Help! I inherited a GSP today, no cycled tank.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Ich doesn't look anything like what you're describing. It looks like grains of salt sprinkled all over the body.

The C-shape is a normal sleeping and resting position.

[kilofey]

i agree.... i would move him to the 30 gal asap. it cant be any worse than what i did.... i had a 9" puffer in an uncycled tank..... i was kind of in a situation similar to yours.... i just did daily water changes

these 4 products helped me:

--PRIME $10 (it removes ammonia, chlorine, & chloramine. it also detoxifies nitrite and nitrate and provides a good slime coat to keep him healthy) its highly concentrated, just one cap will treat 50 gallons and its a big bottle. really good for an uncycled tank
--DR TIMS ONE AND ONLY $13 (immediately cycles your tank with live bacteria) the 2 oz bottle treats 60gal i think it is
--API LIQUID TEST KIT (more accurate than the test strips, nitrite and nitrate are the important ones) not sure on $$$ cause i bought the delux test kit for $30, but that has 6 different tests, so way less than $30 since youre only buying 2 of them
--SEACHEM AMMONIA MONITOR $5 bucks (when using prime, your ammonia test will give you a false positive... hard to explain but it does, the seachem ammonia monitor will give you an accurate reading) theres also a seachem liquid ammonia test, but i heard its ungodly complicated and the monitor does the same thing and you dont have to do anything mroe than suctioncup it to the tank wall


seriously, ^^^^^^^ thats the emergency cycleing kit right there, those products saved my fish..... if you get those, youll have a cycled tank that day... and those prices are what i paid for them, id go to drsfosterandsmith.com you can get everything in one spot and its $5.99 flat rate shipping right now

[LilGreenPuffer]

I would get an API ammonia test too, for the rest of the time. Just get the API master freshwater kit, which includes pH.

[kilofey]

i dont even use the API ammonia test any more cause i dont trust it with the use of prime.... i just keep up on water changes.... how long will it give a false reading after using prime? id like to know so i can test to at least once in a while.... i know theres no ammonia any more, but id like to be able to get an accurate reading periodically.... PS- thats the one i have, the master kit

[Pufferpunk]

Is he moved yet?

[smithmeagan]

We moved him last night to the 30 gallon tank. We purchased Prime and the Seachem Ammonia Monitor, and Pimafix and Melafix for the white stuff growing on him. It's white and spongy looking and kind of sounds like the illnesses the bottles said they are designed to treat so we got both to be safe. It has expanded from just the little frilly thing on his nose and now covers an area about 1cm x 1cm down his nose and the side of his face (on a fish that's maybe 2" long). We looked at three different stores for Dr. Tim's or Bio-Spira but no luck. If we can't find it this afternoon, we'll order it online. Like I said though, we were able to get some of the gravel from the old tank and supplemented it with another gravel product that says it contains some of the active bacteria we need so hopefully that's helping. We've been doing twice daily tests, and daily water changes up until now and will continue to do so. So far he's been eating, the water looks good and the chemical levels are all in check...now its just this thing on his nose that's worrying us. Wish us luck!

[kilofey]

well good luck! and pimafix and melafix should definately help, they work really well together while still being able to dose the full dosages of each... BUT dont forget to remove your carbon cartridge! the carbon will remove all the pima/melafix you put in the tank (which would make it useless and expensive, i know, that stuff isnt cheap!).... i wouold just take some tank water and put the cartridge in a tupperware container (no lid) to keep it wet, whatever good bacteria may be on it, you will want to keep that. if you keep up on WCs your tank will be fine without the carbon, some people dont even use carbon at all... so as long as your water changes are consistant and often and you monitor the water quality closely, you should be fine, also, have you added any aquarium salt? that usually helps speed up the healing process (no marine salt tho).... just dose 1 tbl spoon per 10 gal... is it fluffy or cottony? if it is, pima/melafix will definately help... and keep your air stone on, i heard the medications can remove some of the oxygen from the water, which will most likely slow the healing process as well if they cant breathe right... and BTW, Dr tims is mostly sold online, i was looking for it in stores and thats what the lady told me... so you may want to give up and just get some online

ok well, i hope this helps. good luck

[An2n]

I had Lee and Carter in a 5 gallon tank for three weeks with constant 100% water change every week before I found out about this forum, but they survived. I checked nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia every water change. I used Stability and AquaSafe for the live bacteria since I couldnt find any BioSpira nor Dr. Tim's One and Prime for the Dechlorinator.

questions: What do the article in Feeding mean when they say soak the food in vitamin water? does this apply to frozen/dried bloodworms and krill too??

[busybones]

questions: What do the article in Feeding mean when they say soak the food in vitamin water? does this apply to frozen/dried bloodworms and krill too??

I use vita-chem (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4998) I use it on my frozen bloodworms/krill along with most everything else. I do not use the dried worms but don't see why it would be a problem.

[kilofey]

soaking the food isnt really necessary.... i do it... and i use vita chem... (also sold at drsfosterandsmith.com) but if you dont use vitamins.... its not going to kill them, its just like if you take vitamins... its good for you, but not completely necessary.... to tell you the truth.... my puffers get vitamins and i dont even give myself vitamins lol.... i treat them better than i do myself

[DarkStorm]

hope everythings working out for you. sucks to jump in to the hobby this way but at least you found the site that can help with all of it. would love to see a pic of your set up when you get it all under control.

[An2n]

oh btw welcome to the forum!! Goodluck with your puffers and I hope you end up staring at them for half hour or more every day. hahaha!

[kilofey]

oh btw welcome to the forum!! Goodluck with your puffers and I hope you end up staring at them for half hour or more every day. hahaha!

even if you think you wont spend half your life all googly eyed over your puffer.... you will, its inevitable... we all do

[An2n]

Hmmm.. so How would I know if my tank is cycled?

[Pufferpunk]

Ammonia & nitrite will remain 0 & there will be some nitrate.