Cycling help? My dad gave me bad advice. . .

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MariB

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Messages
10
Location
West Allis, Wisconsin
Okay, so my dad bought me a 5 gallon tank for Christmas. He told me to set it up for a few weeks test the water temp and make sure everything is running properly. He then told me to add fish to start my cycling, I watched him take care of tanks since I was about 7 and on so I believed him. But now I don't, seeing as unfortunately I lost the fish and I feel awful, more than awful. I'm at a loss of what to do now, I know I need to properly cycle the tank without fish, but I need some good advice. Anyone willing to share their wisdom? It would be fantastic thanks!
 
Well you dad was right but I think he forgot to mention that until the tank is completely cycled you will need to change to water every day. Maybe twice a day to remove the fish's waste because the tank cant break it down properly just yet. Think of it like changing a baby's diaper or or picking up after a dog. Once you tank has built up the necessary waste devouring bacteria then you will need to change the water every week or so. On a tank that size I would recommend a 25-50% water change. Get a test kit or something though so you can check ammonia levels. If they do get too high then time to change the fishies diaper. Also start of with a hearty fish that doesnt grow to be bigger than 4-5 inches. Good rule of thumb is 1" per gallon. Hope this helps. Fish keeping can be challenging in the beginning but later on is well worth the work.

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Sorry you lost all your fishies. Unfortunately it happens far too often due to poor advice. It almost happened to me, my lfs told me a platy and a molly were fine in a 3g, and gave me next to no information on cycling. Needless to say I probably would have lost them both had I not done some research on my own. Of course the lfs made out like a bandit in the end since I ended up buying a 29g from them lol.

5 gallons is pretty small. Most people think a smaller tank is easier to take care of than a larger tank, however the opposite is true. The smaller the tank, the quicker ammonia/nitrites will spike, which means lots of testing and water changes if you are doing a fish in cycle.

You may want to check out this link about fish less cycling:
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

Given your tank size your stocking choices are very limited. You may want to plan out what kind of fish you are going to stock now. I can tell you it will only be 2 or 3 small fish, a single betta would be a better option.
 
We have a Marineland Hex 5, 5 gal. It was setup on the 17th of this month (Jan) and two Rosy Red Minnows added w/Moss Ball on the 21st. We had the choice of doing fish-in or fishless and decided on fish-in AND, so far things are going fine. the aquarium water is crystal clear and both minnows are eating fine. Done a 10% water change yesterday and everything is STILL fine. A little spike in water test done last night (due to water change), but still fine. Will have the minnows in for another week or so and then get the male Betta. After a week or so, will add a Ghost Shrimp or two.

A lot of aquarium people are very against fish-in cycling, but it sure seems to be working for us and we can have fish in the tank NOW! Don't have to do all the "adding of ammonia" and lots water changes/testing.

It's a CHOICE and shouldn't be ridiculed when someone does do it.
 
A lot of people start out doing a fish in cycle. There is nothing wrong with it (imo) if you are smart about it. Daily testing is preferred, that way you know when/how much water to change. If you do it right the fish will never be all that stressed, if at all. If you cycle without testing either you change water daily, or wait for the fish to show signs of stress. I don't agree with waiting until the fish show signs method, I think that's where it gets inhumane.

I'm about 4 weeks into my fish-in cycle and my lil guys are acting perfectly normal, I've never seen them gasping at the top or showing any signs of stress thus far. I test daily and change water accordingly. My target level for ammonia/nitrites is .25ppm or below, staying in that range has kept my fish happy.

The only reason I linked the fish-less sticky was because I thought that's the route the op wanted to go.
 
One confirmed issue with the fishless sticky (unless already amended) is that while fishless cycling to cut back ammonia dosing upon presence of nitrites. Thernjen has pointed this out and I think will make significant difference in the advice given about fishless cycling. Just saying...

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+1 to fish-in cycling, that's the only way I do it. BUT you have to be religious about your water changes. Read up on it, if you want. I find it much simpler, but more manual labor and you must be consistent.
Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

Also, make sure you are not overstocked. Aqadvisor.com is WONDERFUL and easy to use. It will help you make sure you don't have too many fish. 5 gal is very small and easily overstocked or stocked with fish that don't do well in small spaces (such as very active swimmers).
 
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