How long can bacteria last out of water?

[Quentari]

I got some guppies to breed and feed to my axolotl's as treats and I put a few in my old 5gal tank. They have some plastic rocks at the bottom, a fake coral plant and a little ship plus a filter and a heater.

My fiance got really attached to them and then he wanted a little albino catfish (I've seen them labeled as cory's??) so that's in there too.

Anyway I decided, since he had a fish in there we wanted to live and thrive, that I should test the water.

Ammonia was 0ppm. I was surprised, since the tank had been set up 2-3 days I'd expected the ammonia to be through the roof. Tested the Nitrite and nitrite was 40ppm and nitrate was 10ppm. Which means the tank is half done in it's cycle. (also did some water changes to drop the nitrite down!)

So I can't work out why my tank's nearly cycled in half a week. There was nothing from my old tank's added, so there was nothing to jump start. But the heater was second hand from the pet store... it was dried out but not cleaned. Is it possible for some good bacteria to have survived and jump-started my cycle? or is my tank magic? The heater was out of water for at least 24 hours, but I can't think why else it's happening so quickly.

 

[MiseryInc]

Depending on what temperature you kept your tank, it is quite possible that those bacteria "hitched a ride" into your tank. You may have also created the optimum temperature for those bacteria, which would allow them to go through mitosis (reproduction of the bacteria cells) faster, so therefore you have trillions of good bacteria in your tank now!

Thats my theory from my limited knowledge of tanks, but I know quite a lot on bacteria and their development...

I hope I helped! But, never dismay tank magic :')


Tom

 

[Xoloto]

I'm sorry but that tank is too small for corydoras ,it may be okay for one (I think) but cory's can grow to be up 4inches long ,they are also shoaling fish so like to be in groups of at least 6 so need a tank of at least 10-15gal cories also have different water needs than guppies but I have seen them live with guppies so not sure lol .They like lower PH's whereas guppies like higher PH but maybe they can tolerate higher PH's :'D also if you do want Cory's they like sand as a bottom ,they like to bury themselves.

ah sorry i'm just nagging at you about fish care but the pet shop should of asked you the tank size and how many cory's you had before selling one to you but i guess it may be okay and i'm not going to stop you just thought i'd mention what I know ~ -hides-

 

[Quentari]

I'm sorry but that tank is too small for corydoras ,it may be okay for one (I think) but cory's can grow to be up 4inches long ,they are also shoaling fish so like to be in groups of at least 6 so need a tank of at least 10-15gal cories also have different water needs than guppies but I have seen them live with guppies so not sure lol .They like lower PH's whereas guppies like higher PH but maybe they can tolerate higher PH's :'D also if you do want Cory's they like sand as a bottom ,they like to bury themselves.

ah sorry i'm just nagging at you about fish care but the pet shop should of asked you the tank size and how many cory's you had before selling one to you but i guess it may be okay and i'm not going to stop you just thought i'd mention what I know ~ -hides-

Well the pet store sold it as a catfish, not a Cory, but I've already heard they grow at least 3 inches so I know it's current tank is only temporary. At the moment it's less than an inch long! I also realise the tank is a little over-full at the moment... But most of the guppies will be going in my lotl tanks once they are quarantined. I've never owned anything tropical before so any advice is great! Personally I don't ask people at pet stores anything. Their info is sketchy at best, I usually google the basics on my phone then do proper research when I get home. The current substrate is actually PLASTIC pebbles which float around up to the surface if you touch them, so I was going to get something better suited anyway I have some black sand I can use soon. If it starts looking poorly too quickly my brother has a 10gal guppy tank at about 25-26 degrees, he can babysit till I can find a more appropriate home for the little Cory/catfish.

The tanks currently at about 22 degrees, (I know the fish would prefer warmer but it's better than the 18 it was sitting at before I got the heater. Hoping to get a bigger one when I get a bigger tank.) maybe 22 is the magic bacteria number? I just did my last water change for the day (for convenience it's 5% thrice a day) so tomorrow morning ill test it all again and let you guys know. I was mainly surprised because I'd heard after 4 hours out of water all bacteria die off, but I'm pleased its cycling quickly and the toxic stuff is staying at manageable levels!

