The LFS condemned fishless cycling! - Aquarium Advice

ryorgason · 01-26-2007, 06:26 PM

I was in there looking at fish today, and mentioned I was doing a fishless cycle with ammonia. The owner (I think) then proceeded to tell me how much better it is to cycle with fish, and how adding chemicals will hurt the fish, how he has 30 or 40 years experience and only cycles with fish, blah, blah, blah. So I continued looking at fish as he talked and I thought 'yea, whatever.' I told him I had done a fishless cycle before, but that only made him more determined to change my mind. Oh well, I came home to find seed material in my mailbox (thanks to LandGhoti), so I am proceeding with my humane fishless cycle as planned.

tropicalfish · 01-26-2007, 06:27 PM

You normally should not trust what the LFS guy says,... they just want you to buy the fish or salt or whatever and so that they can make money.

LandGhoti · 01-26-2007, 06:48 PM

Yay seed material! I hope it does the trick.

I have had hit or miss with LFS employees, and I actually can believe someone with that much experience would say something like that. I think some might get callous to the business after awhile. Last weekend I was at my LFS looking at a tank of turquoise rainbows. One was swimming upside down and falling to the gravel, obviously dying. The guy who always helps me was waiting for me to make up my mind and I told him there was a fish in there dying. So he reaches in, grabs it, pulls it out of the tank and holds it behind his back.

Like, if I don't see it, it's not happening. We proceeded then to have an argument about humane ways to euthanize a fish. He finally dropped the fish back in the tank. I'm sure if I'd not said anything, he would've tossed it in the trash and left it to thrash around until it suffocated...

SparKy697 · 01-26-2007, 07:20 PM

It's just so unlike the LFS people to have a different opinion than people on this forum!

severum mama · 01-26-2007, 07:25 PM

But of course... then he wouldn't have an excuse to try to sell you Cycle or some other such product!

**Fishyfanatic** · 01-26-2007, 07:30 PM

But of course! With a fishy cycle he sells you:

Cycle
Ammo Lock
pH down (because I'm sure that he'll find your pH to be off and that's what is killing your fish, not the immense ammonia)
25 fish
Several bottles of test strips
Tons of dechlorinator (for all those water changes you will be doing)

With a fishless cycle he sells you:
One bottle of dechlor
Freshwater Master Test Kit

LandGhoti · 01-26-2007, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishyfanatic

But of course! With a fishy cycle he sells you:

Cycle
Ammo Lock
pH down (because I'm sure that he'll find your pH to be off and that's what is killing your fish, not the immense ammonia)
25 fish
Several bottles of test strips
Tons of dechlorinator (for all those water changes you will be doing)

With a fishless cycle he sells you:
One bottle of dechlor
Freshwater Master Test Kit

LOL

coldmachineUK · 01-26-2007, 10:55 PM

Oh Good Lord, Cycle...don't get me started! I had the same thing at my LFS when I did a fishless cycle on my cichlid tank (primarily b/c the fish all had to be introduced at the same time to avoid territorial disputes).
I got yelled at, accused of 'poisoning' my tank, and all sorts. And that 'cycle' product was mentioned more than once - just as it had been before by the LFS employees.

Were they right? Not at all...

The fishless cycle worked spot on, cycled in 11 days, and all my fish were fine!

Don't always trust the LFS :S Sad as that is...

ryorgason · 01-27-2007, 12:55 AM

As it was, all I bought there was a bag of dog food, which is all I planned to buy today. I already have dechlor and a test kit. I think he was really trying to get me to buy a few fish, but instead he convinced me to look around some more and see what other aquatics stores there are around here. The fish there did look nice and healthy, and the tanks were all clean, but I don't appreciate it when someone tries to start an argument with me.

Maybe he is just set in his ways and doesn't think any new way of cycling could possibly work.

I learned not to trust an LFS back when I got my first little tank and wanted a betta for it. I went to a couple of aquatics stores trying to get advice, and didn't learn a thing. My betta ended up dying of ammonia poisoning because I had no idea what cycling a tank was.

theotheragentm · 01-27-2007, 01:20 AM

I've never done a cycle with fish, but if you had a huge tank, would it be possible to cycle with one fish? Like if you had a 30 gallon tank, would one Platy have any problems? I'm just curious.

01-26-2007, 06:26 PM	#1
ryorgason Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: An Oregonian in NC Posts: 80	The LFS condemned fishless cycling! I was in there looking at fish today, and mentioned I was doing a fishless cycle with ammonia. The owner (I think) then proceeded to tell me how much better it is to cycle with fish, and how adding chemicals will hurt the fish, how he has 30 or 40 years experience and only cycles with fish, blah, blah, blah. So I continued looking at fish as he talked and I thought 'yea, whatever.' I told him I had done a fishless cycle before, but that only made him more determined to change my mind. Oh well, I came home to find seed material in my mailbox (thanks to LandGhoti), so I am proceeding with my humane fishless cycle as planned.

