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Hi..
I just bought 55gal aquarium and its been up for about 2 weeks now, i have 6 Tiger Barbs that seem to be adopting pretty well, they eat and are pretty active. My question is how much longer before i can introduce more fish...

Any advice is HIGHLY appriciated.

Thanks in advance

55gal Aquarium
Emperor 400 Power Filter
200W Heater Odyssea

below is the picture of my tank

Bartek

its been up for about 2 weeks now,

Does that mean it has finished its cycle or it is two weeks since you started from a empty tank.

I suggest you have a complete water parameters done preferably by the LFS, unless you have a quality test kit and know how to use and read all the results. Then post all the test results

Stocking what species and how many are you thinking about?

Regardless of what and when you introduce it must be all done corectly and over a long period rather than all at once.

If you are going to have more live plants I suggest to use a substrate 1-3mm and at least 3ins deep.


Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith




Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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It'd be good to know if your tank is fully cycled before we start suggesting stock.

I'd say pick up a master test kit from your LFS, it'll just make life easier. You shouldn't plan on adding any more fish until ammonia has peaked and gone to zero, nitrIte has peaked and fallen to zero and nitrAtes are present in small amounts. For more on the cycling process see this link

As for the stock. Ultimately it'll be up to you. You might want to have a look around your LFS to see what they have in stock, take note of the name then check back here in the profiles section to see if they will be compatible. I'd suggest increasing the size of the tiger barb school to start with, they tend to be a little nippy when kept in too small of schools. Don't mix them with albino or green as I've seen them rip each others guts out.


Look at some of the smaller bottom dwellers. Clown loaches are traditional to be stocked with tiger barbs, your tank is the minimum size I'd stock clown loaches in as they do get quite large.

Like keith mentioned, adding the fish will be a slow process, just like the original cycling process the beneficial bacteria in the tank need to catch up to the waste being produced in order for the fish to be happy and healthy.

Welcome to the site!


^_^

what I mean by saying 2 weeks, is that the water has been in it for only 2weeks, Ill post the readings either tmo or saturday
thanks

You really should cycle the tank before getting fish. You risk losing your fish otherwise (as I did. I lost my entire stock of fish because my tank wasn't yet cycled. It wound up taking me about 6 weeks to cycle after I cleaned the tank out, but it was worth it because I haven't had any issues since).

I will be curious to see the readings. Thankfully, Tiger Barbs are one of the few species that could probably tolerate the cycling process. It won't be fun for them, and they could ultimately get sick and die, due to the stress of living in a cycling tank but they are fairly hardy fish.

Good luck and keep us informed!

sorry about the long delay, i have been taking water to get tested to [LFS] therefore i don't have the detailed readings, but i will be buying test kit this week. I will definitely put water results this week.

As far as the fish..... all died after getting the ICK, (tried saving them with the medicine, removing the carbon filter and raising the temp). [LFS] suggested that i get even hardier fish which are Zebra Danio, got 6 of them, and they are doing good, too bad that they are not as "alive" as the barbs i have had..

all right, to begin i would like to thank you for your patience,

I finally went and got the test kit as my water turned VERY CLOUDY today:
results as follow:

AMMONIA = 6.0 (was around 1 the other day/ per LFS)
NITRATE = 0.0
NITRITE = 0.5
HARDNESS = 300(very hard)
CHLORINE = 0.0
ALKALINITY = 180
pH = 7.8

I have put AMMO LOCK to reduce the ammonia.

Well i hope that the cloudy water indicates good sign(almost end of cycle)??

thanks for any info...

Oh Boy, where do I start?

Your zebra danios should rival the activity of the tiger barbs you had, but they arent because your ammonia level is way to high.

Ammonia at.25-1 is dangerous to deadly to fish. Your is 6.
I'd do a large water change, and vaccuum the gravel well to get up any uneaten food/ poop in the tank. about 50% of the tank water....
then get your water with a degree or 2 of the tank, add dechlorinator, and refill.
Then I'd do this daily,( if not 2 x's a day, till that ammonia level comes way down, to about .50-1
only feed the fish a tiny bit every other day during this time. about whatever they can eat in 30 sec to 1 min to reduce ammonia output.

zebra danios are extremly hardy, but I dont believe even they can survive long in your tank unless that ammonia level comes down pretty soon. The ammo lock doesnt get rid of the ammonia, it BINDS it to make it less harmful, but its still isnt good for the fish....

as for the cloudy water, its the bacterial bloom- its the BEGINING of the cycle. Please go to FAQ"S and read about cycling.

