Angelfish Help

[Mmiller2001]

25 minutes ago, GUPPY92 said:

Another Quick Question. Lets say the Pet Store PH is 7.0 and my is 8.2 should i lower my PH or should I acclimate them kind of like you would shrimp just a little quicker.

I would ignore pH. Matching GH and KH is more stabilizing.

@Colurecommendation is the best way to go about that. 

Personally, before starting the drip, I would add 1 drop of Prime to the fish bag then start the drip.

[GUPPY92]

Hey Guys

 I have been doing a 50% water change everyday and yesterday I did a 80% water change and I did a water test this morning and its still at 2.0 can not seen to get lower then that. Am I doing something wrong or is that normal. BTW the fish seem perfectly fine.

[Solidus1833]

10 minutes ago, GUPPY92 said:

Hey Guys

 I have been doing a 50% water change everyday and yesterday I did a 80% water change and I did a water test this morning and its still at 2.0 can not seen to get lower then that. Am I doing something wrong or is that normal. BTW the fish seem perfectly fine.

Remember its a balance. Too much water change will result in a stagnant cycle or crash  it. If you are referring to nitrite, then you must wait it out. Do 30% a day and detoxify with prime if there are animals in the aquarium. If you are referring to ammonia, you could be getting a false reading as water conditioners like prime will cause this. Beneficial bacteria will take care of that overtime. 

[GUPPY92]

Sorry about that. Yes I mean nitrite. So you would recommend 30% water change per day?

[Schwack]

Since you've got fish in there, I'd stick to the 50%, but there's also the possibility that your remaining fish are a bit hardier than the ones you've lost and are handling the elevated nitrite OK. You're unlikely to starve out your bacteria, especially since you have a ready source of ammonia. Right now, you're in the awkward spot of needing enough ammonia/nitrite that your bacteria colonies can grow out to support livestock while also needing to keep things at a level which won't harm your fish. Trying to find a water change schedule in a fresh, uncycled tank is a real challenge, it's part of what makes fish-in cycles tough to get through unscathed.

Like I said before, if you're at 2 ppm right now, a 50% water change today brings you down to ~1ppm. As fish expel waste, that's gonna get bumped up. By the time you come back for a second 50% change, nitrite might be sitting at 2ppm again. In your shoes, I'd probably subject the fish to one day of stress by performing a few 50% changes several hours apart. Three of those gets you down to ~.5ppm, a range which is a bit more bearable for most fish. A fourth would probably have things below .25ppm, from that point you'd be golden to do daily maintenance changes and just wait on the cycle to finish. That said, you're balancing the stress of water changes vs the stress of less-than-desirable water parameters and I'm not sure there's a clear-cut correct answer for you.

If you were a more experienced aquarist you could try watching your fish for signs of stress (labored breathing, gasping at the surface, laying on the bottom, etc) before intervening with a water change, but since you're new to the hobby I'd recommend a schedule over observation. Obviously, if you see any of these signs, that's probably a signal to change water.

Based on some discussions from a week or so ago, I'm not sure how helpful dosing Prime to "neutralize" ammonia/nitrite will be, but it's unlikely to harm anything so 🤷‍♂️.

edit: Also, stop feeding these guys if you haven't already. Give 'em a sprinkle every other/every second day. This should slow down their waste production and give your beneficial bacteria time to catch up.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Schwack

[GUPPY92]

Thanks for the advice. But when I watch the fish they seem perfect they are active. By looking at the fish everything is perfect. 

[HH Morant]

Test your tap water.

[GUPPY92]

Already Did No Nitrite

[GUPPY92]

Hey my tank is showing 0% Nitrite!! I'm feeding once a day. Should I still do a 25% water change every day for a couple more days? Is it going to effect my good bacteria growth?

[Solidus1833]

4 minutes ago, GUPPY92 said:

Hey my tank is showing 0% Nitrite!! I'm feeding once a day. Should I still do a 25% water change every day for a couple more days? Is it going to effect my good bacteria growth?

If you zero nitrite, I'd leave the tank until your nitrate hits around 80ppm or whatever your 'WC' target is. Good job, glad you recovered. 

[Schwack]

5 minutes ago, GUPPY92 said:

Hey my tank is showing 0% Nitrite!! I'm feeding once a day. Should I still do a 25% water change every day for a couple more days? Is it going to effect my good bacteria growth?

If ammonia and nitrite are at 0, I would not do a water change unless nitrates are crazy high. Sounds like your cycle is starting to turn a corner.

[Stash Beardsley]

I would get Fritz Zyme 7 and add it for a fish in cycle. Or get some filter material from an established aquarium.

[GUPPY92]

Should I go back to regular feeding cycles?

[Schwack]

45 minutes ago, GUPPY92 said:

Should I go back to regular feeding cycles?

Once a day isn't a regular feeding cycle? A hungry fish is a happy fish!

I'd keep doing what you're doing while monitoring nitrites. Once you end up with ammonia AND nitrite at zero after a few days of normal activity, you can consider your tank cycled and good to, slowly, add more livestock.