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Post by Betta MVP on Jun 25, 2003 18:40:29 GMT -5
That is such a great idea for a background, I love it!
Sounds like you have Nemo on his way to a nice cycled tank. Good luck, he looks pretty happy in that pic. Keep up with the water changes and all should be well very soon!
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Post by Lisa on Jun 25, 2003 22:37:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments on the background of the tank. My 5-year-old didn't want Nemo to be alone, so he drew a few plants, bubbles (even a bubble nest), a goldfish, shark, and rainbow fish. It was also the only background that Nemo wouldn't flare up at. =)
Still yellow on the ammonia sensor! I am so excited, and I have you all to thank!
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Post by Denise on Jun 26, 2003 2:32:04 GMT -5
You have already received lots of good information. Bettamvp is very helpful and knowledgeable about cycling which is great because many times questions come up about that. My bettas are in bowls which are cleaned 100% every week. My goldfish are in a ten gallon cycled tank, but I've had it over ten years and can't remember that much about how I started it, just that I followed the advice of my pet store step by step.
I have always used Amquel and Novaqua for the goldfish and the bettas. Amquel is like AmmoLock and I also have heard that you can get false ammonia readings with these products unless you have just the right test kit. One other thing I read on a website about fishless cycling was not to use Amquel or AmmoLock when first starting a tank because it gets rid of the ammonia which the good bacteria need to feed on in order to live and grow. With no ammonia, the good bacteria cannot get established which is the purpose of cycling. I use it because I'm afraid our tap water has ammonia and because the pet store told me to use it years ago and I was new so I did what they said. But for starting a new tank, the theory of not using it in order for the good bacteria to have something to feed on makes a lot of sense to me. Frequent partial water changes during the cyclying process should prevent any ammonia danger to your betta. In order not to disturb the gravel at this point, you might want to dip water out with a plastic cup and use your syphon vac after a month or so.
Sometimes one gallon bowls are so much easier, but the cycled tank will be so nice when it is established. I wish you luck and a healthy betta!
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Post by Betta MVP on Jun 26, 2003 11:43:35 GMT -5
I'm not sure about Amquel, but Ammolock shouldn't affect the cycle. It detoxifies the ammonia so that it won't harm your fish, but doesn't get rid of it completely and the bacteria can still feed on it.
Lisa I forgot to mention, once your cycle is finished, you shouldn't need to use Ammolock at all since the bacteria will get rid of the ammonia for you.
Personally, I use the Amquel/NovAqua combo in all of my betta bowls and jars, but for cycled tanks, I only use the NovAqua.
I'm a huge fan of fishless cycling, but I won't preach it unless people actually want to hear it lol.
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Post by GypsyBetta on Jul 11, 2003 20:07:38 GMT -5
:-/I am at a bit of a loss here...(glad you got the problem solved, by the way)
I am no advocate of dirty tanks, but even if you did nothing, no treatment chemicals (except to remove the tap nasties) no filter, no anything...how could 1 betta raise ammonia levels to toxic in a 5.5 gallon tank after only 2 days. I don't think it can be done. Even given that things were "cycling"
A lot of people don't use filters at all (to avoid fin damage) and even on a gallon tank you only need to change the water once a week...
If you are sure the test kit wasn't faulty, maybe there was something weird about the chems you were using, or combining so many. I don't know.
But bettas don't poop that much.
Could your son have been putting food in when you weren't looking? Rotting food might do it...no, that's not it. If that were the case then you would still be getting the high readings...I just don't know.
But whatever it was, at least it went away. Good Job
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