Im hoping someone more experienced will come along, but getting that ammonia level down would be my 1st priority.

Sounds like you have a huge bacterial problem.

As suggested do a real good cleaning also clean the filter out using the old tank water.

Reduce the feeding by 50% and feed every 2nd or 3rd day.

Try to get some cheap plants that can float around this is also very beneficial. Floating water sprite (Indian Fern) is a excellent plant for this purpose. It might start to die back at first but dont worry this is natural and once it gets established to your conditions it will grow like crazy.

Get some Seachem Stability and double dose for the first day only then follow the instructions.

Add extra aeration as much you can, this will be very beneficial to the recovery process.

Then at every water change always add the Stability at the recommended amount to maintain the good bacteria.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith



Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Thanks for all your help/suggestions, just changed 25% of the water, replaced filter pads

Update 11-18-09
10% water changed, Seachem Stability added on 11-17-09 ( double dose as recommended ), today regular does added, seems like the cloudiness is going away

AMMONIA = 3.0
NITRATE = 0.0
NITRITE = 0.5
HARDNESS = 300
CHLORINE = 0.0
ALKALINITY = 140
pH = 8.0

Again thanks for your help

Bartek101

replaced filter pads

This has me concerned reason being if you replace them you will get a cycle starting up every time.

I replaced my foam in the HOB with filter wool and replace a little bit of the filter wool as it gets dirty. That way I never start the cycle process and starting causing problems.

When my 5ft tank cracked every thing had to go into a 2ft tank the only fish I lost was a SAE that jumped out.

The LFS advised me to double dose every day for a week then as per instructions.

All I can say about Stability is it is not cheap but it works.


Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith


Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Bartek, your cycle is going to take at LEAST 4 weeks, and your fish are going to suffer because of it (if you're lucky to keep them alive during this time).

I had the same problem, except for the fact that prior to coming here I had no idea what cycling was or that it NEEDS to be done, and fishless is better. I had 6 or so Zebra Danios and a beautiful orange betta. They all got sick with ich and the betta was the first one to die. The danios quickly followed suit. Not because of ich, but because they also got fin and tail rot. I lost all of them within two days. I was then advised to come here. I was told about cycling and why it's important and why it's doubly important to do a FISHLESS cycle. You've been told this by several people here.

Yes, it takes longer to do a fishless cycle but at least you'll know that you don't have fish being tortured in your tank with burned gills from the ammonia level in the meantime.

Once my tank was cycled, I was able to add fish immediately, and was able to continue adding fish once a week after a water change, and all of my fish are doing fine.

PLEASE consider heeding everyone's advice here. We're giving you this advice so that you'll have healthy and happy fish.

Bartek101

To be on the safe side get your LFS to do a complete water parameters test for you it should be free but it is up to the LFS. Get them to write them all down dont be satisfied with its all OK.

Post all the results and what fish and how many you are thinking of getting.

Once every thing is fine and the fish your want are in the tank you should be well on the way to a happy fish keeper.

On the other hand if every thing is not correct you tank could easily become a death tank, and you will be a very unhappy tank keeper.

This step is extremely important it must be right the first time.


Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith




Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith


Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Bartek,

If you don't want to follow/heed the advice you're being given, that is completely your choice. As for my "bad attitude", I don't have one. I was trying to help you by emphasing the importance of cycling your tank, and doing it in a manner that isn't going to torture fish. Again, if that isn't what you want to do, that is your choice, and a choice that you will have to live with. Also, please don't make threats. I believe that is against the TOS, but that is ultimately for the Admins of this site to decide.

Have a nice day.

Just came back from LFS, and got the readings:

Nitrate=0.0
Nitrite= .5
Hardness=150
Chlorine=0
Alkalinity=120
ph=7.2
Ammonia=2

Thanks for all your help, seems like that Seachem Stability is working its miracles.

Update on readings: 11-30-09


Nitrate=5.0
Nitrite= 0.5 and its going down
Hardness=200
Chlorine=0
Alkalinity=80
ph=7.2
Ammonia=0

your almost there!!!! now you can start PLANNING your stock for the tank

hows the danois??