Help my guppies!!

[Fishobsessed]

Ok so I noticed one of my male guppies was not as active as the rest of them and then he died. I tested my water and there was a spike in ammonia and my nitrite and nitrate were off…. So I did a water change added some chemicals to help my ammonia and nitrates, nitrites. Waited till the next day tested my water again and there was not much change in my water quality… so I did another water change, and tested again the next day still no improvement!!! I did another water change last night… And now I get up this morning and one of my pregnant females is dead, I tested the water and my ammonia is much better but my nitrate and nitrite are still not good…. WTF is wrong with my tank!!!! please help!!

[danielp]

When doing a water change did you vaccum your gravel?

If not please do.

[Mzungu]

This is a new tank, correct?

If so, it just sounds like it's cycling.

What chemicals did you add?

[Fishobsessed]

Well it’s only a 5 gallon and there is no under gravel filter so I just stir up the gravel before I do the water change….

[Fishobsessed]

This is a new tank, correct?

If so, it just sounds like it's cycling.

What chemicals did you add?

Yes it is a new tank, but its been up for a little over 2 weeks.. none of my other tanks took that long to cycle

[Fishobsessed]

This is a new tank, correct?

If so, it just sounds like it's cycling.

What chemicals did you add?

kent ammonia detox and some stuff called prime and water conditioner

[Mzungu]

Well it’s only a 5 gallon and there is no under gravel filter so I just stir up the gravel before I do the water change….

So there's no kind of filter on it at all?

[Fishobsessed]

it cycled the first week it was up, the water was cloudy for 3 or 4 days and then when it started to clear up I did a small water change, tested the water and it was good, so I added a male guppy... he was doing well, after few days I added 2 females and another male, then they started breeding and then the 2nd male I got died… things went down hill from there.. can the tank cycle twice from all the water changes i did while trying to correct the problem? is this possible?

[Fishobsessed]

So there's no kind of filter on it at all?

yes the filter is in the top of the tank its a bio wheel filter, its a 5 gallon hex

[myjohnson]

Your tank was most likely not cycled.

It's not a matter of it cycling twice. However, a tank can cycle more than once.

Do not add any more fish.

Again, what filters do you have on this tank?

[Fishobsessed]

this is the filter i have

[Fishobsessed]

this is the tank

[myjohnson]

That's fine for that size tank.

The thing you can do now that will help the most is to get with some BOX member in your area and use their media in your tank.

You want to seed your tank with the beneficial bacteria that are the engines to the nitrogen cycle.

Call it cycling, nitrification, biological cycle, startup cycle, break-in cycle, or the nitrogen cycle. No matter what name you use, every newly set up aquarium goes through a process of establishing beneficial bacterial colonies. Older aquariums also go through periods during which the bacterial colonies fluctuate. Failure to understand this process is the largest contributing factor to the loss of fish. Learning what it is, and how to deal with critical periods during the nitrogen cycle, will greatly increase your chances of successful fish keeping.

Unlike nature, an aquarium is a closed environment. All the wastes excreted from the fish, uneaten food, and decaying plants stay inside the tank. If nothing eliminated those wastes, your beautiful aquarium would turn into a cesspool in no time at all.

Actually, for a short period of time, a new aquarium does become a toxic cesspool. The water may look clear, but don't be fooled. It's loaded with toxins. Sounds awful, doesn't it? Fortunately bacteria that are capable of converting wastes to safer by-products begin growing in the tank as soon as fish are added. Unfortunately there aren't enough bacteria to eliminate all the toxins immediately, so for a period of several weeks to a month or more, your fish are at risk.

However, you need not lose them. Armed with an understanding of how the nitrogen cycle works and knowing the proper steps to take, you can sail through the break-in cycle with very few problems.

Stages of the Nitrogen Cycle
There are three stages of the nitrogen cycle, each of which presents different challenges.

Initial stage: The cycle begins when fish are introduced to the aquarium. Their feces, urine, as well as any uneaten food, are quickly broken down into either ionized or unionized ammonia. The ionized form, Ammonium (NH4), is present if the pH is below 7, and is not toxic to fish. The unionized form, Ammonia (NH3), is is present if the pH is 7 or above, and is highly toxic to fish. Any amount of unionized Ammonia (NH3) is dangerous, however once the levels reach 2 ppm, the fish are in grave danger. Ammonia usually begins rising by the third day after introducing fish.

Second stage: During this stage Nitrosomonas bacteria oxidize the ammonia, thus eliminating it. However, the by-product of ammonia oxidation is nitrite, which is also highly toxic to fish. Nitrites levels as low as low as 1 mg/l can be lethal to some fish. Nitrite usually begins rising by the end of the first week after introducing fish.

Third stage: In the last stage of the cycle, Nitrobacter bacteria convert the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not highly toxic to fish in low to moderate levels. Routine partial water changes will keep the nitrate levels within the safe range. Established tanks should be tested for nitrates every few months to ensure that levels are not becoming extremely high.

[Fishobsessed]

Thanks for this information its very useful, however this is not my first tank to set up, but it is the smallest tank that i have tempted to set up, therefore its more sensitive… i guess i should have waited a little longer before i started adding fish. I do not have much experience with planted tanks, but if I add more plants will his help keep it more stable?

[myjohnson]

If you add plants it can help.

Plants do take up minor amounts of NH4.

But decaying plants may add more NH4.

I would just seed your tank with more beneficial bacteria.