01-26-2007, 06:27 PM	#2
tropicalfish Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 325	You normally should not trust what the LFS guy says,... they just want you to buy the fish or salt or whatever and so that they can make money. __________________ --- 75 Gallon Rena FilStar xP3, Aquarium Systems Visi-Therm 200W (2), Coralife 48" Aqualight 260W 6700K --- 10 Gallon Hexagon Hagen AquaClear 30, Visi-Therm Deluxe 50, DIY CF 20W 6500K CF, Hagen Natural CO2 System :: Bloodfin Tetra (1), Red-eye Tetra (3), Black Skirt Tetra (3), Harlequin Rasbora (6), Platy (1), Otocinclus Catfish (1) :: Rotala Indica, Hygrophila Difformis (Wisteria), Cabomba Carolinia ---

01-26-2007, 06:48 PM	#3
LandGhoti Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Le Midwest Posts: 828 Images: 6	Yay seed material! I hope it does the trick. I have had hit or miss with LFS employees, and I actually can believe someone with that much experience would say something like that. I think some might get callous to the business after awhile. Last weekend I was at my LFS looking at a tank of turquoise rainbows. One was swimming upside down and falling to the gravel, obviously dying. The guy who always helps me was waiting for me to make up my mind and I told him there was a fish in there dying. So he reaches in, grabs it, pulls it out of the tank and holds it behind his back. Like, if I don't see it, it's not happening. We proceeded then to have an argument about humane ways to euthanize a fish. He finally dropped the fish back in the tank. I'm sure if I'd not said anything, he would've tossed it in the trash and left it to thrash around until it suffocated... __________________ 29-gallon FW 1 yoyo loach, 2 polkadot loaches, 6 cherry barbs, 2 turquoise rainbows, 1 chinese algae eater, 2 harlequin rasboras; java fern, java moss, hornwort, Asian ambulia

01-26-2007, 07:20 PM	#4
SparKy697 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Northwest Indiana Posts: 1,241 Images: 3	It's just so unlike the LFS people to have a different opinion than people on this forum! __________________ -Joe Click "My Info" for tank information. My 55g Tank Log Read About The Nitrogen Cycle Read About The Fishless Cycle

01-26-2007, 07:25 PM	#5
severum mama Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 2,771 Images: 22	But of course... then he wouldn't have an excuse to try to sell you Cycle or some other such product! __________________ WE CAN STAGE A RUNAWAY GOLF CART MARATHON 5 gallon, 45 gallon, and 55 gallon planted 75 gallon SA/CA cichlids 8 gallon Oceanic BioCube nano reef

01-26-2007, 07:30 PM	#6
Fishyfanatic Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 10,303 Images: 15	But of course! With a fishy cycle he sells you: Cycle Ammo Lock pH down (because I'm sure that he'll find your pH to be off and that's what is killing your fish, not the immense ammonia) 25 fish Several bottles of test strips Tons of dechlorinator (for all those water changes you will be doing) With a fishless cycle he sells you: One bottle of dechlor Freshwater Master Test Kit __________________ Vote for Aquarium Advice 10 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid Fry 29 Gallon Community 55 Gallon Community 55 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid Fry 150 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid

01-26-2007, 10:55 PM	#8
coldmachineUK Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: UK Posts: 709 Images: 6	Oh Good Lord, Cycle...don't get me started! I had the same thing at my LFS when I did a fishless cycle on my cichlid tank (primarily b/c the fish all had to be introduced at the same time to avoid territorial disputes). I got yelled at, accused of 'poisoning' my tank, and all sorts. And that 'cycle' product was mentioned more than once - just as it had been before by the LFS employees. Were they right? Not at all... The fishless cycle worked spot on, cycled in 11 days, and all my fish were fine! Don't always trust the LFS :S Sad as that is... __________________ For expert advice check out these great sites: The Puffer Forum: http://www.thepufferforum.com \| The Cichlid Forum: http://www.cichlid-forum.com \| Cichlid Room Companion Forum: http://www.cichlidae.com \| Planet Catfish: http://www.planetcatfish.com \| PlecoFanatics: http://www.plecofanatics.com \| Gobioid Research Institite: http://www.gobiidae.com \| Fishbase.org: http://www.fishbase.org ------------------------------------------------------- 36 Gal: Malawi Cichlids \| 36 Gal: Brackish Puffer \| 58 Gal: FW Community \| 20 Gal: FW RTBS Shark \| 10 Gal: FW Breeder Spares: 20 Gal: Former River Conditions \| 8 Gal: Former Fry Tank \| 32G: Former Community Tank

01-27-2007, 12:55 AM	#9
ryorgason Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: An Oregonian in NC Posts: 80	As it was, all I bought there was a bag of dog food, which is all I planned to buy today. I already have dechlor and a test kit. I think he was really trying to get me to buy a few fish, but instead he convinced me to look around some more and see what other aquatics stores there are around here. The fish there did look nice and healthy, and the tanks were all clean, but I don't appreciate it when someone tries to start an argument with me. Maybe he is just set in his ways and doesn't think any new way of cycling could possibly work. I learned not to trust an LFS back when I got my first little tank and wanted a betta for it. I went to a couple of aquatics stores trying to get advice, and didn't learn a thing. My betta ended up dying of ammonia poisoning because I had no idea what cycling a tank was.

01-27-2007, 01:20 AM	#10
theotheragentm Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,177	I've never done a cycle with fish, but if you had a huge tank, would it be possible to cycle with one fish? Like if you had a 30 gallon tank, would one Platy have any problems? I'm just curious. __________________ Box of Water - My Personal Musing and Photos on Fish Keeping

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