cycling with tiger barbs?
- Thread starter son2fu
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
Why not do a fishless cycle? Less work for you and no danger to any fish.
Please read this article. I think you will find it a great way to go.
Fishless cycling
Good luck with the new tank.
Please read this article. I think you will find it a great way to go.
Fishless cycling
Good luck with the new tank.
WaterPond
Aquarium Advice Addict
but is it worth putting the fish through a few weeks of hell to get your tank cycled. THe fishless cycle is actually quite simple. Cycling with fish is considered to be cruel and inhumane.
Esra
Aquarium Advice Freak
Whats hard? fill the tank and chuck in a shrimp.
keep checking your levels and when your all set put the fish in.
pretty cruel to use fish to produce ammonia when a rotting shrimp will do it anyway
keep checking your levels and when your all set put the fish in.
pretty cruel to use fish to produce ammonia when a rotting shrimp will do it anyway
zenkatydid
Aquarium Advice FINatic
you can cycle with fish, but you have to do it _extremely_ slowly. i have successfully cycled a reasonably well planted 50gal tank with 7 danios. there was no noticable spike during this - but the plants were important for absorbing waste, and i only used a very small bioload to start with. now when i add fish i will be doing it super slowly. i have added a 3" bristlenose with no visible spike since. 2 weeks later i will add another fish or two.
here is an article i found really useful about this: http://home.comcast.net/~tomstank/tomstank_files/page0017.htm
in a 26gal tank, assuming you are planted, i would start with no more than 2 or 3 barbs and then after 2 weeks, you could add another couple. you need to test all the way, and if you spike ammonia/nitrite, do immediate water changes.
in the end, doing it either this way or the fishless way is going to take work.
if you want to just chuck a bunch of fish into your tank and hope they don't die, then don't expect to get support here, sorry.
here is an article i found really useful about this: http://home.comcast.net/~tomstank/tomstank_files/page0017.htm
in a 26gal tank, assuming you are planted, i would start with no more than 2 or 3 barbs and then after 2 weeks, you could add another couple. you need to test all the way, and if you spike ammonia/nitrite, do immediate water changes.
in the end, doing it either this way or the fishless way is going to take work.
if you want to just chuck a bunch of fish into your tank and hope they don't die, then don't expect to get support here, sorry.
Zagz
Aquarium Advice Addict
It's not complicated at all to do fishless cycle. I find it more complicated to have to do daily water changes to keep fish alive. You can use pure ammonia or a shrimp to cycle your tank. Ammonia is a bit faster IMO, as you don't have to wait for the shrimp to rot to get the cycle started.
ksfishguy
Aquarium Advice Freak
If you are going to cycle with fish I would recommend finding some "seeded" filter material from a cycled tank. Maybe a neighbor or even the LFS could help you out. The more you "seed" your aquarium with "good" bacteria the better. My neighbor saw my tank and bought a setup the next weekend. He cycled with tiger barbs and lost two-three of them.
I guess one way to look at it is that you wouldn't chance "cycling with dogs". Just because fish are cheap doesn't make them expendable. I'm not totally against what you are proposing, because I've done it myself, but the more I read and the longer I am in the hobby, the more I understand. You would think it gets easier losing a fish, it actually is the opposite.
If you have added your fish, make sure to do water changes and test your water for quality. Frequent water changes while cycling with fish is crucial to helping your fish stay healthy and less stressed.
Good luck, keep posting and keep reading. There are a bunch of articles on the nitrogen cycle on the Internet, just Google a search or check this website.
I guess one way to look at it is that you wouldn't chance "cycling with dogs". Just because fish are cheap doesn't make them expendable. I'm not totally against what you are proposing, because I've done it myself, but the more I read and the longer I am in the hobby, the more I understand. You would think it gets easier losing a fish, it actually is the opposite.
If you have added your fish, make sure to do water changes and test your water for quality. Frequent water changes while cycling with fish is crucial to helping your fish stay healthy and less stressed.
Good luck, keep posting and keep reading. There are a bunch of articles on the nitrogen cycle on the Internet, just Google a search or check this website.
son2fu said:
It's likely less complicated. Holding the lives of your fish in your hands, and trying to balance 'safe' levels of ammonia/nitrite, through constant testing and water changes seems pretty involved, IMO.
Also, if you've ever been in a room when a bottle of pure ammonia is opened, you'll likely feel the way I do about subjecting those kinds of toxins to your pets... only they can't walk out of the tank to get away from it.
