Apache's Catfish Community Thread.

Please research all fish before buying.

Hillstream loach

Copied from Seriously Fish

Minimum base dimensions of 75 ∗ 30 cm are recommended for general care

Your tank is smaller than that.

Temperature: Can tolerate higher temperatures provided its oxygen requirements are maintained but for general aquarium care a value of 20 – 24 °C is recommended.

The other fish need warmer temps.

The water must be clean, well-oxygenated, and ideally turn over 15-20 times per hour so we suggest the use of an over-sized filter as a minimum requirement plus additional powerheads, airstones, etc., as necessary.

Can your tank provide these?

OK... My tank is in its first day of fish in cycle. I have bogwood with plants strapped to it with fishing line and the 3 kribs are doing fine 

Did the bogwood and plants come from the main tank or are they brand new? If they came from the main tank they should have a few bacteria on them which will help with the cycle a bit. But not much.

What happened to just 2 kribs?

As you dont have a test kit you're going to need to do water changes every day at least once a day

For several weeks

Dad put ceramic and sponges from his filtrations into mine, the bogwood and plants are new and dad said 3 kribs are better than 2 for starting the cycle.

I understand your worry... But as sue has told me, kribs squabbling in a community is NOT GOOD as I have seen. Also... This adds to the bioload so I can put more fish in. His is only to get the cycle started before I put the endlers in. Sorry if this worry's you but I'm torn between the forums and my dad so please understand my decision but the advice is greatly apriciated
Apache6467

Dad put ceramic and sponges from his filtrations into mine, the bogwood and plants are new and dad said 3 kribs are better than 2 for starting the cycle.

This is where the hard work begins, to try to keep these 3 fish alive, so I'll be keeping my fingers very tightly crossed for them. Don't forget that you will absolutely have to do daily water changes - as you don't have a test kit, it will be impossible to know how much (whether 10% or 50%) but I'd advise at least 25% of the water will need replaced daily with dechlorinated water. Keep this up every single day until at least the end of April - don't miss a day! (It might be possible that the tank is cycled fully before that, but, without a test kit, you'll not know, so better to be safe than sorry and continue until the end of April at least.)

Ordinarily, I'd advise other measures as well, such as using Seachem Prime as your dechlorinator and which helps detoxify the effects of ammonia and nitrite on the fish, making it less hazardous and painful for them, and possibly Tetra Safestart which might help and speed up the cycling process. However, as you've mentioned not being able to afford these, this will mean being very, very careful to make sure that you keep up the daily water changes. Two 25% water changes per day would be better than one - so try to do that morning and evening if at all possible.

Best of luck. Everyone on here will no doubt be keeping fingers and toes tightly crossed for your 3 kribs, in much the same way as they would if you were adopting a dog and keeping it in a straitjacket inside a cardboard box for some time ie hoping desperately that it survives the process and comes out unscathed afterwards. 

Keep us posted on how things are going, and also on your thoughts/plans for May onwards once the cycling process is hopefully completed - we'll be happy to advise on which fish are or aren't suitable. Try not to get your heart set on any particular type of fish too soon - have a think, take a look at the Fish Profiles on this website, check them against the similar profiles on Seriously Fish website, and see if they're suitable for your tank size and water hardness, then let us know what you're thinking of. We can then advise whether that is a good or bad idea, and, once it looks as though there are some fish that would live happily in your tank, you can then start to enjoy looking forward to getting them. [When I first started tropical fishkeeping, I went to look at fish in the local fish shop, and got quite excited by guppies, mollies and platies; however, I started researching on this website, and soon learned that they would not be at all suitable for my very soft water, so I had to have a big rethink. Once I found which fish were suitable for my very soft water and my small tank, I only looked for those types of fish in the shops. It's wonderful to watch how happy, well-coloured and healthy these fish are now - and it certainly beats the pain of watching an ill/injured or dying fish which would have happened if I'd got unsuitable fish, as well as saving me lots of money buying replacement fish or extra medicines to treat them.]

I'd better sign off from this long posting otherwise you'll fall asleep and might forget to do a water change . All the best.

I kept fish as a kid. I basically did it all myself without parents getting involved. I would have loved the knowledge available to me know, then. I kept a cast iron framed (I think) 36" X 18" x 12", on a rickety stand, under gravel filter, heater and air stone. I used to go to my LPS (It's alleged it's the one The Pet Shop Boys lived above and where they got their name from, no idea if true or urban myth but it was in Springfield Rd, Ealing) As a 10,11,12 year old they would sell me all manor of fish. I once came home with a 'Jack Dempsey' even though I had a community tank. They never once mentioned anything about cycling although I did weekly water changes, but without any water treatments. Now that I know what I know this seems barbaric at the very least.  The Jack Dempsey eventually ate everything. It's so good we can now find a vast wealth of knowledge from forums like this. 

P.S. Don't blame my parents!

The toxins will only just be starting to build up, so they would look ok now

It's a good idea to get in to the routine of doing the water changes after school.
None of us want to deal with too much hassle in the mornings when we are rushing to get out of the house.
Best of luck with your fish-in cycle.

If there's any possibility of you being able to get Seachem Prime as your dechlorinator, it's very good - it lasts for absolutely ages, and so very economical, but has the huge advantage of detoxifying the effects of ammonia and nitrite, which would be a huge advantage for you during the fish-in cycle and especially as you don't know what your ammonia and nitrite readings are ie it makes any ammonia and nitrite that is in there less harmful to the fish for the next 24 hours, so each daily water change would ensure sufficient quantities to last you through until the next water change.