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Hello from Washongton, Pa

scurry64

Members
Hi, I am a new fish enthusiast. I set up and populated a 60 gallon tank with 18 peacocks and Haps yesterday afternoon, about 24 hours ago. All is going well except for 1 fish that is doing nothing but swimming from top to bottom along the right end of the tank. All the other fish seem to exploring and acting normally. I am concerned with this one.
What other information do you need? Any thoughts about this behavior?
 

scurry64

Members
Yes. I set up the tank 1 week before getting the fish in order to stabilize the pH (7.8) and temperature (78.6 F). The filter was running during that time as well. I added API Quick Start about 4 hours prior to adding fish.

Amonia and Nitrites are 0 currently.

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The addition of this many fish will create a large bio load on a tank that has never had any fish. I strongly suggest you read through some forums on here so you understand the importance of benificial bacteria. Even after adding some from a bottle they take time to propagate and multipy this is sped up by the presence of organic matter..... not present in a new set up. I usually add just a few fish first so there isn't to much organic matter creating a load to heavy for you bb to neutralize through the nitrification process. I would just keep a close eye on your water parameter for the first week or two, test atleast once a day. How big are your fish? As for micheal phelps swimming back and fourth I wouldn't worry as long as he is eating and shows no signs of disease like heavy breathing. Some fish especially cichlids are very active and watch you as much as you watch them
Good luck and welcome
Dan

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Best advice- water change, water change, water change oh and then water change atleast 50% a week or more on a new set up

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scurry64

Members
I read a great deal of information about starting the new tank. I understand that it will take 5-6 weeks to cycle the tank. I am closely monitoring the temperature, Amonia and Nitrite levels.

I added all the fish at once becauae I read from more than 1 source that adding new cichlids to an existing tank, even non-mbuna, could instigate aggressive behavior. I wanted to avoid that.

On Tuesday my Lustsar Hydro-Sponge #5 (125 gallon) filter arrives. I hope this will help with the BB levels.

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jonclark96

Past CCA President
Not sure how close you are to other club members, but I would STONGLY suggest swapping your new filter for one out of an established tank. Just getting the filter will not grow bacteria, it simply gives the bacteria a place to grow. Getting a filter from an established tank will instantly "cycle" your tank.

As others have said, if you are starting from scratch, and adding so many fish all at one time, be prepared to do daily water changes until the BB get established. My guess is you aren't reading any ammonia or nitrite because you just added the fish to the tank. Feed sparingly until the BB is established.
 
Not sure where washington is but I'm in the lehigh valley and run two canisters with poly fill and a one penguin 350 with double cartridges in both sides. My point- I have plenty of filter media to share. Also I agree adding all the fish at once at a smaller size does help with aggression also stocking a bit on the heavy size helps as well. I hate waiting to get my new fish just as much as the next guy but adding some cheap "disposable" fish as some say for two weeks before your cichlids really does help. A few weeks back there was a great thread about cycling a new tank. Less than two weeks I suggest you take a look for it. Try searching "cycling"

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scurry64

Members
I promise to do daily water changes and I appreciate the advice.

Any other thoughts on the odd swimming behavior?

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Just a few things:

running filters don't cycle a tank, so adding an additional filter, as someone already said, won't add anything to your tank in terms of establishing beneficial bacteria.

with your extremely high bioload, the ammonia and nitrite will skyrocket quickly and you will not be able to manage it with water changes alone IMHO.

A few suggestions to avoid a lot of dead fish:

get used i.e. cycled filter material from a CCA member or maybe a helpful local fish store (not Petsmart)

buy several bottles of Tetra Safe Start, shake well and add all the bottles, then keep several bottles on hand to use as necessary

remove some of the fish, if you can, and put them in another tank termporarily to reduce the bio load

Feed sparingly or even not at all for a few days

A few other things -- yes, adding fish to an existing peacock/hap or mbuna tank can be difficult. There are few ways to manage this, including:

always add several at a time (not just one or two)
rearrange the tank to break up old territories
add immature fish -- not babies and not mature fish (especially males)
Pick your species carefully

Which also brings me to a question about your stocking. is this an all male peacock/hap tank? This is a difficult tank to manage and you need to monitor it closely for aggression. You must have a second tank set up to pull bullies and/or to pull those who will inevitably be bullied. I've done such a tank, so I speak from experience. It's a delicate dance to get the right balance and you WILL need to pull fish.

You should also be checking for nitrAte. Only then will there be evidence that you've got beneficial bacteria established.

Good luck!
 

scurry64

Members
buy several bottles of Tetra Safe Start, shake well and add all the bottles, then keep several bottles on hand to use as necessary

I am using API Cycle. I assume these products are more or less fungible.
Please clarify what you mean by "add all the bottles." Add them all at once, or add the appropriate amount after daily water changes?

Thank you for the suggestions. I appreciate the help.

Its day 2 and they are all still alive and looking good. 3 of them are noticeably stressed, but they are eating and swimming. So, I remain hopeful that they will have a long and happy life.

The next time I start a tank I will cycle it with minnows.
 
Last edited:

jonclark96

Past CCA President
It isn't too late to get an established filter and put it in your tank. If you want to drive to my place in Frederick, I'd be happy to swap out a seasoned sponge filter for a new one.

Unfortunately, hoping won't build your BB fast enough to negate impacts on your fishes health.
 
You really need to do more than look at your fish. What are your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates using the API liquid tests?

I can't speak to whether or not these products are equivalent. I speak to Tetra Safe Start because I've personally used it and its predessesor (sp?) product quite successfully. I forget how much one bottle is supposed to work with. But with your high bio load, I'd personally spend the $$ and overload the tank. I don't like dead fish. And you don't need to do water changes unless you have ammonia and nitrites showing. Don't do them just to do them. do them when you need to as indicated by your testing
 

scurry64

Members
What are your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates using the API liquid tests?
All are 0. I am checking them daily.

You really need to do more than look at your fish.
Is that necessary? Is that helpful?

I came here looking for help from helpful people. It appears that I may have come to the wrong place.

Thanks to those of you that tried to help. Best of luck to all of you and your fish. I will seek advice some place else where it doesn't come with a healthy dose of condescension.
 

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Steve:

Don't run off so quickly. You came to a community of fish keepers and asked for advice. I would guess that most of us, if not all, have been in the same position you are at one point in our fish keeping life. The advice comes from experience.

Tone of posts is also quite subjective in the written form. I apologize if I came off as condescending, but just as my post may have been misconstrued as condescending, your posts didn't appear that you were acting on the advice given. If you are, my mistake. If you are going to do whatever you want to do despite the advice given, then good luck and I hope your fish survive.

In either case, I've learned quite a bit in my time as part of the CCA community. Sometimes I listened to folks, sometimes I did what I thought was best. In most cases, I will say that the guidence given tended to be accurate. I've lost my share of fish because I didn't heed the advice of those who had more experience than I did.

I hope you don't leave and that you stick around long enough to add your experiences to the community.
 

YSS

Members
No need to apologize, Jon. He will get the same line of questioning at the next place.
 
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