Question
Late last night, I noticed ich on my neons. I bought medicine, but before I added it I noticed that it was not suitable for frogs and snails. I had some de-chlorinated water handy, so I dumped the frogs and snail in a vase with the water for the night.
Today, I have bought a new, larger tank. I want to put the frog and snails in there while the fish are being treated. When the fish are done being treated, I will move them to the larger tank as well.
However, right now I have two frogs and a snail in uncycled water. How can I safely and quickly establish the new tank?
Some thoughts:
- I have a neighbor with a goldfish, I could borrow some water, but don't know what might be in their tank.
- I have bacteria supplement from top fin, but I think that only has the nitrite eating bacteria, not the ammonia eating bacteria.
- Maybe I just need to go buy a instant starter from the pet store, but am not sure if I am overreacting.
Thanks for the help
Answer
Manuki and Henders have both provided great advice. I was concerned I needed to act fast, so I made an executive decision before they had responded. However, I think the decision I made is reflected in their advice.
I have a bottle of the Top Fin Bacteria Supplement. I put that in the vase to help break down the ammonia that was building up in their vase.
It took many hours, but I got the new 30 gallon tank set up that night. Since I figured since the tank was so large for two frogs and a snail, that if there was any nitrite or nitrate build up it would be relatively small.
I have been testing the water daily since, and have not seen any nitrite build up. Now that it has been a few days, I will add the bacteria supplement to start breaking down the little bit of waste that is now in there.
I hope this helps anybody else.
Answered By - rhamilton