Question: Problem with tank cycle

Yep i have another problem! :sad:
Everything was going well after the fungus which went after only two days which i thought was great! And he has been eating about two earthworms a day. He did pass three pieces of gravel though but other than that fine until today when i went to feed him he spat the worm out and looked like he was choking even though he hadnt eaten any. So i tested the water and have discovered that when i took the sand out and changed a lot of water to get all the fungus out i must have caused the cycle to go back to square one or at least i think so. Im unsure as to whether i should take him out again which stresses him out alot or to keep changing some of the water to make it livable until it has fully cycled again? the reading i got earlier were ph-7.4 ammonia-0.5 nitrite-0.25 nitrate-10. I asume if im right in thinking the nitrate reading means its starting to cycle again? but worried about the nitrite and if this is the cause for his behavior? Sorry about the length of my question. I just dont want to lose him!

filtration?

Yep i have a filter that came with the tank. I have it on low so as not to disturb the water to much because they dont like it on fast flow do they. The water reading were always fine before i cleaned out the sand and fungus.

How many axos/size?
What size tank/dimensions?
What type of filter is it and what media is in the filter? Brand?
How often do you do water changes and how much %?

Removing all the sand and changing water likely caused the bloom.

I would just continue doing 20% water changes daily until the beneficial bacteria gets re-established in the filters. Feed less too during this period to minimize ammonia.

I just have the one axie. The tank is 60cms and the make is marina. I was changing about 20% about once or twice a week when the tests were fine but am going to do it every day now. Thanks

Hi does anyone have any idea how long it might take to re-cycle? I dont think it should take to long as i didnt clean the filter media when i made the mistake of removing the sand and water when he had fungus. Im just worried about him being in there but i would rather not remove him if i can help it as he gets a bit stressed when i remove him. I have cut down his food to one small earthworm a day and he seems ok other than being more active. the nitrate has gone up slightly and the nitrite so im changing 20% once or twice a day now. All help has been much appreciated!

take a look @ New Aquarium Blues: The Nitrogen Cycle, by Rajendra Kumar G.G.

My fish are already dying, what do I do?

Reduce the levels of these toxic chemicals by a DAILY partial water change. Alternatively you could remove the fish and put them into a large bucket of fresh water immediately. Replace the water in the bucket completely every day till the aquarium has completed the nitrogen cycle.

You can add anti Ammonia compounds like Ammolock, Amquel etc. These compounds lock up the Ammonia and provide complete relief to the fish within an hour.

Click to expand...

I haven't tried anti ammonia solutions so i don't know the risk involved.

Thank you again this has been my first experience with an aquarium so its always good to go over some of the info again. So from that info i gather i have to choose between keeping him in there and changing the water everyday or removing him. I might consider adding sand again for more surface area.

i would keep him in there just to minimize potential stress. depending on how bad the water parameters are right now. what are they at?

i would also look into investing in a good filter with proper filter media.

Just got some more water ready for another 20% change this evening once it has sat to reach the same temp. It seems to be progressing quite fast going to do two changes a day now as the ph is the same but ammonia has gone down to 0.25 but nitrite has just reached 1.0 which i know is harmful and nitrate has gone up to 20. He doesnt appear to be too stressed the tip of his tail has curled slightly from time to time but i expected some level of stress but i did notice it was like it at the pet shop. But no strange behavior now and has happily eaten.