What would YOU do next?

Question

I am cycling my 29 gallon tank. I have had 7 dainos in it since Monday. Things got cloudy and have since cleared up quite nicely. I have not done a water change or tested my water yet, I plan on doing that tomorrow. My question is this, what would you put in next, and what is the next step? Am I on the right track? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thankyou!!

Answer 1

I would suggest any community fish, but you want to stick with fish of a similar size. Maybe go with more schooling fish.
(Schooling fish are any which names end in "tetra" "barb" or "danio")

There are also community fish that breed readily (known as livebearers). These are mollies, platies, swordtails and guppies. If you are looking to breed, make sure you get a high female to male ratio (3:1 preferably).

Don't add too many fish at one time (I recommend 3-5/week) because the sudden burst of nitrates and ammonia when adding too many fish could kill them all.

Answer 2

Sounds like your tank is on it's way to getting cycled. Next thing I'd get would be a WATER TESTING KIT. Don't add anymore fish until your ammonia and nitrite readings are at zero (this is why you NEED a testing kit).

Once you are getting AMMONIA readings (you probably already have ammonia in your tank), the NITRITE readings will slowly rise over the next couple weeks, eliminating the ammonia. Then a couple weeks after that the nitrite readings will start dropping and you start getting NITRATE. This is the bacteria you want. Don't be afraid to do a 30, 40 or even 50% water change as soon as you see traces of ammonia or nitrite. Once you are getting NITRATE readings, do another 40% water change and your tank will be safe to add any compatible fish to your tank. But even then, do not add more than 2 or 3 new fish a week. And remember that even though you want nitrate, it is still harmful to fish, which is why you need to keep up on weekly water changes... you want to reduce the nitrate, not eliminate it.

And if were you, I'd do a 30-40% water change immediately, even before you test the water. If your water has already clouded up and cleared, that is a fairly sure sign that the cycling process has started and you probably already have quite a bit of ammonia and/or nitrite in your tank. The bacteria (harmful or beneficial) lives in your filter media and gravel. Changing a large portion of the water will not affect your cycling process, it just dilutes the water to a point where the fish can tolerate the harmful bacteria.

Answer 3

If your tank is fully cycled (0ppm ammonia and nitrite) I would add a centerpiece fish of your choice (I'd add a gourami), then a bottom dweller such as cories if you have a fine substrate. If you want to do a livebearer tank you could add platies, swordtails, or guppies. Do research on what you like to see if it will work out for a 29 gallon. The people at www.aquahobby.com (in the forums) are great for help with proper stocking.

Answer 4

you should do 10% water changes every 2 to 3 days to keep your danios healthy. the 20% weekly is a bit much at the same time in a tank you are cycling. you should be about 1/2 cycled already so good luck!

what kind of filter do you have? one with biofiltration (a wheel or sponge) will shorten the process. also check it with your nose -- if it smells rank its ammonia and you need to get it under control.

Answer 5

There are some nice selections among barbs, tetras, livebearers, dwarf gouramis, loaches and corydoras catfish to name a few. Why not pick something you like that's compatible with the danios you've already got?

This link shows some "communities" of fish that are compatible: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h701elmers_freshwater_handbook.htm

Find out which communities the type of danios you have will fit into: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/10danio.htm and see what fish from the first link you can keep with them.

Any fish with an "A" or "AA" hardiness rating will be easiest to keep.

Answer 6

Sure, changing the water sounds good. Testing is good either way to make sure there isn't too much of something or not enough of something....