Ishkabod

Thanks for the info. I don't think Kuchi ate any of them because i only ever saw the one but i can't be sure. I hope it is harmless. I wish there was a way to positively identify it. It was basicly a metallic silver worm 4mm long and 1mm wide with a small brown head. I guess i won't worry about it right now but in future i'll be sure to keep an eye out for more. Thanks so much everyone. Lisa

The weird thing is i don't use either of those things. Could it live in the substrate and come out when there is food it likes? :boxed:

I found a small silver wriggly worm like thing in my tank floating around. it's about four millimeters long and i t's the only one i have seen so far. I haven't come across any description of anything like it yet so I need some help to determine what i could be and if i should be worried. Thanks Lisa

Sounds like a great idea i'm new to fish stuff so don't take me too seriously on that but maybe speak with a local housekeeper business and see if they might be interested in a partnership of some kind. Like if they reccomend a customer to you, you would give them ten percent for a year or something like that. You would need to look into the numbers but it's probably a good idea to get a client base going. Hope that might help Lisa your neighbor up north GOOD LUCK

I'm not sure where you could get a big enough net but i think you could use the netting people use to keep birds off of seeded grass. I'm a very patient and very fast fish netter. I used to catch little minnows at my cabin. I'm sure I could net them easily. The trick is that you need to try and not treat it like a fish tank where you can eventually catch it against the side. they will still be too fast for that to work. Drain it till there is about a foot and a half of water. remove debris and any obstacles possible have someone scare them out from one hidey hole and net one at a time. The trick is to have the net out of the water and as they swim quickly net it by plunging the net into the water in front of them and pulling it up. I would love to help you catch them. It sounds like allot of fun to me. Have fun. Lisa Also butterfly nets that you can sometimes buy at the dollar store work wonderfully.

The nitrite Levels are down and staying at about 0.5 without a water change. I've bought conditioning salt for freshwater to nutrilize any nitrite. The ammonia was at 0.20 or less and the test tube is getting more and more yellow every day(0ppm=no green only yellow) I'm not gonna mess with it. I've got to go now but thanks every single person especially Sue who went way out of her way to drop off a bacteria filled sponge for me that was the turnaround point in my nitrite chaos. THanks everyone. Lisa

Thanks once again. the ammonia levils are staying AT A steady 0.2 before and after warer changes. I've been adding prome to the water in the water changes and based ont he ammount i'm adding it should detox all the ammonia and nitrite indicated in the tests. I was gone for four days over the long weekend and he was fed twice durring that time so i know he can survive it. I'll give it a week and with a sponge of bacteria and some seachem stability i think i can get the tank finished its cycle soon. I'll be buying cowboys 78 gallon setup soon i hope. my goal is a large one hundred and fifty gallon or bigger by feb 2 2009 Thanks again and i'll be sure to pickup the ammonia alert thingie. Lisa

WOW This info is wonderfull and i think that the declorination of my water change water is what is causeing the reading. I cannot find another explaination other than that my test kit is faulty. I would love to buy the seachem test kit you mentioned Neil i haven't seen one at any of the fish stores i've visited so far but i'll keep a lookout and Frogfan Thanks so much for the link and the info i'm sure it'll be immensely helpfull based on the quotes neil found I'm very gratefull for everyone's help. My room temp is at about 21 which is what my tank is. It's at the upper levil that i've read koi like and at that temp i think once a day and a bit of a surface gravel poop and food netting will reduce the amount of ammonia introduced into the system. I'm not sure why but when i do a small ten to fifteen percent water change the ammount of nitrite is reduced by half. any ideas on why? I've been keeping a detailed record of water changes. ammonia and nitrite levels, any additives like prime and how much put in the tank or new water and Kuchis' behavior/energy levels thanks everyone once again Lisa :bow: :thumbs: :thumbs: :well:

Thanks so much for the tip. I knew that less food waste meant less ammonia but i didn't consider the option of food reduction to get my levils down. I'll leave not feeding him daily as a last resort but i think i'll reduce the number of times i feed him down to once per day until i can get to the store to buy some seachem stability and pure ammonia (to use in my other tank with a ten gallon filter to establish a bacteria colony in it fast.) Someone mentioned to me that the use of Prime can cause missreadings on my ammonia levils. Considering the fact that it absolutely refuses to read below .20 and has stayed there for a few days straight leads me to believe it probably is true. Thanks once again i hope reduceing feedings will allow me to reduce the amount of water change Thanks sooo much Lisa P.S. please excuse my spelling. I cant see the words very well and so i haven't proofread as i've gone along except to see that the letters show up as i type It hurts to squint. :boxed:

