New to the Fish scene

[CoyoteWildfire]

I did a successful fish-in cycle. =] You can do it, too. So don't stress too much about not being able to take the fish back. If you had known beforehand I'd've done a fishless, but I didn't know either, so now you can work with what you have. You may not need to do 50% daily, but I'd at least do about 30% daily. COntinue to do this until you can afford a kit, then test daily and keep a log! Good luck!

+1

it's cool guys....i'll make it work, i've loved fish since i was a kid but this is the first time as a "grown up" that i've owned a tank and see the true work in it.....seems fun, worth the work

Hey man, it totally is. I walked into this not knowing anything about this whole cycling process. (LFS told me to wait a week before adding fish, what a laugh.) Anyway, the other people here just want to do what's safest for the fish and most painless for you, so you'll find a lot of strong opinions here.

I have to second getting an API test kit. I couldn't afford one either at first, so I relied on my LFS to do the testing for me. They did it free, so that was pretty nice... If you can take advantage of that, it'll really help you out while you wait until you CAN get the test kit. The only reason people suggest it so highly is that we know that some of the risks involved with not testing properly, and we wouldn't want you, your girlfriend, your fish, or anyone else involved to have to deal with that. It's truly a sad thing... It's really great to see your heart's in the right place too. :]

As Rose said, keep up with the PWCs. Just dechlorinate the water you're introducing into the tank. And don't worry about "cleaning" the tank, as the positive bacteria generally grow on the sides of the tank, in the gravel and in the filter cartridge itself. Cleaning the tank will just make it harder to get yourself cycled as you're wiping out bacterial colonies that are growing. Fish-in cycles take a lot longer, so be prepared to wait a month or two (sometimes longer) before your Ammonia and Nitrite read 0 and your Nitrates build up. Just keep up with those PWCs!

 

[ejaramillo01]

Good luck also, there is a lot of information related to cycle with fish. Even when I also recommend the fish less cycle, that doesn't mean that your only alternative is to return the fish.
I even believe tha the majority of the people cycle their tanks with fish, maybe due to the lack of knowledge.

So just get ready for the task, cycling with fish requires more work.

Good luck.

 

[Homedog98]

With all due respect, you are asking for huge problems trying to cycle a tank with fish in there...especially if you don't have a master test kit. Cycling with fish requires constant testing and often daily water changes to insure they don't undergo ammonia or nitrIte poisoning. Leaving your water sitting out will do nothing as the municipalities use chloramines that do not evaporate out of water.

+1 to you too! I just finished the fish in cycle on my tank... NOT fun! I lost nearly all my fish!!! If you did all that research... Didn't you find out how cruel it is to fish in cycle?

 

[Homedog98]

ok guys, i wanna do the fishless cycle, but i doubt pet smart will take them back b/c i can't find the receipt and i don't have anyone to give them to....there is NO way i can get a test kit until tuesday, will they live off of 50% PWC a day? I have a good dechlorinator i just can't afford a kit yet, the average advice seems to be a 50% change daily

Petsmart has a 14 day return policy. They HAVE to let you take them back, and refund your money. Go fishless... It's worth it.

 

[Herotilapia_Multispinosa]

Petsmart has a 14 day return policy. They HAVE to let you take them back, and refund your money. Go fishless... It's worth it.

They actually don't have a return policy for LIVE fish but they have thier 14 day for dead fish... It's pretty retarded. Probobly so people don't return their 3 oscars, 2 pacu, and red tail cat fir thier 20 gallon.

 

[DGAFPolar]

called Petsmart and my only option is to take them back for free.....it's only been 3 days but they said i can't return them. I don't have a friend with a tank and i don't want to kill them. I'm only taking them back b/c the last two times i tried to feed them (last night around 6pm and today around 9am) the just eat the food and spit it back out....i'm worried for the fish to be honest with you, i, like you guys, love these little guys and i'm stressing out that i'm killing them slowly.....this sucks lol, still love fish and tanks and still gonna have one....but right now, stressing out over fish, is killing me o_0



Edit: Petsmart is on my "hate" list now

 

[Rosenweiss]

+1 to you too! I just finished the fish in cycle on my tank... NOT fun! I lost nearly all my fish!!! If you did all that research... Didn't you find out how cruel it is to fish in cycle?

