EMERGENCY!!!

:cry: i got a 20 gallon tank yesterday and i filled it up and then bought 4 oskurs and some goldfish and put then in their and when i checked it just now all the goldfish were gone and 2 of my oskurs are dead, please help.

 

http://members.iinet.net.au/~cichlid/newtank.htm

U need to cycle your tank before you add so many fish.

 

usually they say 2-4 day water cycle but i would sudgest the whole week because the tank has to go though a biological stage. give it some time. gold fish are strong fish and have been known to survive allot.

 

I suggest returning all your fish now for a couple of reasons.

A 20 gallon tank is WAY too small for those fish. 4 oscars need at least 180 gallons (200 would be better). 2 oscars need at least 75 gallons (100 would be better). There's no way thy would be able to survive more than a couple months in a 20 gallon even if it was cycled.

Your tank isn't cycled and the cycling process is very hard on fish since ammonia & nitrIte often reacy toxic levels and poison the fish. I suggest returning the remaining oscars, doing a fishless cycle (see links below), then doing some research and finding fish suitable for that size tank.

http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html
http://forums.fishindex.com/showthread. ... eadid=7387

-Chelle

 

Their all right, and as far as your goldfish go, ive never had an oscar so im not sure but your goldfish were proby eaten. Do a bit more research before adding and buying fish.

 

to help the cycling speed up, or more that it helps the filter matur, use Bactozym tablets. £3.65 for 10 i think, they are great. i used them and i havent had one problem with my tank. It sped the good bacteria growth up majorly, and you just use one with every water change to replace lost bacteria when the water is changed.


Amy. x

 

Even if he/she does get the tank cycled w/o killing more fish, there is no way those fish will be able to live in that tank. It would be best to return the fish, do a proper fishless cycle (that way you know the tank is a) cycled and b) has enough bacteria to handle the bioload when it is properly stocked), and buy fish more suitable for that tank.

Incidently, what are your readings (exact numbers) for ammonia, nitrIte, & nitrAte?

-Chelle

 

I've never heard of that particular product, but most of those "instant cycle" things are a waste of money. The only one proven to work is Biospira, but even that must be kept refrigerated, has a relatively short shelf life (plus it's not currently available), and generally takes longer than it claims to cycle a tank.

One thing that makes me really suspect that Bactozyme is nothing more than snake oil is it says to add it every time you do a water change. Unless you forget to dechnorinate, a water change is going to have little/no affect on your bacteria colonies since the water itself doesn't contain the bacteria. Plus, the Biospira works because it's refrigerated live bacteria. If the bacteria is not kept refrigerated or dries out, it will die and be worthless. If Bactozyme is in tablet form, it's obviously not live bacteria, so I don't see what it would do for the cycle.

-Chelle

 

I've had alot of sucess with a product called "cycle", One my my dads friends named Mr. Ashbough ran a gigantic koi and tons of other exotic fish store for about 20 years and onse did an experiment with the same size tank, some number of fish, everything the same and then added a certain amount of the top products and though most of them did nothing some did have very minimal effects on the colonies. If any of you koi people are their live on the east coast you might have heard of him, his business was called "koi unlimited"

 

Well, When i purchased my tank, the filter couldnt be ready to hold fish for two weeks, i used bactozym, and it shortened the time in which fish could be introduced coz i introduce d afew, and they were fine.

Many of my friends use bactozym after having problems with cycling, and the bactozym greatly improved it.

if you believe it doesnt work for you, then your saving money which is great,

Its alot like medicinal drugs i spose, they work for some people.

where i live, they are highly recomended, but then different areas have different problems.

My theory is, try it, if it works for you its great, if it doesnt youve havent lost alot of money, and you know not to try it again.

Youll never know unless you try.

 

Did you actually check your water parameters to make sure it worked? Just because the fish survived, it doesn't mean the tank was fully cycled.

-Chelle

 

I wasn't alive at the time so I dont know but i'll ask him for ya.