Okay after the last few days i've finally figured some things out. 1. i need to do 10-15% Water changes evert 12 hours or so to keep the levils below 1ppm 2. I only need waayyy less than 1 TEAspoon of salt to keep the nitrite from being too toxic. 3. Kuxhi jumped out of the tank while i was watching so i must keep it coverd. 4. People here are sooooooo wonderfuly helpful THANKS 5 1ml of prime added to every bucket of new water is good enough. 6. Buy Stability 7. Ammonia (toxic) < .25 ppm Nitrite < 1 ppm Nitrate < 20 ppm I know there is more info i learned but this is what i've used in the last couple days. Thanks everyone so much once again Please let me know if the water changes are too much for a daily change and what might be suggested to keep the levils down. THanks so much Lisa

Thanks so much that's exactly what i needed to know. Thanks so much to everyone who offered advice. everyone of you gave me some info that will help. Thanks once again. I hope to help someone in future when i know more too. Thanks once again Lisa :w00t: :D :thumbs: :bow: :bow:

I should be able to buy some seachem this weekend if my 15 gallon tank is sold and picked up. If not i'll have to bear through the checical water change nightmare. I usually keep my WC at about 10% but with levils that high i wanted to be safe. I guess i don't need any more salt and i added what i did before the EC so the ammount shouldn't be too much anymore. What i really need to know now is at what level should i consider WAAYY to high and then prreform a water change. Please excuse my spelling because i'm qriteing this nearly blind. Thanks Lisa

The nitrite cycle can take a while longer and will eventually get there. Your fish is in a lot of trouble. If you can not move the fish out of there you could do this. 1./ pick up some seachem stability to help the tank cycle 2./ pick up some bacteria from me to help the filter. 3./ add 5x the dosage of Prime with every water change it will neutralize the nitrite help your fish but will hurt the cycling. 4./ add salt, google salt nitrite koi for dosages involving Koi J. THanks for the advice and the offer. I don't have a car anymore to pickup the bacteria. I do have lots of time to do water changes but i'm not sure at what levil the water needs to be changed. I'm trying to keep it below 1ppm. should i do daily water changes. I have prime but i'm out of cash right now to buy anything else for the tank. I'm going to try salt. i've read a few articles on the topic and it seems to me that a table spoon or two for my thirty gallon tank is very conservative by most so i'm adding two then maybe another one tomorrow. we'll see. I Have prime so i'll definately add some more than i have already. Like you said it might make the cycle longer but for my Kuchi's health it's worth the extra hassle. Also aparently salt water makes the bacteria multiply faster so i hope the little amount i'm adding might speed up my cycle a bit. I'll be buying stability asap and possibly another filter to add to the one i allready have for better filtration for my Koi. I've done another WC of 40% and added the recommended ammount of prime to the new water plus about three to four ml more to the tank. After the water change i tested again about 2 hours later and the ammonia is about 0.15 and nitrite at 0.5ppm. thanks a bunch Lisa

I've been reading up on the Nitrogen cycle so i know the basics and some not so basic stuff but little to no info on when and when not to preform a water change. I just did a 50% Water change yesterday and allready my levils are at 1.5ppm They were at 5ppm yesterday and that is as high as my test kit goes. I guess i'm in the secong stage of the nitrogen cycle but it's takeing allot longer than i figured. Not only is the Nitrites spikeing but the ammonia is staying at above .2ppm and increases with the nitrite amounts. It was at .5 yesterday. Here is a summary Nitrite 30%WC Wed1.0 Thurs5.0 50%WC Fri1.5 Ammonia WC Wed0.2 Thurs0.5 WC Fri0.25 I'm not sure what i should be doing now that water changes seem to be the only thing keeping the numbers down. should i let it spike?? Kuchi my koi tends to dart around crazily at anything above 1.0 of nitrite, I've had this tank for a couple of weeks but the filter for clocer to three. Any more info would be helpful Thanks ever so much everyone Lisa

This is so amazing i had no idea Alberta had Crayfish let alone it's own native species of it. I wish i could help you but other than pointing out that the law if made to prevent the spread of the fish into new territory then the use of crayfish for feeding your tank fish should be okay. Don't take my advice for it. Your best bet maybe to ask your local fish and game office about the legality of what you want to do. If anyone should know it's the people who should enforce the law that would know. have fun with finding out Lisa

