Cycling Tank and Fish Species?

Josh was right about adding water and that you need to be doing 30% water changes about every 3-4 days during the cycling process. You need to have some fish in there to cycle it, do you have some in there? I use zebra danios or some other hardy, inexpensive fish to start the cycling.

There needs to be an ammonia source for the beneficial bacteria to feed on and start multiplying. That is the idea of cycling a tank.

An all black fish with an orange tail is almost assuredly a red tailed black shark. They can get kind of large and a little agressive when adults. They would need a tank of about 55g.

Temp should be around 72-76 degrees. The pH is something that it can get used to if you acclimate it slowly. pH shock kills more new fish than almost anything else.

You must float the bag in your tank with the top open (roll the top down 4-5 turns so a ring of air is trapped in the plastic an makes the bag float upright.

Put 1/2 cup of tank water in the bag every 15 minutes for at least an hour (longer if the fish store water is more than .5 different than your pH). I have taken up to 4 hours to acclimate expensive and/or delicate fish to my tanks. Recently I paid $100 for 8 fish. Trust me when I say I spent 4 hours acclimating them to my tank.

8

Yes, add water as it evaporates.

That could describe a variety of fish, from Guppies to Red Tailed Black Sharks. Do you know the general kind of fish it was? (Live bearer, Tetra, Cichlid, long body, round body...)

Have a look through these profiles for identification help:

http://www.aquariumlife.net/fishsearch.asp

http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+1911

Def can add water as needed and you need to do frequent water changes.

Sounds like a guppy to me.....maybe a oscar.

My oscars eats every fish I ever try to put with him :(