Getting bacteria from your local fish store?

will petsmart give me bacteria so i can start seeing some nitrites in my tank? if they wont, ill try my local fish store that isnt a big branch, but what exactly do i do with the stuff they give me? what do i ask for? lol

Getting bacteria from your local fish store?
they'd probably give you a handful of gravel... just mix this in with the gravel you have and your tank should start cycling (if you have an ammonia source)





please fishless cycle...


www.fishlesscycling.com
Reply:If you go to Petsmart or a similar large chain store, they will probably convince you to BUY something off their shelves rather than GIVE you anything.





I've seen some stores that sell cupfuls of gravel from their tanks. You'd use this to "seed" your tank. I can't recall what the price tag on a cupful of used gravel was, but it's a thought. I've also heard of (but never personally seen) stores that simply give used media, gravel, or other material to help get tanks cycling.





It's actually a lot easier to just get something used from a friend or neighbor who keeps fish and practice patience. Lots and lots of patience.
Reply:I wouldn't trust petsmart or other chain stores tanks are usually riddled with diseases, and like someone mentioned, they'll try to get you to buy the bacteria in a bottle crap off the shelves....don't do it. Best bet is a family member or a friend with an established DISEASE FREE tank, and use some filter squeezings. You may be ok with a trusted small mom and pop type of pet store, I'd just make sure they are familiar with fish, and know what they're talking about. They'll be more likely to have tanks that are disease free then a chain store......but I'd still be hesitant.
Reply:why are you buying bacteria? is your tank new if so just toss in 1-2 bigginer fish, and let your tank cycle on its own for 6-8 weeks you don't need that liquid bacteria crap, infact I don't belive in adding any chemicals to your aquarium (except water conditioner). If you have a new tank, fill with water, treat the water for chlorin using water conditioner, add 1-2 begginer fish, these guys will start the cycling of good bacteria and will safely and naturaly build up the nitrites on there own without the addition of chemicals, a begginer tank takes 6-8 weeks to build up enough of the proper bacteria you need to sustain life, in that 8 weeks you should still change a portion of the water about 15%-20% every week, adding nothing but water conditioner to the replacement water, you will find that with the two begginer fish in your tank for that 6-8 week period your tank should build up enough bood bacteria that everything will be fine, have patience, a good aquarium takes time to build, as soon as you try to speed things up by adding cycle or what ever your asking for trouble, good luck and always do lots of research first!
Reply:why would you want to get more nitrates in your tank? I'm always trying to get rid of them! I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing the wealth or dirty water... what ever you want to call it. You could always buy a fish and they won't even know your in it for the free nitrates. haha. But make sure none of the fish at petsmart are sick or you could be getting more than you bargained for. Good Luck with your aquarium!
Reply:The bacteria you get should be placed in your filter. Even if they give you gravel from one of their tanks, you should still put this in your filter, where it will be much more affective than just hanging it in the water or mixing it with your gravel. If your filter doesn't hold enough extra media, then hanging it near the water flow of your filter is the next best bet.





Don't worry too much about the source. If you would by your fish from a place, there's no reason why you wouldn't take their filter media or gravel. If you wouldn't buy your fish there, don't take the media from their.





Get as much as you can - if you get enough you won't even see nitrites in your tank because the tank will just cycle over night. If you need to buy it, buy it - just don't let them charge you too much. Any fish store worth anything will give you some though, so maybe try to find an independent shop.
Reply:The best off the shelf bacteria you can get for your aquarium is "Cycle". Pretty much every pet store carries that brand. I would not use any bacteria that has been sitting around for a while, such as water/gravel as it may contain disease.
Reply:You will be fine.......





1. SeaChem Stability and Bio Spira work. I mean really really work. I have fully cycled 2 tanks in less than 7 days with fish on stability. It holds all 3 levels bacteria and doesn't activate till its hits the water that hold fish. It would fix your problem in less than a week) A small bottle is 8 bucks. Your tank is having a hard time developing the final classes of bacteria.


the Stuff called cycle is useless, 90% of the time your buying a bottle of dead bacteria. Underfeed your fish or scoop out all uneaten food is really important with the problems your having.





