New owner of a 25 gallon tank!

[theatrus]

Good to hear! Its important to have fun as much as possible

 

[Guest]

FWIW, i cycle with fish.


I don't think you are a bad person for doing so. but i change and test my water 2 times a day during a cycle and do 50% + water changes as needed....daily, while cycling.

you can cycle with fish safely as long as you are prepared to do the work.

 

[fearlessfisch]

I cycled with fish, too. It is possible to do it humanely.

Congratulations on your new tank!

 

[JRagg]

I think the cycling with/without fish is a constant debate.

With fish: Cycle can take 6-8 weeks (if unseeded), requires daily testing and water changes, requires a LOT more attention. The only + is that you have fish in there sooner, though if you slip up on your maintenance, they can very well die.

Fishless: Cycle takes 4-5 weeks (unseeded), requires no testing for the first week, and testing of one parameter every other day after that. Requires zero water changes. No fish to look at.

Pick your poison. I went fishless because I hate carrying buckets, and I'm not going to buy a python for a small tank. I also liked that I could leave for the weekend (as I often do) and not have to worry about it. If you're cycling with fish, then you may come home to an empty tank. It was definitely tough at the end when I knew I was "so close" to finishing. I just wanted to get fish, but I had to wait. I'm glad I did. It let me research everything a little more and make the right decisions later on.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I cycle with fish and plants...and don't usually get any ammonia or nitrite readings...oh and I seed. Has worked for me twice!

 

[JRagg]

I cycle with fish and plants...and don't usually get any ammonia or nitrite readings...oh and I seed. Has worked for me twice!

Seeding is cheating

Once you have one cycled tank, I don't see any problem with seeding and cycling with fish. That would be the way to go in that situation. I'm talking about the first cycle you ever did. That's the hard one, the one that makes you want to quit the hobby.

 

[hoppershaun]

I am cycling my first tank, a 35 litre. I decided to cycle with fish, but now kinda wish I hadn't. I bought 3 leopard danios, but one has already died and now one of the other ones is not looking so well. If I had the chance again I would definately do a fishless cycle so that I could get the water perfect beforehand. I guess I didn't research enough before I started and used the instructions I got with the aquarium, which told me to add fish after 24 hours. It's all a learning curve though! I'll never make the same mistake again!

 

[JRagg]

I am cycling my first tank, a 35 litre. I decided to cycle with fish, but now kinda wish I hadn't. I bought 3 leopard danios, but one has already died and now one of the other ones is not looking so well. If I had the chance again I would definately do a fishless cycle so that I could get the water perfect beforehand. I guess I didn't research enough before I started and used the instructions I got with the aquarium, which told me to add fish after 24 hours. It's all a learning curve though! I'll never make the same mistake again!

I'll be honest. With my first tank I didn't know better either. I had two irridescent sharks, and two penguin tetra in a 10g tank when it was cycling (I didn't know what a cycle was). I was curious as to why the sharks were swimming vertically and laying on the bottom (I had no clue what I was doing). I did one large water change the whole time, and that was it. Somehow all of the fish lived. I think back as to how unbelievably irresponsible that was. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do to change that now. I just use the knowledge I gained and moved forward with it.