallon tank!
> With experience, mature filters, plants & frequent water changes this
> guideline can be exceeded but it is as well to stick within it for a
while.
>
> You don't need to attach an airline to the filter -just a length or
airline
> tubing & air will be sucked in.
>
> As to what fish you can have next - at least another Cory or two so they
can
> shoal & I'd suggest something that swims at low to mid water.
> What fish did you have in mind.
>
> BTW find another LFS.
>
> Sue
>
>

[Sue]

> I filled thank tank with tap water that had been treated with
> stress zyme and stress coat and also 'fed' the tank with a small amount of
> fish food each day to start the cycling off, as recom by the lfs.

The only bacterial supplement that gets good revues is the one that has to
be refridgerated.
The tank and the pinch of food will have helped but there are better ways.
You put too many fish in in one go. A couple would have been better.

> was planted from day one with about 20 plants and they are all doing
well -
> does this help??

Plants certainly help and determine to a degree what fish you can stock.

> Was thinking about more corys anyway - fancy some sort of algae eater as
> well - also kissing gouramis or angels - whats your thoughts
>
With this size tank you could have 3 ottos ( once its mature ) or one
bristlenose.
The tank is a bit small for Angels & much too small for a kissing
Gourami -they can get to over 10".
The livebearers are surface swimmers & the cories bottom dwellers so you
need midwater interest.

What's your water like? -pH? Hardness? etc will determine what fish will
thrive. Guppies & swordtails prefer harder water and appreciate some salt.
Cories prefer soft water & don't tolerate salt.
Check out http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/fishindx.htm and see
what fish appeal -you really want something that only grows to three inches
MAX unless you plan to upgrade in the near future.
Some species -like the swordtails - rarely make listed adult size but some
may get much bigger than lfs labels suggest. An example of this is the
Pangasius catfish which I've seen marked as attains 8" on printed labels and
can reach over three FEET in the wild.
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk will keep you busy for a while.

It will probably be about another month before your tank is safe for more
fish.
Sue