ok to cycle with fish and prime?

[spencelee10]

I've read online that seachem's prime neutralizes ammonia and nitrites in the cycling stages but still leaves them available for bacteria. First is this true and if it is is it alright to cycle my tank with fish? If so how often should I do water changes? It's a 2.5 gallon tank for my betta.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

Test your water every day with the api master kit for freshwater, keep up on your PWC and also I cycled with prime. Just moniter it closely test twice a day if you have to. If you dont own the betta yet, just wait a few weeks until you do buy him. It will be much happier.

 

[mfdrookie516]

No its not ok to do that. Do a fishless cycle. Once the tank is cycled, then buy the fish.

 

[OhNeil1969]

No its not ok to do that. Do a fishless cycle. Once the tank is cycled, then buy the fish.

I will definitely have to agree with Jonathan. Your best bet is to cycle your tank without fish. Especially if it's only a 2.5 gallon betta tank. The cycling process shouldn't take that long. It should go even faster if you can find some media from a cycled tank to kickstart the process. Plus, in the long run, it'll save you a lot of headaches performing a fishless cycle. You can pretty much just add the ammonia and wait. Admittedly that's an over-simplification, but you get the idea. You won't be performing all those additional water changes simply to keep the fish you have alive while the tank is cycling.

 

[Marconis]

Fishless cycle. Do more research and you'll see why it's better.

 

[BigJim]

+1 for the fishless cycle. The wait can be agonizing, but the tank will cycle faster and you'll do a lot fewer PWCs, not to mention you won't harm any fish.

 

[Krypt]

Definitely do the fishless cycle. It's cheaper then prime and better for the fish.

 

[Kat1103]

unless you didn't know about "fishless" cycling (which I didn't till I got on here) and already have your fish you should do PWC at least every other day. Check your water daily. Bettas are pretty hardy fish.

 

[trackfast]

+1 ; fishless cycle.