# Fishless cycling finished , should i clean my filter before adding fish ?



## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Hi guys,

my fishless cycle finished . Going to do a water change tonight and plan to add new fish tomorrow .

But not sure if i should clean my filter ? It has lots of Hornwort "spikes" stuck in it , should i just rince the sponge in a dirty change water ? I just want to make sure it wont mess up my cycle (wont kill bacteria) .

I also have a lot of these "spikes" from Hornwort on gravel,but i guess when doing water change i will use syphon and will get rid of most of it , but are there any fish/snails or anything that eat dead plants/leaves ?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can rinse the spond in tank water removed for a water change or conditioned water. I'd remove all the plant debris, epecially if in excess. Small amounts are okay. Large amounts can create a problem when it starts to decay.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Thanks so much for your reply,just wasnt sure if i should do that , didnt want to mess things up. 

I will rinse the sponge and will try to get most of it out from gravel aswell.


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## bolram (May 17, 2011)

Bet you're excited to be at the stage you can finally add your fish 

Yeah as above just use the water you take out to quickly rinse of the filter


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## Sweetgreenleaf1369 (Jun 24, 2011)

Rinse you fillter out with Aquarium whater this way you keep h bacteria on you filter and get rid of the waste off.....


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Yes Bolram, i am excited,but kids even more excited , they cant wait to get the fish in there.

As soon as i picked filter all of theese "spikes" fell back into tank , but cleaned most of it with gravel syphon , not all of it but most .

The water change didnt really help to get nitrates down,still 40-80 ppm , should i add fish today or should i wait for them to go down ? are nitrates between 40-80 big danger to fish ?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Don't you have nitrates in your tap? Can't remember.... 40-80 is not bad as long as it is not persistent. Do a larger water change next week and it will lower it more. Just remember to add fish slowly. Start thinking now about stocking level. If the tank is smaller, say 20g or less, personally I'd keep the stocking to about at the 75% level. For some reason everyone with smaller tanks want to push their limits and when that is done is doesn't allow much to be a little off without causing an issue. To the fish, the tank will feel cramped the more fish you have, causing stress, disease, etc... Just not worth the hassle. It is much more enjoyable a hobby when you're NOT going from one issue to the next and you're never afforded the time to really enjoy it.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Yeah,i got high nitrates in my tap water,but when i done water change last night,i used 50% bottled drinking water and 50% tap water, i used bottled water to get nitrates down,but it didnt help ... 

i am planning to get neon tetras or cardinal tetras today . i did a reaserch on google,i should buy at least 6 of them,cos they dont like being in smaller groups.

If doing things by 1cm per litre rule,i can add 54 cm , and 6 cardinal tetras (5cm each when fully grown) would work out 30 cm . Hope its not too much for new tank ? or should i get 3 platys or guppys instead ? (15 cm in total when fully grown).

But i dont really want platys or guppies,cos they have too many babies,the tank will get overstocked,i got no where to keep these babies . Kids would love it,but what to do with them when they grow ? cant just flush them down the toilet .

Lovely fish they are , both platys and guppies , so colourfull , but on google i read they need to be kept 2 females to 1 male,which means lots of babies , then babies have their babies and so on and on ... endless ! dont want that .


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## bolram (May 17, 2011)

I bet they are lol

Oh and i went to my pets at home this week and saw what holly was talking, the nitra-zorb or whatever it is. First time ive seen it but they got new brands stocking now so it may be worth getting one of them for your peaking nitrates

Try avoiding platys and guppies lol they will breed like theres no tomorrow and over run within no time. You will be safe with neons as i started with them as my first added i put in 6 and they were fine.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can just get all males.

Don't assume 54cm for your tank. My guess is you are quite a few liters short of what the tank capacity is. The rated info is all the way to the rim....nobody runs them that high and all the water displaced from all you have in it.


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## Sweetgreenleaf1369 (Jun 24, 2011)

You might try putting some live plants in your tank this can help, as for the fish you could find out if your fish store would buy baby fish from you, are sometime they do so by trading for other merchandise..


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Just an idea, but it works: use a plastic zip-loc baggie and put it around the filter inlet where all the plant bits are stuck (in the tank) and then lift the filter/outlet out in the bag. That way, all the plant bits fall out into the bag and not into the tank. (You're taking some water out for a PWC anyway, so a little bit more in the bag won't hurt.)


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

You are genius Holly ! Very good idea ! 

we ended up getting 5 neon tetras yesterday,our first ever fish ! 
but 1 of them seems to be very shy ... hides behind filter or plants , any one got any ideas why this could be ? other 4 seems to be enjoying their new home,playing with bubbles and being active . 

I hope he/she is not sick or anything like that .


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## Sweetgreenleaf1369 (Jun 24, 2011)

holly12 said:


> Just an idea, but it works: use a plastic zip-loc baggie and put it around the filter inlet where all the plant bits are stuck (in the tank) and then lift the filter/outlet out in the bag. That way, all the plant bits fall out into the bag and not into the tank. (You're taking some water out for a PWC anyway, so a little bit more in the bag won't hurt.)


Great idea Holly12:fish10:


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

oh,and they gave me flakes to feed our fish , is that enough ? dont they need something else ? I was told that thats all they need and its enough,but its somehow hard to believe.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

The shy one doesnt even eat ! ? ! 
What should i do ? 
Should i take it back to the shop ?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Dont be alarmed if the fish dont eat.many of them will be too stressed for a few days.I would give them a few more days(about a week or two)and if they still dont eat,try something else.I am not a fan of flakes,all my fish get pellets frozen and live.

Keep an eye on the little one who doesnt eat,look for faded color,spots,clamped fins,ect.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

Thanks guys,i moved the rock where this little tetra was hiding just before feeding them,but it didnt help,he just didnt want any food , and within 2 minutes went back to hide .

I know i need to be carefull how much i feed my fish,but the thing is,the filter and bubble wall makes these flakes to float arround too fast and then they sink to the bottom (the tank is only 30cm tall) ,but fishes are still hungry and they are not eating it off the gravel.

Is it a good idea to turn off filter and bubble wall at feeing times so the water stays still ?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Its a good idea to not feed for the first few days. They will eat.


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## sondre (Jun 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Its a good idea to not feed for the first few days. They will eat.


Oh .... why ??? Wont they die without food ?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Nope. Fish in the wild don't always find food everyday. They eat when it's available. A few days of no feeding definitely won't hurt them.


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