weaselmush
New Member
Hi,I was recently given a 55 gallon aquarium, some equipment, and live fish and inverts from one of my friends, who had to move recently. I have kept several FW tanks before, small and large, but never a SW tank, so I hardly knew anything about keeping SW fish then. The person that gave me the stuff has been keeping SW fish for years, so I assumed he knew pretty much everything about them.
But since I recieved all the stuff, I have done tons of research online and found out that I did everything wrong. He brought the tank over one night & some equipment and the next day I set up the tank how he told me. I think I set it up right.
But a couple days later, he brought the fish & inverts over, which is where I messed up, because I did not know that I had to wait for the tank to "cycle" and that I had to wait about a month before adding any fish, which apparently neither did he... or did he just think the fish would be ok anyway? :thinking:
Anyway, he had 2 buckets, 1 w. fish & the other w. inverts. He told me to introduce the fish using the "drip method" listed here on SWF. So here's the list of what he had:
1 Royal Gramma
1 Tomato Clownfish
1 Clarkii Clownfish
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish
2 Yellowtail Damsels
About 10 Blueleg Hermit Crabs
2 or 3 Snails
1 Brittle Starfish
I had no idea what most of these fish were at first, and he had had them for years together, so I assumed they must be compatible & stay small enough for my tank. But a couple days later I started doing research & found out what most of the fish were. I know the Humu Picasso will outgrow the tank eventually (he's about 2.5" now) and is supposed to be very aggressive, but so far has not touched a thing except for my Brittle Starfish, which he eventually killed. The Royal Gramma & Tomato Clownfish have also both died, but probably just from the high amounts of ammonia & nitrate from the cycle?
The main thing I'm conecerned about now is the cycle. I have had everything on the list, except the Gramma, Tomato & Brittle Star which have died, now, and it's been about 5 weeks since I put them into the tank and started the cycle. I'm really getting worried now because, after this long, the cycle still isn't done, and both the ammonia & the nitrite levels are still very high. Will they eventually go down still? Since I have so many fish in the tank now, it would make since for the cycle to take a bit longer. But if it's not going to go down now, since it's been so long already, do you think I may have to get rid of everything & start all over agian? I am hoping not, but that's what it is looking like right now.
Does anybody know if it is possible to start a cycle & it never finish, where the ammonia & nitrite stay really high after the cycle should already be over & you have to start all over again?
Another thing I'm concerned about is equipment. He told me he gave me enough, but now I know I'm gonna need more. All he gave me for filtration was a Tetra Whisper 30-60 Power Filter, and for aeration, just a small air pump & an airstone. I also have a 120 watt heater, which I know is not enough. The water temperature is constantly changing, from 76-80°F, but it doesn't usually change that much that fast.
Does anybody know what other equipment I will need? I am not going to have many fishes in the tank, since I am getting rid of the Triggerfish soon. Then I'll just have the Clarkii Clownfish & the 2 Yellowtail Damsels. I also am only 14 years old & don't even have a job yet, so I can't afford much. But I am still willing to spend a little bit on some better equipment.
I'm sorry I sound like such a newbie. But when I first got everything set up, I did not know much about SW fish, and didn't even know there was such a thing as a "cycle" with SW fish. The guy that gave me everything for it told me that SW was basically just like FW and that the only difference when setting up the tank was adding the salt (which, BTW, I kinda added a bit too much of... 1.026 is the reading I get, which hear is a bit too high- any suggestions?) and the way you acclimate the fish.
Any help here is greatly appreciated, and thanks for taking the tyime to read all this & help me out. Sorry it's so long.
:help:
But since I recieved all the stuff, I have done tons of research online and found out that I did everything wrong. He brought the tank over one night & some equipment and the next day I set up the tank how he told me. I think I set it up right.
But a couple days later, he brought the fish & inverts over, which is where I messed up, because I did not know that I had to wait for the tank to "cycle" and that I had to wait about a month before adding any fish, which apparently neither did he... or did he just think the fish would be ok anyway? :thinking:
Anyway, he had 2 buckets, 1 w. fish & the other w. inverts. He told me to introduce the fish using the "drip method" listed here on SWF. So here's the list of what he had:
1 Royal Gramma
1 Tomato Clownfish
1 Clarkii Clownfish
1 Humu Picasso Triggerfish
2 Yellowtail Damsels
About 10 Blueleg Hermit Crabs
2 or 3 Snails
1 Brittle Starfish
I had no idea what most of these fish were at first, and he had had them for years together, so I assumed they must be compatible & stay small enough for my tank. But a couple days later I started doing research & found out what most of the fish were. I know the Humu Picasso will outgrow the tank eventually (he's about 2.5" now) and is supposed to be very aggressive, but so far has not touched a thing except for my Brittle Starfish, which he eventually killed. The Royal Gramma & Tomato Clownfish have also both died, but probably just from the high amounts of ammonia & nitrate from the cycle?
The main thing I'm conecerned about now is the cycle. I have had everything on the list, except the Gramma, Tomato & Brittle Star which have died, now, and it's been about 5 weeks since I put them into the tank and started the cycle. I'm really getting worried now because, after this long, the cycle still isn't done, and both the ammonia & the nitrite levels are still very high. Will they eventually go down still? Since I have so many fish in the tank now, it would make since for the cycle to take a bit longer. But if it's not going to go down now, since it's been so long already, do you think I may have to get rid of everything & start all over agian? I am hoping not, but that's what it is looking like right now.
Does anybody know if it is possible to start a cycle & it never finish, where the ammonia & nitrite stay really high after the cycle should already be over & you have to start all over again?
Another thing I'm concerned about is equipment. He told me he gave me enough, but now I know I'm gonna need more. All he gave me for filtration was a Tetra Whisper 30-60 Power Filter, and for aeration, just a small air pump & an airstone. I also have a 120 watt heater, which I know is not enough. The water temperature is constantly changing, from 76-80°F, but it doesn't usually change that much that fast.
Does anybody know what other equipment I will need? I am not going to have many fishes in the tank, since I am getting rid of the Triggerfish soon. Then I'll just have the Clarkii Clownfish & the 2 Yellowtail Damsels. I also am only 14 years old & don't even have a job yet, so I can't afford much. But I am still willing to spend a little bit on some better equipment.
I'm sorry I sound like such a newbie. But when I first got everything set up, I did not know much about SW fish, and didn't even know there was such a thing as a "cycle" with SW fish. The guy that gave me everything for it told me that SW was basically just like FW and that the only difference when setting up the tank was adding the salt (which, BTW, I kinda added a bit too much of... 1.026 is the reading I get, which hear is a bit too high- any suggestions?) and the way you acclimate the fish.
Any help here is greatly appreciated, and thanks for taking the tyime to read all this & help me out. Sorry it's so long.
:help:
