Fish In Cycling

[triggerfishfan]

After much reading and discussion with my husband, we have decided to fish in cycle. I am aware it will take a while etc and I risk losing some in-mates along the way.

We have thought about getting some inexpensive fish to start the process off - we were thinking 2/3 Endlers or guppies as our tank is 19L.

Has anyone fish in cycled with these fish and how have you found it? Are there "better" fish to fish in cycle with?

Thanks for your advice in advance.

 

[Fishlover3578]

I've done it with them an it went ok got tired of waiti for cycle to finish and water testing every couple days so I got filter media off of Someone's established tank it helped alot. There's a product calls aquabella tht is 35$ does up to 55gal tht suppose to cycle your tank in 2 days with fish in and make it so you don't need a water change for a year . I would invest in a liquid water test kit like API test kit it sells on amazon and Petsmart,pet supplies plus. I know you can order aquabella or buy it at pet supplies plus .

 

[triggerfishfan]

Thanks for your reply. I am in the UK so not sure if I could get that product over here. I currently have a dechlorinator in the tank, along with some Stress Zyme which helps with the biologigal filter and cleans up the water.

We picked the tank up on Sunday putting the water an dechlorinator in. Last night the tank seemed cloudy and my husband realised that the filter was not sitting in the water fully (it floats on the top of the tank) so we have now submerged it properly but when I got up this morning it was still cloudy. Do I need to wait until it is clear again before contemplating adding some fish? I think the cloudyness is either a bloom or dust from the substrate.

 

[severum mama]

There's a product calls aquabella tht is 35$ does up to 55gal tht suppose to cycle your tank in 2 days with fish in and make it so you don't need a water change for a year .

Even if the product works wonders for cycling, that is an absolutely outrageous claim for the manufacturer to make. That alone would have me steering clear.

The easiest way to cycle a new tank imo is to get colonized filter media from an established tank.

 

[Caliban07]

It is most likely a bloom and I would wait until the bloom settles as oxygen concentration in the tank maybe a bit lower during this stage.

I haven't cycle using the said fish but I did a fish in cycle starting with 3 harlequins. After 2 weeks I added 3 more. After 1 more week I added 3 swordtails and a week later my final gouramis.

As long as you stock lightly and slowly, and feed once a day missing a day once a week without overfeeding there is no reason for ammonia to go above 0.25ppm. Of course you would have to monitor closely and do the odd water change but there is no reason for your fish not to survive the process. Some people will say that even though they survived they will not live as long as the would have done but my rasbora are in tremendous health and are as active as the day I put them in.

Good luck

 

[triggerfishfan]

Thanks for your suggestions. I have decided I will put maybe 2/3 guppies or endlers in. My aunt suggested white mountain minnow and said the slowly slowly method of adding and not overstocking is the method she has always used.

Fingers crossed!

 

[BBradbury]

Fish In Tank Cycling

After much reading and discussion with my husband, we have decided to fish in cycle. I am aware it will take a while etc and I risk losing some in-mates along the way.

We have thought about getting some inexpensive fish to start the process off - we were thinking 2/3 Endlers or guppies as our tank is 19L.

Has anyone fish in cycled with these fish and how have you found it? Are there "better" fish to fish in cycle with?

Thanks for your advice in advance.

Hello trigg...

If this is your first experience with an aquarium, you're not giving yourself the best chance for success by getting a small tank. Years ago, I started with a 5 gallon and had no luck keeping fish until I got a 30 gallon. I keep 55 gallon tanks now and the fish and plants are so much healthier.

Fish in cycling gets a bad reputation because people use the wrong fish and then don't follow through with water testing and water changes.

If you're serious about this hobby get a much larger tank and save the fish and your time too.

Your choice of course, and good luck.

B

 

[Caliban07]

People usually start small for many reasons. I would agree that over time you will probably come to your own decision that you would like a bigger tank. Just like I do now! Haha. What Bradbury is trying to say is that the margin for error decreases as the tank size decreases. A bigger tank will allow for a few minor mistakes.

I would disagree that you need to have a larger tank to be serious about the hobby though. You will do just fine as long as you do as your aunty says and stock slowly. Monitoring water parameters carefully and doing water changes when necessary is the key.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish In Tank Cycling

Thanks for your suggestions. I have decided I will put maybe 2/3 guppies or endlers in. My aunt suggested white mountain minnow and said the slowly slowly method of adding and not overstocking is the method she has always used.

Fingers crossed!

Hello again trigg..

If you're going through with the small tank and cycling it with fish, you need to use hardy fish, fish that tolerate the less than pure water conditions. Guppies are fine, but use females and the hardier "feeders". These are fish that pet shops sell to people who keep predator fish. You can also use Zebra Danios, Rasboras, White Clouds, or Platys. These species don't mind living in water with higher nitrogen levels.

Use just a few fish in a small tank. Three or four is plenty. Get a good water testing kit and test the water daily for ammonia and nitrite. If you have a trace of either, then remove and replace a couple of gallons of water. Make sure the new water is treated to remove the chemicals your public water people put into the tap water to make it safe to drink. Don't remove too much water, you want to leave some nitrogen for the bacteria to feed and grow. Eventually, these tiny bugs will help keep the water purer for the fish.

Test the water every day and change it when necessary. When you have several daily tests that show no traces of the above toxins, your tank is cycled. The process easily takes a month.

It's good to have floating plants in the tank to use some of the nitrogen produced by the fish waste. Anacharis (Common water weed) is one of the best. Just float the plant stems in the tank.

Again, good luck.

B

 

[triggerfishfan]

I would have loved to have bought i ginormous tank but time, money and space all constrained me :-( I would have loved to have got a marine tank and had either picasso triggers in or jelly fish but again, money and experience constrained me:'-( My aunt said that it can be tricker with smaller tanks but that as a start up I just need to pace myself.

She suggested smaller 1inch(fully grown) fish for my tank - maybe 10 or so along with a few shrimp and snails would be my maximum and right now, that scares the cr@p out of me! So to go to something of a gigantic size like she has would scare the heck out of me!

Just a quick question, I am after a plant to go in the middle of my tank, surrounded by rocks.... Any suggestions? I have seen Alternanthera cardinalis and they are quite pretty. I would like a tall slim plant rather than bushy and round.

Thanks so much for your help