Wow you sure came home to some fin times in the tank. They almost sound like rebellious teenagers who's parents are away. I'm a bit envious because i would love a tank full of babies to wach grow. Anyway congrats and i hope the baby shrimp do well. Lisa

Try to get the liquid test tube test because i've noticed that test strips can be somewhat unreliable. If you start one at a time for buying then it won't hurt the pocket too much. Sorry about chip Hope everything gets better L

That first shot is beautiful Is there any way you could send me it in an attachment. I need a new background. It's just breathtakingly good. The clarity is wonderful too. Thanks soo much for sharing these with everyone. L -ham- -ham- -ham- :drool: :w00t: :thumbs: :smokey: -ham- -ham- -ham-

I'm posting some good news about Kuchi. I started on this forum with a fish emergency post and I'm very happy to inform all those who advised me NOT to buy another fish that I have and Kuchi has really really really perked up. His new friend's name was given to him by the pet store employee's He came in with the feeder fish for some reason. He's a 5 inch Koi and almost entirely goldfish gold except the hint of black on his back. The reason i bought Sam is because he has a problem with his fin and it's not straight. He was with the two inch Koi who crowded around him in the tank as if to protect him. I had a loonie in my pocket and that was all the money i had. There was a man there looking to buy a Koi for his pond that contains a snapping turtle. "Sam may be big but it's obvious he wouldn't survive living with a turtle like that. I bought him for a bargan basement price of a grand total of fourty two cents. The rescue from the snapping turtle is one reason i bought him. There are two others. one is that i wanted to give him a certain future away from the possibility of mistreatment or being stuck in the store for eternity. The other reason is that Kuchi's energy levils have been going down since i bought him and his behavior seemed to indicate not only to me but to the lady in the store that he was possibly lonely. It's Wonderful how the two get along now and Kuchi's energy has gone right back up along with "Sam's" who i found originally hovering near the bottom of the tank almost still. Kuchi now seems to be haveing a blast diveing in the bubbles when he's not following "Sam" around. Sam is all over the place and has allready seen fit to redecorate a bit. My ammonia and nitrite levils are still a bit high but i'm still going through the nitrogen cycle. The levels are below anything that can be remotely dangerous and the ammonia is starting to go down and the nitrite is starting it's spike. To keep the impact of adding another fish so soon into the tank i'm vaccumeing the gravel and useing an net to filter the water as i put it back in the tank. I'll be doing this at the very least once a week maybe more. I have one filter designed for a thirty gallon tank and another for a ten gallon tank. I plan to get a huge filter soon but with the addition of "sam" i'll be buying a bigger tank setup first.(filter and everything) I'm watching my levels like a hawk and i've fallen into a routine of testing at 1AM and 1PM for some odd reason. I haven't figured out exactly what i should be adding for food since the two of them take forever to find out i've added food and one doesn't find out until minutes after the other and neither one find it first all the time. I love watching the two together and i'll do everything i can for them including doing extra work at a temp labor place for two or three days of hard labor and early mornings to buy a tank and things they'll need in the next couple months. Have a wonderfull weekend everyone and Happy MOTHERS DAY TO EVERY FISH and kid mummy. I wish all the fish, mom's and kid's out there a wonderful day. L

That webpage is amazing. I just read the article and because i'm going through my first cycle in a tank i would strongly recommend you take the fish back to the store. It's allot less stress on yourself and the fish. If the fishless cycle isn't an option then at least buy an Ammonia test kit. The other product i have found that was recommended and does more and a better job than ammo lock or any similar product is Called Prime. It's also SUPER concentrated so you get Way more bang for your buck. It's in a red bottle. I bought Cycle and added about 50ml last night when i noticed ammonia was getting a bit Too high along with 10ml of prime (enough for normally 100gals) I tested again and my levels are down to .8ppm of ammonia(?)(stressfull but safe) and 0.25ppm of nitrITES, Basicly it Helps LOADS. One trick is to put bacteria supplements directly on your filter sponge or whatever you have as a medium for bacteria. I put it in my Whisper and turned it off for a minute to let the Cycle bacteria settle onto my medium before the filter water flow washed them all out. I hope my little experience can help you if you can't do the fishless cycle. It's taken weeks for me to figure allot of stuff out. :boxed: :chair: I bought at a pet store and the sales lady was nice and good at just briefly skimming over the scary stuff and telling the customer twhat they really want to hear. Mostly just basic basic info. Check out the entirety of the webpage fatpuffer gave and it should prevent all the worrying i've done lately. Have a wonderfull weekend L P.S. I forgot to mention that Cycle and prime both seem to have the bacteria nessasary for a boost in the nitrogen cycle so the only reason i recommended Cycle as well as Prime was because it stated that you can't overdose hence my 50ml addition last night I'm going with the Philosophy that more can't hurt and sure seems to help(allot)

