Stupid mistake - will my fish be OK?

[inveritas]

Hey guys,

So I did something really stupid a couple of days ago. I carelessly/clumsily poured too many pellets into a 3 gal tank for my 4 tetras and 1 CAE, and in a moment of panic tried to scoop up the excess with a net while were overfeeding (mistake #1), which raked up quite a mess of dust and dirt from the 2-week old gravel, which I hope didn't harm the fish (mistake #2).

And because I didn't think of filtering food out of the water with a net, I immediately quarantined the fish in new conditioned water and did a 100% water change before putting the fish back in without letting the conditioner settle (mistake #3).

I could tell in the next 24 hours that the fish were quite stressed and restless from all the fuss created by my one simple mistake.

I was worried the new water wouldn't cycle properly and got an ammonia and nitrite test kit. Ammonia was 0 after 36 hours, but nitrite was rather high so I did a few partial water changes before finding out that the pink-colored conditioner was affecting the test results. I still don't know the exact nitrite levels but even with the conflicting chemicals it is now below danger levels.

It's been almost 48 hours since I did the 100% water change, and I still feel rather stupid. The fish seem to be behaving normally right now, although the neons lose their red color on their tail at night (NTD scare) but it returned in the morning - I assume from NTS.

My big question is: How long do I have to wait before I can safely say that my fish are not in any danger from my 3 mistakes and that my 3g tank, no plants, is properly cycled?

P.S. I would feel really bad if my fishes were to die from this noob accident, so forgive me if I sound like a bawling kid

[lucasjiang]

Calm down, at least your fish have survived the first 48 hours, which is a good thing, because i find that that period is usually the most crucial.

I think mistake 1 and 2 is no longer much of a problem now. As for your third mistake, not letting the conditioner settle before adding the fish, it should be alright as long as the beneficial bacteria in your filter were not exposed to the chlorine for an extended period. However, if your filter was running for some time in untreated tap water, the beneficial bacteria might have died.

Anyway, as long as you ensured that while doing all the procedures, your filter was not running in untreated tap water, or left to dry out, then the beneficial bacteria will be alive and your filter can be considered mature.

to reduce nitrates, you can add some plants, especially fast growing ones like hornwort.

[lucasjiang]

If you find that your filter is not cycled, meaning all the beneficial bacteria have died, then you can take some of the dirt from a mature filter and put it in your filter to kickstart the beneficial bacteria population.

Lastly, if you need hornwort, you can send me a pm.

[inveritas]

If you find that your filter is not cycled, meaning all the beneficial bacteria have died, then you can take some of the dirt from a mature filter and put it in your filter to kickstart the beneficial bacteria population.

Lastly, if you need hornwort, you can send me a pm.

Thanks!!! That's good to know. I'm still a new user and I can't PM - can you please send me a text at 973 three 580? Thanks again

[lucasjiang]

Er... Your handphone number has only 7 digits

[inveritas]

Er... Your handphone number has only 7 digits

Sorry 9753 three 580.

Anyway, I returned home today to find one of my Neons belly up...I still have no idea why. I did a 25% water change using Prime this time and added a few drops of blackwater. My Nitrite levels are still sky-high, Ammonia 0 (got these same readings throughout the past few days) and I suspect there is something wrong with the Nitrite test kit (expires next month).

[barmby]

Hope all is well. Test kit has a range that is fairly wide. Fishes would have died by time you see the indication.

[newihz]

Your tank is still cycling. The nitrites will spike as the ammonia levels start to dip. I made a same mistake in the sense that I didn't let the water cycle properly before adding in my fish. My tank went through a mini cycle and my nitrites spiked. What I did was daily 30% water changes dosed with seachem prime. Ultimately I didn't lose any fish.