2. Bacteria multiply based on there numbers thats why cycling can take a while as 2 goes to 4 etc. in a 6 week cycle 90% happens in the last 10 days. gravel will work but will take a long time as 5% of your tanks bacteria live there. another 5% on the wall and %% in the ornaments 85% on the filter sponge and bio media so a small amount of gravel will work but in time.





Find yourself a oowie goowie piece of filter sponge (gooey like with filter mud on it). its doesn't have to be that gooey but more mud the better if you can. doesn't matter where from. the problem with the pet store isn't the sponge just the water it is in as it may have spores ready to react to stressed fish in your tank thats all.





It will hold millions of bacteria. 2x2x3 inch piece of sponge will cycle a tank10 adult fish in it overnight (in fact cycling doesn't even apply here) it hits the tank and multiply to support the whole tank easly especially with the help from the stability. load up your filter witht he gooey sponge [plus add another add the stability (I like sponges over ceramics and your problem will be gone in days.. If you think you have enuff bio media know just add the stability as direcected. look it up online Seachem is the King of Aquariums.








The best water conditioner on the market is SeaChem Prime





The fish are gasping due to lack of oxygen





And you can't cycle a tank with 2 teenie fish





And there hiding because those fish only feel safe in numbers of 4 and up
Reply:I work at a Petsmart and whenever I buy fish from the store, I don't even put the water in my tanks, I net the fish out. As well as the gravel, I am sure almost every Petsmart has been hit by ICH, so I wouldn't trust the gravel.
Reply:Another user emailed me this link and requested that I try to help out.





What is your ammonia level? And what chemicals do you use in your tank (water conditioners, medications, etc. - brand names too if possible).





Also, have you tried having your water tested by another source? The answer may be as simple as bad test strips or chemicals - it wouldn't hurt for you to get a confirmation of your results.





Do you know if your water provider (if you're on a public water supply) uses chlorine or chloramine to treat the water?





ADDITION: I haven't seen any response, so I'm going to try to elaborate on what I've asked.





1) If you're using any type of chemicals to bind ammonia or nitrite, these can give you false readings - the ammonia won't be in a form that can hurt your fish, but it will still show up on your water tests. It can also interfere with the establishment of tank bacteria, despite the manufacturer's claims. It can also become "used up" by ammonia that's present, and additional ammonia will then exist in the unbound form which is toxic to the fish - and the tests won't distinguish between these forms. My advice - stop using any product that claims to bind or neutralize ammonia or nitrite, and rid your tank of them by a few large water changes - then you'll see what the actual ammonia level is: http://www.firsttankguide.net/ammonia-re...





2) If your water provider treats the water using chloramine, and your water conditioner only treat chlorine, or it's one that "breaks the chloramine bond", chloramine is a molecule formed by the combination of chlorine and ammonia. Either treatment breaks the molecule into its two parts, so this could be your ammonia source. You might need to switch what water conditioner you're using. Contact your water provider to find out what is used to treat your water supply: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/chlor.h... (also, have you check the water source to make sure it's not the source of your ammonia?).








ADDITION 2: Aha! I see we overlapped additions - the problem may be your water conditioner. If you read the label, it's one of the "breaks the chloramine bond" types and also is an ammonia neutralizer: http://www.petguys.com/-046798162130.htm... Try using a different water conditioner that just neutralizes or eliminates chloramine (if that's how your local water is treated) or one that just treats chlorine. After a few water changes to remove the old conditioner from your tank, your water tests should show a better value. BTW, if your ammonia was 8.0ppm, your fish would most likely be dead. Check this link on the symptoms of ammonia and nitrite poisoning - since the bacteria will need to adjust to not having the ammonia bound, you'll probably see some "real" ammonia and finally get some nitrite: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/diseas...


http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/diseas...





Try to keep the levels of both under 0.5 ppm by doing water changes once you get the old conditioner out and start a new one that gives you clear results of what's in your tank.





The current conditioner only makes your water safe as long as it's not "used up" by the ammonia that's present. Once it is, the "unsafe" ammonia forms, and you won't see any difference with your water tests - both will show up as the same thing. You'll only know that it's at an unsafe level when your fish start showing symptoms of ammonia/nitrite poisoning or start to die.