I need some help

Yesterday I became the "adopter" of a red tail shark and a rather large algae eater. The people are moving to Idaho and can't take the fish with them. So I gladly said I was take them in. Well, I was hoping they would give me the already cycled water in the tank....but nope. The tank was broken down and dirty.
So right now I have them in my 10 gallon, which is now SUPER crowded. The other tank is set up with about 60% cycled water from the water the two fish came in, and some from my tank, and the rest is purified water. I also put in some AmQuel+. Its been filtering for about 16 hours(at 10am). I need to move the other fish into the tank before my tank gets too messy and things start dying.
So, Would they be alright to go into the tank in a few hours since the water is mostly already good fish water?

 

The very minumum of time the tank needs to be cycled is 24 hours, although 2-3 days is more apporpriate.

When i bought a used tank, it came with a BLue gourami, it was in a plastic bag, and i had no where else to put it, so i couldnt cycle the tank since i had to get him in there, but things turned out fine. So if u want, wait 24hours at least then let em in.

 

like Trickster said 24 hours minimum but after that they should be ok. - tl

 

Thanks for the reply, I'll go ahead and introduce them and then just keep a good eye on the levels in the water and how they're acting. These fish are like, 5 years old and the owner got emotional when he gave them to me :? So its like a huge thing to keep these guys alive.

 

Wish yea the best of luck, keep us informed on how it turns out.

 

Hi OnixRevolution, If the substrate and filter media were still moist and had not dried out the bacteria should still be alive and you shouldn't have too much of a problem other than high nitrAtes, indicating that the tank needs to be cleaned. At the worst you might get a mini-cycle. Keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels for the next few days so that you can tell how the tank is running. As nasty as the tank may be, if the ammonia and nitrIte levels stay down over the next 4 or 5 days I would wait until that time to really do anything major on cleaning unless you start to see the fish stress. Good luck.

 

I put them in last night and everything seems to be going well. No casualities and levels are still low in both tanks. Thanks alot for the input guys.
But...I was looking at them last night, and noticed they're probably not too happy in the little 10 gallon tank(this isn't my doing...the people the owned the fish had them in the 10). So...How long does it take for a 55 gallon to cycle? Same amount as a 10?

 

Was the gravel and filter still moist in the 55? What are the readings in ppm for amonia, nitrIte and nitrAte in the 55 gallon?

 

This advice may be a little late, but I just noticed some medicine at petco that is supposed to speed up the cycling process. I read on the box that it's supposed to double the speed.
I'm sorry, but I can't remember the name of it, there were several different brands of the same chemical/medicine though. :?

 

Its always good to get new advice. I dont have the tank yet, but I was going to get one soon and wanted to know how long it would take before its fish safe. But with the tank I got with them, everything had been left out in the sun to dry up(it was about 100 out there, so it was quick) and it seems like the carbon is new.
Oh, by the way, he's a rainbow shark, not a red tail shark. :wink: Alittle research turns up more than I thought.

 

With the tank completely drying out you will have lost your bacteria culture and the tank will have to cycle. The nitrate cycle generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to cycle.

 

I need some help *UPDATE*

Well, within about 24 hours my fish came down with ICK and the Rainbow Shark died. :cry: Now I'm just trying to save the algae eater. I put in some quICK Cure this morning...is there anything else I can do to make sure this guy makes it?

 

If you don't have any aquarium salt in the tank you can add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. Also you can raise the temperature of the tank to 80 to 82 degrees. Since you've started with Quick Cure it is best to stay with it. Next time you might want to try Maracide. I've had the best results with the Mardel products.

 

What kind of alge eater?

Some are not scaled and are not safe to treat.

 

Plecostomus
Ive been treating him for about 3 days now and he's doing a little better.