Bad advice from the pet store...

[amelsea]

I recently got some bad advice from my local pet store. I am new to the aquatic hobby and needed advice for setting up my tank. The store manager tells me to set up the tank and let it run for a few days before adding fish. This goes alright and I add my first fish. Soon after, they tell me it is alright to add more fish to my tank. Once again, seems to be going alright. Then I start looking around online, reading post on this site. This is the first time that I have heard of cycling. After having tested my water I realize that the advice they gave me may be putting my fish in danger.

The results of my test say that ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all high. The fish seem to be doing well but I am still concerned. The tank has been up for a month. After finding out about the high level of toxin in the tank I have done several water changes (as recommended by the same manager, all before finding this site).

So the question is... What can I do to rectify this situation? I want to make sure that my fish are safe and healthy. Is there anything that I can change to make sure they survive?

A few things that I have done to combat this situation:
-upgraded the filtration to the penguin biowheel for 50 gal tanks
-frequent water changes, starting at 10 gal, then 5 gal every few days
-keeping the bacteria boost added once weekly

Once again, this is what the people at the store recommended. I am done listening to them about my new aquarium. The tank is 20 gal and currently has four fish. Any recommendations and advice is much appreciated.

[Lady Hobbs]

I hope you didn't replace that old filter when you upgraded to the new one of you will have lost the bacteria already in the old one. You should have run both filters until the new one got a change to get seeded with bacteria, too.

You should have a test kit so you can test the water each day. If you do, what are those levels? Have you read the cycling with fish link in my signature? It may answer some of your question for you.

What kind of fish do you have?

[genocidex]

yea one thing you dont want to do is blindly follow your lfs advice. they are useually trying to sell you something you dont need. is the tank a 20 long or high? is this the same as the last post u made?
pritty much any info can help
at this point i think the best you can do is keep up the water changes and let the tank cycle. let the ammonia and nitrites drop to 0 or close to it. do any tests before the water change.
hope the fish make it threw the cycle alright.

[Grangers710]

definitely read the cycling thread lady hobbs is talking about. I'm far from an expert, but I've had fish for a long time on and off, and I have YET to received solid advice from a chain pet store. I was actually at one tonight and a guy told the salesperson that he had just bought a 75 gallon tank and was about to set it up and the guy was selling him fish. Just crazy stuff. Mixing tank waters, grabbing fish from tanks with dead fish. Very disappointing stuff.

Hopefully you don't lose the 4 fish you got, but definitely read the cycle info, and perhaps you can take these 4 fish back until you're properly cycled? I'm doing a cycle WITH fish currently (day 13) but I now have hardy fish for it so these guys should be ok. Good luck! This site is great and so many knowledgeable people here to help us newbies.

[amelsea]

I did read the cycling articles. I wish I had been able to read them before starting the tank. Unfortunately I did not keep the old filter or run both. There was nothing that indicated that I needed to do this or, after asking about how to properly do this, was never told this should be done.

I did take water test today and have the results with the exception of ammonia, they are as follows:

Nitrate:
between 0 - 20
Nitrite:
between 0 - 0.5
Hardness:
between 250 - 425
Total Alkalinity:
between 120 - 180
pH:
between 7.2 - 7.6

I have a twenty gallon high freshwater tank. After getting advice from the store these are the fish that are now in the tank.

-Dalmatian Molly
-Geo Brazilian Cichlid
-Pimelodella Pictus Cat
-Marble Sailfin Pleco

[Grangers710]

go get an ammonia liquid test tomorrow if you dont already have one. That one and nitrite right now are crucial. API has a pretty decent liquid Ammonia test vs using strips. Good luck!

[genocidex]

the ammonia nitrites and nitrates are what you need to be worried about
ph (as long as its not outrageous) is just a tell of how stable the tank is. hardness shouldnt be an issue
do you have a bubbler running in over drive?

[ilroost]

3 things you can do
water changes
water changes
water changes

[imma24]

I just wanted to make sure that what you have in your tank is compatible with the size of it - I found that your marble pleco is destined to grow to over 1 foot - hardly enough space in what you have now, the cichlid is due to be 7-11 inches & the catfish needs a large tank because it's active & will grow to 5" - the Molly won't get to be more than 3in. In addition to being concerned with the ammonia/nitrites level in your tank (they should both be at 0 by the time your tank finishes cycling), it's also important to look up fish before you purchase them or ask here. The fish sold in stores are juveniles so you need to consider how large they will eventually grow to be before you buy them so they have adequate space to swim and grow.

The other advice is to not buy any more fish until you know your tank is cycled and as ilroost said above, water changes are important to help your fish get through the cycling process. If you choose to keep any of the smaller fish, you will eventually need to get a larger tank - if you can't afford a larger tank in the future, it is usually recommended to return them or find them another home.

[SunSchein89]

I would rehome everything, but your dalmatian molly, if you still want to keep him/her that is. Everything else will get way too big. Unless you're seriously planning on getting a rather large tank in the near future, it would probably be for the best to do it sooner rather than later.