my tropical fish

Question
QUESTION: hi how r u?i set up my 55 gal tank tank bout 3-4 weeks ago.n added fish prob 2 weeks ago,a variety of tropical fish.i lost one the first day or two n the rest made it without a problem.since then i have lost 2 more n not sure why.they r just showin signs of stress(no parasites that i c)n don't no y. i check my water once or twice a week n just now noticed my nitrite is now showing up very little should i panic n get it back to 0 or what?is that what has killed my fish?all my other fish r acting fine.i'm thinking bout adding more fish soon, should i get my nitrite back to 0 first?  thanks 4 ur help!

ANSWER: Hi Matt, I'm doing great thank you! Hope you are the same...

I think your problem here is the most common problem with all new tanks...High ammonia and/or nitrite levels kill off a lot of your fish. This is especially a problem when a large group of fish are added to a recent setup, the waste they produce overloads the unprepared "bacterial colony" or also known as "Biofilter" which controls the ammonia and nitrite level to keep it at a safe zero. But they take a good while to get fully established and until then, ammonia and nitrite issues are almost guaranteed when you add new fish to a new tank. However, not all hope is lost and you can get through it with large (about 30-50%) water changes and using a water conditioner that neutralizes ammonia and ntirites like Amquel+ or Prime. Some people are concerned that neutralizing the ammonia or nitrite causes your tank to not be able to cycle but I do recall Amquel's back label stating that it does not interfere with cycling. I have used Ammo-lock when cycling a large tank with two large dirty old fish when it had issues and the aquarium cycled perfectly.

So... What now? I'm curious to know your ammonia levels (I know your nitrites are showing up a bit) but ammonia has such a terrible effect on fish it is important to test for that too. And to answer your questions, definitely don't panic. Just keep a close eye on your fish and your water tests. If your fish seem stressed like gasping or breathing heavily, listless behavior, pale color or clamped fins, a large water change is in order ASAP. But otherwise, if they seem OK. Carry on--- but with caution.

Eventually your tank will cycle soon and you won't have to be worrying constantly. Most aquariums take about 4-6 weeks to cycle after you add the fish. Give or take a little.

I would give your tank about another week or so before you add anymore fish and you probably should wait until the test results are ZERO for ammonia and nitrite before adding anymore.

Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks 4 ur info so much!my ammonia levels r ok.not to high they r reading between the first 2 color options on the chart.gettin close 2 stress color.n i did by some ammo lock in case i need 2 do a large water change if my levels get 2 high n also have some other water conditioner.now i did add some live bacteria solution 2 my tank when i first added fish,does that help the cycle process?thanks again

Answer
Hi Matt,
Sorry for the delayed reply. My internet completely went out for days and I just got it back today (Friday).

The live bacteria solution will help a bit with the cycling. But your tank will still take some time to get established of course. The appearance of ammonia is good in one way, your tank is in the beginning stages of cycling just getting ready to get right smack in the middle of it soon.

You are on the right track and I wish you the best!
Karen~