Tank cycling - fish in concerns

[Mbratcher13]

Hello all! Question: if I cycled my tank fish in....it did the normal levels fluctuation....and my fish survived....how likely are they to have internal organ damage, shortened life spans, or health problems in general? My fish are all active, colorful, eating daily, and doing normal fishy things. Just curious about down the road. I've read that it could be severely damaging...is that entirely true? I have 5 cichlids and a giant danio.


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[mikem691]

As long as you did water changes to keep levels low they should be fine.

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[BBradbury]

Your Fish

Hello all! Question: if I cycled my tank fish in....it did the normal levels fluctuation....and my fish survived....how likely are they to have internal organ damage, shortened life spans, or health problems in general? My fish are all active, colorful, eating daily, and doing normal fishy things. Just curious about down the road. I've read that it could be severely damaging...is that entirely true? I have 5 cichlids and a giant danio.


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Hello Mb...

Ideally, you cycled with hardy fish. That's where this type of cycling gets a bad name. Many don't know what kind of fish to use. Hardy fish like female Guppies, Danios, Platys, White clouds, Rasboras, and many of the Barbs have no trouble tolerating water with a bit higher nitrogen levels. So, they can be healthy long after the cycling process.

If you're not a good water changer or water tester, or use fussy fish that need pure water conditions all the time, then you can lose fish during the cycle or they go belly up soon afterward. If you did your job the right way, your fish should be fine for a long time.

Remember to maintain pure water conditions all the time and your fish and plants will be healthy.

B

 

[Mbratcher13]

I'm on week 3 now and have done a 20% change each week. My ammonia seems to be about 0 with the test strips I'm using. My nitrates and nitrites still fluctuate a bit. I use prime to help with that, it seems to get the best reviews. I read on a Facebook page I follow a couple posters were really knocking the fish in cycling, which I guess is to be expected. Thanks for the reply! Made me feel better. I'm new to cichlids and I really love it so far! I didn't want my fishies to hurt. Haha.


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