With all due respect, Homedog, with my fish-in cycle, I lost zero fish. None of them appeared sick, and even the glass catfish, a very sensitive fish, were very happy and healthy. All of us know that it's a good idea to do a fishless cycle. But that doesn't give you the right to accuse someone of being cruel if they already have their fish and choose to make it work.

Furthermore, if you read back, you'll see that he lost his receipt.

 

[Rosenweiss]

called Petsmart and my only option is to take them back for free.....it's only been 3 days but they said i can't return them. I don't have a friend with a tank and i don't want to kill them. I'm only taking them back b/c the last two times i tried to feed them (last night around 6pm and today around 9am) the just eat the food and spit it back out....i'm worried for the fish to be honest with you, i, like you guys, love these little guys and i'm stressing out that i'm killing them slowly.....this sucks lol, still love fish and tanks and still gonna have one....but right now, stressing out over fish, is killing me o_0

Don't let people stress you out. =] If you do 50% PWC each day, it'll keep the ammonia levels from getting too high. Also, it may appear that they're spitting them out, but my fish do that sometimes too, and it may be that they're breaking them into smaller pieces and eating some of the food.

Keep us updated!

 

[eco23]

With all due respect, Homedog, with my fish-in cycle, I lost zero fish. None of them appeared sick, and even the glass catfish, a very sensitive fish, were very happy and healthy. All of us know that it's a good idea to do a fishless cycle. But that doesn't give you the right to accuse someone of being cruel if they already have their fish and choose to make it work.

Furthermore, if you read back, you'll see that he lost his receipt.

The point I believe Homedog was making is that the OP stated he did 30 hours of research on the cycling process and she was wondering why he chose traditional instead of fishless cycling. Honestly, I wondered the same thing too.

As I said, a fish in cycling is obviously possible and your fish can survive with enough diligence, patience and willingness to do all the pwc's involved. If you, however, have decided to take the fish back and do a fishless cycle...the overwhelming majority of people on this site would agree that is the smartest thing to do for both ethical and level of ease reasons.

Personally, I would rather lose a few dollars to have much less work in getting my tank cycled, plus since the OP does seem to care about the wellbeing of his fish, it avoids him having to stress out about them having to endure the cycling process.

Everyone is obviously entitled to their own opinion, but I'm glad the OP is considering a fishless cycle, both because it's more humane, and also so he has less back pain from not carrying buckets of water every day, lol.

 

[BillD]

Some municipalities use chloramnine, some don't. Mine doesn't. Regardless, you have fish now and you need to deal with them. Fortunately, the fish load is light. Feed very lightly. Test kit or not, water changes will be necessary, to rid the tank of ammonia. There are ways to do this so you will succeed. What type of filter are you using.? If you have sponge inserts, scrubbing the glass on an existing tank will get some bacteria for the sponge. Adding a live plant like hornwort which grows quickly will also keep the ammonia at bay. I have never done a fishless cycle, and due to the nature of how I often acquire fish, I often have to set up a tank while the fish are still in the bag. Sometimes I have a seasoned filter I can add sometimes not. This has not caused a problem. I do however expect to change a little more water when I have to start with everything fresh.

 

[Shetland James]

I've never had any notable problems with any fish and to my knowledge I've never done a fishless cycle. Everyone has different approaches.

 

[DGAFPolar]

My only question left is if i use well water do i need to sit it out a day or whatever b4 i use to do a PWC, and when i do the PWC do i treat the new water or the whole tank again.....after this question i should be good for a while

 

[Rosenweiss]

My only question left is if i use well water do i need to sit it out a day or whatever b4 i use to do a PWC, and when i do the PWC do i treat the new water or the whole tank again.....after this question i should be good for a while

You should treat the new water with a dechlorinator that also deals with chloramines. You can treat enough just for the new water if you're treating before putting it in. If you put the dechlor in before the new water (aka if you're using a python) it may be safer to treat for the whole tank.

 

[Rosenweiss]

The point I believe Homedog was making is that the OP stated he did 30 hours of research on the cycling process and she was wondering why he chose traditional instead of fishless cycling. Honestly, I wondered the same thing too.