 

[Quentari]

Just googled it. Albino corydoras, commonly known as albino catfish. Same fish. Lol.

 

[tigmades]

Just googled it. Albino corydoras, commonly known as albino catfish. Same fish. Lol.

Please don't have these guys by themselves They are a schooling fish, and they can die of loneliness. I have a shoal of 6, and they bounce around my tank excitedly throughout the day, whereas when I rescued one that someone didn't want anymore, it was still and not very active - it was extremely happy to have playmates when he joined my tank! I also agree, 5g is too small for these guys. Mine are in a 29g tank with my shrimp and guppies that I breed to occasionally treat my axies. <I just read your response - I'm glad the 5g is a temporary tank! >

As for temperature, I actually keep my tanks without a heater, at room temperature (~72F in summer, 68-70 in winter). I do this because when I transfer the fishy/shrimpy, I don't want it to suffer temperature shock when put into the new tank. They do breed slower at lower temps, but corys, shrimp and guppies are perfectly fine in these temp ranges, provided they are slowly adjusted to them. The most important thing is that it's constant.

As for how quickly bacteria die, one factor is water: is it still wet after its been relocated? They'll die if the item is dried, but not necessarily if it's still wet.

Also: I must have misread.. nitrITE at 40ppm? It's in the danger level when it's over 1ppm... and API test kits don't go nearly that high!

 

[FX1C]

The others have covered the issues for the Cory's best care & conditions well..

I just want to add my 2cents -
I read your above posts & it seems you bought a 2nd hand heater that hadn't been cleaned..... and then you put it in a tank without cleaning it really???

Never put something of unknown origin into a tank - you can very likely transfer & introduce any kind of fish disease nightmare... Who knows what happened to the tank before they stripped it down..
Sorry but I cringed when I read that you just stuck it in your tank..



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[rdoyle225]

no the bacteria on the heater has died. A 5 gallon is to small for guppies. They will breed fast and you ill be over run. Like the others said it is to small for Corys my female is pushing 4inc and they need to be in groups 4 pluses the more the better I have 10 in my 55

 

[Quentari]

I may have meant 4ppm? I created this on my phone last night. The little Cory does look a little... Inactive. Maybe tomorrow (payday) ill go get him one or two friends (until I get the bigger tank, then it's the recommended 6). I'd planned to take the guppies that were going to be fed out of the tank in a little tub of water from their tank, then let the water cool down naturally before they go in with the axies.

I hadn't thought of the potentially harmful bacteria on the heater D: all the fish seem to be doing ok so hopefully I dodged a bullet there... And the 5gal is definetly temporary. Especially since I know the Cory will need some friends to thrive. I'm surprised the pet shop guy didn't tell me that much, a chance to sell more than one. Maybe he didn't know... *sigh* at least I'm doing okay with my axies.

 

[Quentari]

I honestly don't know where I pulled 40ppm for, that's not even an option on my card. Re doing the testing ASAP

 

[knyptozoologist]

As someone that works/worked for a petshop I feel like I'm being a little defensive, but still...I've all but given up on recommending what's best for some fish because people will tend to either overload their tank or starve their fish of the buddies it needs despite what I say so...yeah, just my two cents. I can tell people 100 times they have too many fish in the tank or are adding too many at once and they'll still insist on it....there's only so much you can do before you just decide to let customers do what they want without recommendations because it gets frustrating fast.

 

[Quentari]

As someone that works/worked for a petshop I feel like I'm being a little defensive, but still...I've all but given up on recommending what's best for some fish because people will tend to either overload their tank or starve their fish of the buddies it needs despite what I say so...yeah, just my two cents. I can tell people 100 times they have too many fish in the tank or are adding too many at once and they'll still insist on it....there's only so much you can do before you just decide to let customers do what they want without recommendations because it gets frustrating fast.

