# doomed to a life of flight?



## librarybill (Apr 14, 2005)

Hello anyone,

I have a six gallon eclipse with a betta and 3 brilliant rasboras purchased accidentally (fish mislabled in store) for about two weeks.

The betta regularly tries to catch the smaller fish. Until now, they have proven far too speedy for him.

The three little ones stay almost exclusivly at the very bottom of the tank only rising to play in the filter return occasionally. From the little i can find online about these fish (RASBORA BORAPETENSIS) it seems that they normally swim all over the tank.

My question is: are they still "getting used to the tank" or have they been cowed into complete submission by the more agressive and doomed to a life of constant flight and fear of impending death... like the rest of us? :wink:


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

First things first. Did you cycle your tank?


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

The rasboras would need a proper school 6-8 minimum, 3 is not enough. Though a proper school wouldn't fit into your tank. Have you considered moving them to a bigger one and getting some pals? Or taking them back to the store?IMO even the betta would deserve a bigger tank. The betta can also behave aggressively towards other fish in small tanks.


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## librarybill (Apr 14, 2005)

I cycled for a week using the stress zyme they gave me at lfs, and i bought a live plant to go in there too.

6 gallons too small for a betta? Damn, Osteo, I wish i was one of your fish. In college I swear I shared a dorm room that was only 5 gallons tops.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

LOL. 5 gal. dorm room. Now that sounds about right. Seriously, Bill, I think you have an uncycled tank that we need to deal with before anything else. Unfortunately, you can't rely on what most fish stores tell you. IMO Stress Zyme does nothing. The live plant may help some. The only way to know for sure is to check your ammonia and nitrite levels. It normally takes at least 4 weeks to properly cycle a tank. This is a serious problem for your fish. Both ammonia and nitrite are very toxic.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Stress Zyme is a complete crock... the only "REAL" product that can cycle your tank is Bio Spira, and that other stuff the Old Salt always mentions.


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## librarybill (Apr 14, 2005)

Ok. I bought 20 dollars worth of test strips for my 5 dollars worth of fish, brushed aside my chagrin, and tested the waters to coin a phrase.

Ammonia came back at .25 mg/l which the box claims is safe

No3 at 10 ppm

Total hardness between 6 and 7

carbonate Hardness 3 degrees and 6,4


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

0 ammoina is the only "safe" level of ammonia.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Ammonia at .25 is fine for now. Fishfirst is correct, it really needs to be at 0, but ammonia is less toxic at a low PH. The last # you gave, Bill is 6.4. Is that PH? If so, your ammonia is OK. You didn't mention NO2 ( nitrite ). That's the next toxin you will encounter during the cycling process. Your NO3 is at 10 which is good news. That indicates that the cycle is, at least partially, complete. I suspect that if you will really stick with a serious water change routine ( say 50%/ day ) for another couple of weeks, you will be OK.... Now, Bill we need to talk about getting you really into this hobby. Say a 55 gal. and a couple of 20's ought to do for a start. You have the $20.00 worth of test equipment already, right. Good luck Bill :wink:


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## flynngriff (Jan 19, 2005)

One more thing...

In a lot of places tap water contains some nitrates, so having a small level of nitrates in your tank doesn't necessarily mean that it's partially cycled.  This might not be the case for you, but it's something to keep in mind that might affect your test results.

Keep a close eye on your ammonia and nitrites, and when they both drop to zero, you know for sure that you've cycled your tank.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Good point Griff.


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