Yet another cycling question!

[lyquidphyre]

My boyfriend bought a 29gal aquarium and he is just as impatient as I am about the cycling thing.

But I was thinking, since I have too many guppys I could give him a few to kick start cycling and have fish in there at the same time. Then, once it is cycled, he can take out the guppies and add whatever fish.

Will that work? And if so, how many fish should I add that will help cycle the tank yet not be over powered by ammonia levels?

 

[Allivymar]

Before you subject the guppies to ammonia and nitrites, do any of your lfs carry Bio-Spira? Its the correct nitrifying bacteria in a bag; its added right along with the fish and instantly cycles a tank. Of course you need to keep an eye on the parameters as occasionally one get a bag that doesn't work as well as it should, but I've used it 4 times with 100% success. You can also order it from Bernie; hes one of our sponsors and has a forum (The Fish Store) further down the forums page - he's great to deal with.

If you want to try cycling with the guppies, you'll need to add at least 6; any less and the tank won't be cycled enough to add too many fish initially (and you'll still want to add fish in batches and not all at once so you don't overload the bacteria - is why I prefer Bio-Spira). You don't want to add TOO many guppies tho, or they'll be living (and likely dying) in ammonia and nitrites. Make sure the BF understands he'll need to test the tank daily and will prob be doing daily water changes for a few weeks

 

[lyquidphyre]

hehe, you forget that my guppies come from an overstocked tank with high ammonia levels =o)

They are surprizingly hardy.

I will call my fish store and see if they carry it.

Thank you for the tip! This way my bf can get the fish he wants instead of cycling with my guppies.. =o)