Yeah I know some people will ACTUALLY know what they're saying... but I once had a woman at Petstock tell me I had to cycle my tank before I put my fish in there and that it'd take about 2 days...

And the tank is overfull at the moment but the 2ft is almost set up

 

[Xoloto]

i'm glad the tank is temporary and that the little albino fishy will get some company and the guppies more room and that you are willing to correct your mistakes ,I'm still learning myself and I find it nice when people are able to tell me what i'm doing wrong without feeling like they can't tell me such things ♥ this is just an idea but perhaps the tank cycled quickly cause it has many fish in it ? i'm still really new to cycling tanks (i read more about fish than actually have fish lol ) but maybe tanks with a lot of fish cycle faster than fishless?

as for petshops giving people pets? the aquatics i use will refuse to sell any fish to people if they don't have the right setup plain and simple,they are really strict and have turned me down several times cause my knowledge was too low but they offered other beginner and more hardy fish for me :'D I kinda wish more petshops where like that but I can imagine saying the same thing over and over to people would get tiring .

but woop catfish are adorable ,I wanted some but I only have a small 25litre, no way am I going to get much in that xD

 

[knyptozoologist]

as for petshops giving people pets? the aquatics i use will refuse to sell any fish to people if they don't have the right setup plain and simple,they are really strict and have turned me down several times cause my knowledge was too low but they offered other beginner and more hardy fish for me :'D I kinda wish more petshops where like that but I can imagine saying the same thing over and over to people would get tiring

Our policy is supposed to be that we can refuse sales to people, but 9 times out of 10 they'll go to a manager (outside the fish department) who will sell it to them or tell me to sell it to them anyway. That's the one thing I really hated about the job was how it was all about the sales and not the care of the animals, but that's why I don't work there full-time anymore. (And sorry about the derailing of the thread, I just get really tired of always seeing the store worker blamed).

 

[Xoloto]

Yeah I can understand that Knypto and I never pointed the blame at the workers just most large chain petstores in general don't train their workers correctly nor care about the animals and if the worker does care and tries to fight back you end up losing your job,heck i tried to apply for a job as one a few years back but then found how bad they where caring for the animals and during the interview I pointed out things that could "help" improve the place and needless to say i never got the job lol.I do try to avoid petstores though for many other reasons and not because of the workers though it does help when the workers are knowledgeable and show care for the animals ( I am curious to know why you think your being targeted though Knypto? when someone says "petshop" do you think they are meaning "workers"?)

 

[knyptozoologist]

Not me specifically, I just see a lot of vague accusations here and other places about petshops and their workers and it gets frustrating. Petshops I mostly agree on because a lot of the policies are set by corporate, not people that actually know what they're doing (meaning set by people trying to make money, not focus on the care of the animals), but I tend to see people blaming the workers when a lot of times they just don't know better (I knew nothing about aquariums before starting at the place I worked) or were trained poorly (same thing, I got trained by experienced coworkers, my actual "book" training at work was vague and awful).

I also may have been a little (read: really) drunk when I made the first response in defense of pet shops, I just sometimes feel like people need to take more personal responsibility for the care of their animals instead of relying on minimum wage workers to do all the research for them. (Not so say shop workers shouldn't be knowledgeable, but it's impossible to know every detail of care for every individual animal).

 

[Quentari]

great news! the guppies and catfish will be going into my 2ft tank tomorrow and then I'm heading to the pet store to get a couple more catfish buddies Thanks for all your help making sure I didn't hurt them too much lol.

And I understand the frustration about the pet store workers but I think there's maybe two people at my local pet stores that I would trust. One aquarium guy at one pet store and one axolotl enthusiast at another pet store. That's not to say I ignore the others, but most of them don't even try to talk to me about my fish they just put some in a bag :/ either way I'm glad I found you guys at least the little catfish should lead a nice long life now.