The Puffer Forum

he passed away this morning:/ im just going to let my tank cycle for like a month. i also noticed i have these little bug looking things like baby crayfish with wings???? what fish should i put inside to cycle it? im gonns wait a month or so to purchase a new one. i feel like crap cuz i was the demise of this little fella:(((

Most likely damsel fly nymphs. Probably came with the plants.

Ok. How can i get rid of them? And is there a puffer u guys can recommend to me? Or should i just try a miurus? I always had cichlid tanks i was thinking about some shell dwellers in my 20. What do u guys think??

dustin808 wrote:Ok. How can i get rid of them? And is there a puffer u guys can recommend to me? Or should i just try a miurus? I always had cichlid tanks i was thinking about some shell dwellers in my 20. What do u guys think??

Which ever fish you decide just make sure you know as much or more than the guy in the shop about it. Reserch the fish you can get then see which would suit you.

Sorry
Don't put any fish in the tank, keep it empty for 4 weeks, no fish hosts, but feed the tank like there is fish inside. This will keep the bacteria alive and allow any disease to die off.

im cycling it now, i through some common corys in there too eat those bug things. but other then that it seems to be going good. my plan is to get a decent size multifasciatus breeder tank, ill eventually get a bigger tank for a puffer. then ill have clean feeder multifasciatus for him.

Cycling a tank is something you do before you put fish in, it's the process of building up your beneficial bacteria to break down waste products into less harmful nitrates. A cycled tank will read ammonia, nitrite, at 0, and nitrate preferably under 20. This should be done without fish, as the bacteria only need an ammonia source. Are you saying your tank was uncycled?

Since you just had a fish die, it would be wise to leave the tank without fish in it because any parasites etc. will die off without a fish host. By keeping fish in, you will perpetuate the possible disease (s)
What do you mean when you say you're cycling it?
Those "worms" are present when fish have been overfeed, unless it's something else less benign.

ooo well ive always used some kind of fish to cycle my tank. i did a 100percent water change when the puffer died

The bacteria doesn't live in the water, it's attached to surfaces. Doing a large water change doesn't un-cycle a tank. http://theaquariumwiki.com/Aquarium_Mic ... rification

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article58.html

Cycling a tank with fish is an outdated method, it subjects the fish to inhospitable conditions unnecessarily.
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