New Tank

[Chris.d514]

Got some dirty filter media from rrocket put some in tank and some in the filter. The tank turned brown but is settling out now.

[Complexity]

Sounds like things are going well! Start checking your nitrates now. If your ammonia stays at 0 and your nitrites go down to 0 while the nitrates increase, then you can move the gourami on over. When you do, keep testing the water every day until you are certain that the ammonia and nitrites remain at 0. What you want to watch for is whether the bacteria can handle the ammonia the gourami will be putting into the tank. If all goes well, you should be able to move your other fish over.

My main concern is to double check that the reason for the ammonia and nitrites going to 0 and .25, respectively, is because the tank is indeed cycling and not because you removed the fish. With no fish in the tank, it is possible that the tank wasn't getting any ammonia which could have caused a drop in ammonia and nitrites. So it's best to start out with the one fish and test the water to be sure the ammonia and nitrites remain at 0. If all goes well, then add the rest of the fish, and test the water for a few more days. If that works, then you're home free.

All this concern is in regards to an uncycled and a newly cycled tank. Once the tank has been cycled for awhile, you can add new fish without having to test the water.

[Chris.d514]

Ok just tested the 10 and 0 ammonia and nitrites and 20-30 nitrates. The tank is still kinda brown but I think a wc will fix that and the filter media for my filter has a brown slime on it now that was on his old media.

[LooksLater]

Good! You might be over the nitrite spike. If it were me, I'd keep an eye on it for a few days before you put anything in, a little patience goes a long way when cycling...If it stays 0-0-less than 10, then it's suitable for life! Woo-hoo!

And +1 on Vicki's advice on adding one, watching it a bit, then adding more when you're sure it isn't going to spike again.

[R_sustaita]

well congrats on almost having a good cycle tank. if you still want those endlers hit me up.

[Chris.d514]

I actually have 4 females and a male already. So in a month or two i should have 50 or so.

[mnemenoi]

Indeed, rabbits of the aquarium

[Chris.d514]

Hopefully the gourami will keep them in check.

[R_sustaita]

no problem. i may had found a buyer for all of them.

[Chris.d514]

So I found some random snail in my tank now. They are round and brown only seen two both fairly small.

[mnemenoi]

I honestly do not have any issues with snails in the tank, especially in smaller tanks. They can breed quickly, but they also turn gravel/substrate and can quickly clean up any uneaten food that can get lost in some normally tight spaces. In larger tanks they can get into canister filters and it is hard to catch them, but smaller tanks just reaching in amd collecting any extras is a breeze. I'd suggest just leaving them and any assassin snail will make short work of any stragglers.

[Chris.d514]

I just don't want 50000 snails I actually bought an ivory and a blue mystery snail for my daughters tank. We haven't seen the blue in a couple of days but the ivory is all over the tank cleaning and the assassin pops up every now and then.

[Bedlamer]

Do you have the assassin snail in the same tank as the mystery snail?

[Chris.d514]

Yeah but the blue showed back up. The assassin is maybe half the size of the mystery snails too.

[mnemenoi]

No worries on the assassin with larger snails, especially very large ones. They can only attack and overcome smaller snails, so they predate upon the offspring. That is why it usually takes time to allow assassins to clean a tank infestation. They will never kill the adults, usually just the offspring. With manual removal of the adults you see, it is very effective eventually.