BioSpira will reduce the cycle time to a few _days_ rather than a few
weeks. The advice to wait is good.
HTH,
Dennis

aacool wrote:
Len wrote in :



aacool wrote:



Well, we setup a planted aquarium round about christmas,

and

added a few tetras, the ammonia spike happened, then

subsided.

We read about bio-spira. So we rushed out, and got some,

added

it in, and simultaneously added 3 Bolivian Butterfly Ram
cichlids (papilliochromis altispinosa).

THey turned out to be wonderful fish, and one soon

established

himself to be top-boss. Recently, they started rearranging

the

plants and rocks.

This morning, the nitrite spiked - the ammonia was still

high,

though about 1 ppm. We did two water changes today, and

added

some salt in the evening.

Unfortunately, the cichlids, and other fishes, were seen to

be

gasping at the edges, and one went belly-up We thought a

lot

about what to do, and finally transferred them to a bucket

of

water. As I write, two are dead, and disposed, and one is
swimming round the bucket.

I would like some advice as to how this could have been
avoided, and what should we do next. Are the other fishes
(tetras and corys) going to survive? Will the water cycle

play

itself out now and when will it be safe to reintroduce

fishes?

Whatever happened to the biospira?


Too many fish too soon. If I understand your message, this

was your

second tank? How big? I would not have added the cichlids

until the

ammonia and nitrite were 0 and the nitrate was around 20.



Well, I thought the biospira would take care of the water
cycle - ref
www.marineland.com - biospira is a live-bacteria that's
"supposed" to
introduce nitrifying bacteria

But, you're right, next time, we wait for the cycle to
complete