Killer plants eating feeder goldfish?

[megastealer]

Hi - I am cycling a 29 gallon tank outside, and to try and get a natural cycle going, I put in 5 feeders along with 2 water wisteria, 2 big amazon swords, and a java fern with 5 baby plants attatched.

This morning, I went out to check on the tank and its progress. I had noticed the next day that I didnt see as many fish swimming around, but I thought they were just scared of me and hiding like normal.

However, upon closer examination this morning, I noticed only 3 little fish swimming around.

Looking further, one of the feeders had wedged itself in between two of the tiny stalks of my java fern, and I removed it from the tank.

I found another dead in water wisteria... he had tangled himself up in the leaves.

I feel sorta bad about this... should I not put feeders in with the plants? I know they're feeder goldfish, but I didn't mean for my plants to eat them!

[MonkeyPox]

Feeders are notoriously bad to cycle with, as they are kept in the worst conditions at pet stores.

A couple other notes- cycling your tank outside = bad idea. You're going to have an algae explosion shortly. Depending where in the country you live and your weather, your tank could also undergo a pretty severe temp change throughout the day/night- which could also account for death.

Lastly, get a test kit if you don't already have one and post your parameters.

[Algenco]

the plants didn't kill the fish

[Needi]

I would follow monkeypox's advice to the letter. But still...attack of the plants...could be the next big hit. And i would guess that the rapid temp changes and quality of feeder fish is what did them in.

[MonkeyPox]

the plants didn't kill the fish

I really think he was joking thumbs2:

[Northernguy]

Got a test kit yet?
My money is on perameters that killed the fish!
How many water changes have you done on the tank in question?
What is a natural cycle.Fill the tank add fish and plants and leave it be?

[megastealer]

I live in Mobile - from what I see the outside temps don't varry too widely. When I say outside, I meant screened in porch with shades... so it gets the outside temperature but I cut off the sun after a while each day to limit algae.

It does stay nice and warm though, which I figured is good for bacteria growth.

Would you recommend a different fish for cycling?

I've heard about danios... but I don't know how much they cost exactly.

My parents also won't let me have two tanks in the house at once... so we negotiated for the screened in porch. I guess I should have mentioned that.

I checked water parameters yesterday and everything was still around 0. I don't want to waste my drops so I'll check again tomorrow.

And yeah... the killer plants thing was a joke lol! But they seem to have accounted for both deaths as they were both wedged in the plants pretty well. The water wasteria's leaf was completely wrapped around one of the fish like gift wrap... it was a really strange sight.

[MonkeyPox]

Danios run from a dime to quarter or so each. Get a decent sized school. If you don't have a friend who has a tank you can bum some media off of, grab a bottle of Tetra SafeStart if you can when you add your fish.

Don't be in the mind set of wasting drops on test kits- its important information and something you should be testing daily until you're fully established. The API test kids usually have enough chemical for 150 tests or so. Buying a master test kit can save some money as well.

Everything 0 doesn't sound right to me. Are you using carbon or some other ammonia eating filter in your tank?

There will be temp fluctuation throughout the day. I would seriously reconsider placement. You will get algae and you will be very limited to what stock you can place out there.

[megastealer]

Everything 0 doesn't sound right to me. Are you using carbon or some other ammonia eating filter in your tank?

There will be temp fluctuation throughout the day. I would seriously reconsider placement. You will get algae and you will be very limited to what stock you can place out there.

I am using carbon.. should I take the carbon filter out? I have one of the filters with a blue mat, which I assume has carbon in it, and the black mat, which is just a mat. Don't the bacteria build up in both?

Also, I have been using Stress Zyme for bacteria growth - does that do the same thing as SafeStart?

And for placement... the screened in porch was the best I could do. I was kind of lucky to negotiate past the carport.

Once the tank is cycled it will come inside and replace my 10g.

[MonkeyPox]

It sounds like you have 2 aquariums running. If so, use one to see the other.

No, you should not be running carbon or anything else that will absorb ammonia. You want ammonia in your tank- that's what your nitro bacteria are consuming to produce nitrite, which more bacteria will consume to produce nitrate.

Mechanical and biological filtration are all you need when you are starting a cycle.

I've never used stress zyme, but from what I can see, its the same thing. Make sure you're following the directions.
From what I can find,

"New Aquariums:
On the 1st, 7th, and 14th days add 2 teaspoonfuls (10 ml) for every 10 U.S. gallons (40 L) of aquarium water. Thereafter, each week add 1 teaspoonful (5 ml) for every 10 gallons (40 L) of aquarium water. "

So make sure you're following this.

[megastealer]

Yep - my calendar is marked and I follow those directions to the letter. I actually bought a teaspoon just for fish stuff lol. My mom was tired of me stealing hers.

I'll try and get some media off this filter as well to speed things up. The 10g has just finished cycling... I have been getting nitrates for the longest time, but up until today and yesterday my nitrites kept spiking up too high, presumably because I didn't have enough of the nitrite bacteria..

[rangur1]

i am really confused??? your previous quote mentions your going to swap out the 10 gallon tank for the 29 gallon tank presently out on your porch. you are going to do this when the 29 finishes cycling? ok, how will you move the tank? because if you break it down to move it you could easily lose your bacteria culture. why not set up both tanks to their final locations prior to cycling? i don't mean to be picky, i'm just curious.