As I said, a fish in cycling is obviously possible and your fish can survive with enough diligence, patience and willingness to do all the pwc's involved. If you, however, have decided to take the fish back and do a fishless cycle...the overwhelming majority of people on this site would agree that is the smartest thing to do for both ethical and level of ease reasons.

Personally, I would rather lose a few dollars to have much less work in getting my tank cycled, plus since the OP does seem to care about the wellbeing of his fish, it avoids him having to stress out about them having to endure the cycling process.

Everyone is obviously entitled to their own opinion, but I'm glad the OP is considering a fishless cycle, both because it's more humane, and also so he has less back pain from not carrying buckets of water every day, lol.

I understand that it's more humane, but as far as I've read, he's not considering a fishless cycle. I just thought it was rude to accuse him of cruelty for something he couldn't control.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

TL;DR.

+1 to you too! I just finished the fish in cycle on my tank... NOT fun! I lost nearly all my fish!!! If you did all that research... Didn't you find out how cruel it is to fish in cycle?

Look guys, stop acting like this is the end of the world. If anything is stressing him out, it's you. I completely agree that a fishless cycle is better, but both of you (especially you, eco) have been rather harsh to him regarding the way he's chosen to do things.

I'm a product of a fish-in cycle, and I can promise you every fish in my tank is happy, healthy, and have not had an issue adapting. No stress, no unhealthy behavior, no complications.

Eco, you especially recognized that everyone has opinions. I would greatly appreciate it if you would not present yours so abrasively and realize that there are other ways to do things. Especially when people disagree with you, you have shown little ability to acknowledge the positive in the way that they attempt to do things.

If you want to be helpful, the way you give advice is just as important (if not more so) than the advice you give. I would appreciate it if both you and homedog would chill out, get off your high horse about fishless cycling, and start being useful to the path he has chosen to take.

Thank you.

 

[eco23]

My only question left is if i use well water do i need to sit it out a day or whatever b4 i use to do a PWC, and when i do the PWC do i treat the new water or the whole tank again.....after this question i should be good for a while

Well water will have no chlorine / chloramines in it, so a dechlor isn't needed to remove them, however it will be helpful in de-toxifying the climbing ammonia and nitrItes levels the fish are producing. If you're changing water with buckets, just treat the amount you're adding, if you're using a python, you add the dechlor directly to the tank and use a full dosage for the volume of the tank.

 

[eco23]

My input was to initially perform a fishless cycle and return the fish if possible and simply explained the pros / cons of the cycling processes. Since the OP stated he is unable to return the fish, I have linked him to the appropriate threads and gave home advice on how to cycle with fish. If you're going to try and call someone out, read the whole thread and follow my train of advice before your post comments

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

My input was to initially perform a fishless cycle and return the fish if possible and simply explained the pros / cons of the cycling processes. Since the OP stated he is unable to return the fish, I have linked him to the appropriate threads and gave home advice on how to cycle with fish. If you're going to try and call someone out, read the whole thread and follow my train of advice before your post comments

Already did. You're still just as abrasive.

My only question left is if i use well water do i need to sit it out a day or whatever b4 i use to do a PWC, and when i do the PWC do i treat the new water or the whole tank again.....after this question i should be good for a while

You can do that to help some of the chlorine evaporate, but this isn't a guaranteed method of neutralizing all the chlorine in the water. If you haven't done so, investing in a dechlorinator will take care of that for you.

Otherwise, letting the water sit for a day isn't going to help you much... Just treat the new water you put into the tank.

 

[eco23]

Already did. You're still just as abrasive.

You can do that to help some of the chlorine evaporate, but this isn't a guaranteed method of neutralizing all the chlorine in the water. If you haven't done so, investing in a dechlorinator will take care of that for you.

Otherwise, letting the water sit for a day isn't going to help you much... Just treat the new water you put into the tank.

If you have a personal vendetta and want to get into name calling, I suggest you PM me as opposed to posting on a thread. I also have my own opinions on many of your posts and keep them to myself in the interest of maintaining a civil forum.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Was about to suggest the very same to you.