More help for a beginer please

[Chris Witterick]

Hi all
I am part way through cycling a 65 gal. tank with 10 platys (no clear ammonia here in NZ). When fully cycled I imagine I should do a big water change before introducing my discus but should I also medicate the tank in the hope of eradicating any pathogens introduced by the platys and if so what would I use.
Cheers Chris

[kenhappen2u]

Hey chris,
No i wouldnt treat the tank ....how can you treat a tank/fish if you dont know what your treating for? its not a good idea to give meds when not needed because it could lead to the fish building up a resistance to the meds or could even do more harm with the stress the meds can have on some fish not to mention some meds can mess with your good bio in your filter and you dont want to do that with a newly started/cycled tank


Ken

[Chris Witterick]

Many thanks for that Ken sounds like good advice and I'll take it.
Cheers Chris.

[marchmaxima]

Hi all
I am part way through cycling a 65 gal. tank with 10 platys (no clear ammonia here in NZ).

Hi Chris

Just for the future, there are other alternatives for a fishless cycle than using pure ammonia. Just like you, pure ammonia isn't available here either.

I always use a raw prawn and have had good success. Throw 1 and a half king-sized buggers in your 65L tank and in a day or so, that ammonia will spike nicely to around 4ppm, which for a fishless cycle is ideal.

Cleaning tip: put the prawns into the end of an unwashed pantyhose for easy removal later. Personally I've not done this. I've just let it decompose away. A prawn will provide a decent amount of ammonia for around 3 weeks.

The only negative with this method is the possibilty that your water *may* get smelly for a week. It happened to me once, but not the other 2 times. I lived with it becuase it was a short-term thing. I know of others who find that completely unacceptable. They usually take the form of a "significant other" :D

[White Worm]

If you are concerned with what is left after cycling with different fish, remove your media into a container with some tank water, clean the tank real good, fill with clean water, add discus then add your media back in. You can rinse your media real good in the container with tank water also.

[Roxanne]

.....

The only negative with this method is the possibilty that your water *may* get smelly for a week.,...



Smelly water will be the least of your problems if there were pathogens on the prawn you are introducing to the nice new tank. ...you've only got to look under "why is my fish sick" to see how many people had a rotting prawn/shrimp in their tank....fish food would be better than a prawn in my experience, if you can't get clear ammonia...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=67868

[marchmaxima]

Interesting..... I guess those of us who have done it may have been fortunate not to have introduced a pathogen. Perhaps I may swap to fish food.

Roxanne, can you get clear ammonia in Syd? I didn't think you could get it in Oz at all. Maybe I'm wrong. What do you use?

[Roxanne]

Yeah Sharon, sorry just found this, can order online....let me find the link....:)

[TankWatcher]

If you are using a saltwater prawn to cycle the tank, it should be ok. Any nasties that are tuned in to live only in salt water, should die in pretty short order in a fresh water tank. They can't survive in freshwater. Do not use a freshwater prawn (if they exist - not sure). For the same reason, if you make home made beef heart, the advice is not to include any freshwater fish in the recipe, only ocean fish)

As well as putting it in a stocking, put the prawn (in it's stocking) in a bowl. This all helps with less floating bits of prawn to get rid of when the process is done.

But, pure ammonia would be a neater solution.

(I understand Rox had a pretty smelly bedroom when she tried the prawn method :D )

[Roxanne]

..

But, pure ammonia would be a neater solution.

(I understand Rox had a pretty smelly bedroom when she tried the prawn method :D )

Robyn means 'clear' dontcha mate? I hope no one can get PURE ammonia cos if a child or adult, but more importantly, a child;), accidently sniffed it, it would kill them....

Yeah, what an idiot to try it in the bedroom!!!:D darr :D...anyway, prawns are the cockroaches of the sea, they eat soo much disgusting crap, I wouldn't want something that low on the food chain rotting in my tank!! And when you consider that alot of ammonia is given off by overfeeding, makes sense that fish food would have the same effect without the funky smell!!.....and what about when they(prawns/shrimp depending on geography) are breaking down, it's rotting organics with no water changes going on....food for thought...will someone tell me where to find the barfing emoticon???:bandana:

[TankWatcher]

Robyn means 'clear' dontcha mate?=Roxanne Yep, clears what you need. Thanks Rox

[marchmaxima]

I happen to be cycling a small soon-to-be shrimp tank. I ditched the prawn idea and decided to give fish food a go. Seems to be working! Two sinking tablets and the ammonia went to 0.5ppm in 24 hours.

Wish you could get clear ammonia here, but my understanding its that its a restricted (if not banned) item.

[Roxanne]

The next best thing is ammonium chloride..nothing illegal about it, it is very strong though and you must follow directions.
"Biological applications include using it as an energy source for microbiological growth of organisms" wiki quote....It is stable though and not "dangerous". Available over the net, I should state (with the prior consent of this site's administration)that I own the web site that this link belongs to

http://www.australianhomeguide.com.au/ac.html

Roxanne

[marchmaxima]

thanks very much Roxanne! I appreciate the link. I've been looking for this for ages!