Thanks For the info. I had no idea what i should get and now i do. Thanks again L

Thanks for the Filter advice I'll be monitoring the tank water quality like i should and if the filters i have become inadaquite before i replace them i'll be getting another cheep filter to beef up my current system till i can get a huge one. BTW before i do is the the AC1500 good enough for a 300gal rubbermaid container?? This is still all new to me so i'm not sure what filters do what. Thanks so much once again for all your expert advice. :bow: I hope to learn everything i can so i can in turn help someone else. A tidbit about me :mad: This is what happens when i watch the news so i avoid it like the plague.

First the person who has to move her Koi doesn't have a pond deep enough for overwintering as she mentioned that was the reason so she knows what she's talking about. I don't know the size of Koi she has but she has had them for a few years so they might not be to big yet to cause a hassle. Thanks so much for the info on the Rubbermaid Tubs I think this is a much better idea then a HUGe expensive tank. I'm aiming for a pond outside eventually and when i do it'll be deep enough for the Koi to overwinter. Thanks so much I had no idea about the Rubbermaid Containers. Have a great Weekend L

African_Fever I'm looking at pond options and prices and it seems it will be a few years if ever that i'll be getting a pond(depends on my mother who is my landlord) I plan to buy the longest and largest tank he'll ever need by my and Kuchis' birthday next Feb. A pond is what i ideally want but it might not be an option. I have met a few expert koi keepers that overwinter their full grown Koi indoors in a tank and others who leave them outside in a deep pond. An extremely large tank looks like a viable option right now so a pond will be considered a luxury till i can afford one in a few years. fatpuffer I don't personally know anyone who keeps fish so the sponge shareing option is out for now. I know my tank is supposed to be cycling but I'm a little unsure of what is really going on especially since my levels have remained constant even with the water added and the time elapsed. I'll do another test tonight and check to see if anything has changed in the last six hours. I just hope the constantly present ammonia and nitrite isn't harming Kuchi. I have 2 filters running One is a Whisper and it says on the spill lip 10-30i and came with my 15gal tank I put a sponge in the bottom to catch gunk and filled the rest with ceramic thingies in a net instead of the filter you buy (and replace) at the store and the other is a Elite Stingray for a 10 gallon tank. Between the two i'm sure i'll get adaquite filtration. I plan to buy a HUGE filter in the next few weeks so it's only temporary. The elite has been running for 2 weeks now and the whisper for about a week. Other than those two filters i have also put a 10 gallon elite air pump attatched to an Aqua giant bendy bubble curtain and three plants. The one type was growing about an inch to 2 inches a day in the 15 gallon and hasn't grown more than half an inch so far in this one. Thanks again L

Done that already. :thumbs: The feeding ring helps imencely. But with my long nails and him still eating very small pellets the best i can do is put food in the feeding ring and stick my fingers in the middle. It feels funny when he nibbles on my fingers. :heart: Lots of fun too. He did it immediately the first time i put my fingers in there. It has to be the feeding ring. The next thing i will be doing is saving for an extra extra large filter that will be good enough for when Kuchi gets really really big and has a really really big friend. I finally got another measurement on him and he's about 3.5inches now so Kuchi is growing at a rate of about a half inch per week. He'll be four inces next week and five inches by the end of the month at this rate It at least means Kuchi is healthy. The thing that worries me right now is that the 15gallon tank was going through the nitrogen cycle when i decided i couldn't stand seeing Kuchi have only enough tank length for a very very short burst of speed before he hits the other end of the tank. The water has stayed at 1ppm of ammonia and between .25ppm of Nitrite. When i moved Kuchi i had the thirty gallon at about 60% and then i gradually added completely filterd water(no ammonia or nitrites or anything else) till it was full and tested again with the same results. I tested again this morning Hours later and the amounts are still the same. Is this normal or should i see some kind of indication of fluctuation?? Thanks again L