It is your choice, but fishkeeping IS fairly complicated, and requires a LOT of patience in general. (When it comes to treating/maintaining water, choosing your stock, diagnosing/treating disease, etc.) Why not learn those things now? I am appreciative of having kept an empty tank for 2 weeks now... there is plenty of anticipation building for the "big day" as everyone is calling it. I know when I finally do have them, that I'll be more capable of giving them the best start and best home. Sure maybe it'd be nice to have something swimming in there... but that would just give me tons more to WORRY about!
Right now, doing a fishless cycle hasn't made me feel bored or detached... in fact, I've kind of become attached to the bacteria I feel like I'm breeding. I test the water as often as I like to see progress. But really, you don't have to.
If you really want it to be easy, get a Seachem Ammonia Alert sensor to hang in the tank... then all you have to do is walk by once a day or so. I don't understand the complications you feel. Could it be you just don't have enough basic information to make the decision on? Do you have questions on how to carry it out, or what is involved?
Either way, the tank WILL take however long to cycle, you can't avoid that. If you choose to get fish right away (and certainly, we'd be talking 2 or 3, not a whole school at once), it will STILL take time to cycle, only now you could be dealing with trying to preserve the life and longterm health of your fish. Many people have difficulties here, and end up losing some of their new friends. I know in my opinion, it just isn't worth it.
Others do go the fishy route, hopefully they've done the same amount of research to minimize the damage. I'm a newbie as well, but the idea of cycling while their lives are at stake is scarier to me, than leaving a shrimp in my tank for 2 weeks, or adding 1/4 tsp. of solution every few days...
P.S. Changing forums is not likely to get you very different answers on this topic. Even if you go ahead and fishy cycle, Tiger Barbs are not a typical choice.
NeonJulie said:
i have to agree. i added two fish after only 4 days of setting up my aquarium because i didn't fully understand the fishless cycle and i have to say that i've spent WAY more time taking care of my tank because of this. i test every day, do big water changes every day, and i have a HUGE amount of plants growing which means upgraded lighting, CO2, ferts etc. all this to keep from harming my fish...
it would have been much easier to let the tank cycle without a fish for a couple of weeks.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
Tiger barbs are poor fish to cycle with IF you choose to cycle with fish. They are schooling fish that in small numbers tend to harass each other much more than in larger groups. If you plan on going with tigers I think fishless is the best choice, otherwise you are going to wind up with somewhat poisoned barbs that will probably nip each other apart in the process.
courtnee
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have done both. Fish cycle and a fishless cycle. My fish cycle is what drove me to a fishless cycle. I had a 10gl tank with 1 apple snail and two goldfish. I had no idea what I was doing, I set it up and new I had to cycle but had no idea how hard it was on fish. My NitrItes were through the roof and I had a very hard cycle that stuck for weeks. I lost one goldfish and felt bad. I wasnt at the time much of a fish person I just got it for my daughter. I was doing massive water changes and doing everything I could to bring down the levels and it was so much work!
My other goldfish I finally pulled him and the snail out of the tank because I knew they were in misery. He died the day the 10gl cycled. He had finrot and he suffered. I said I would never do that again.
The snail made it through it and is still happy as can be.
I bought my 55gl and did it fishless. I did the shrimp and added biospira and just sat and watched my empty tank cycle its self. I had my LFS test water for me once a week (since they offered for free) and just this Monday I got to get two of my favorite kind of fish.
I will never do a fish cycle again. It was to much of a pain. You can expect deaths and if you decide not to do the hassle of water changes and working hard on the tank I think it is safe to say they will all die. Money down the drain and you are making the fish suffer as well and that is not right. We get them for pets to care for them not torture them.
My other goldfish I finally pulled him and the snail out of the tank because I knew they were in misery. He died the day the 10gl cycled. He had finrot and he suffered. I said I would never do that again.
The snail made it through it and is still happy as can be.
I bought my 55gl and did it fishless. I did the shrimp and added biospira and just sat and watched my empty tank cycle its self. I had my LFS test water for me once a week (since they offered for free) and just this Monday I got to get two of my favorite kind of fish.
I will never do a fish cycle again. It was to much of a pain. You can expect deaths and if you decide not to do the hassle of water changes and working hard on the tank I think it is safe to say they will all die. Money down the drain and you are making the fish suffer as well and that is not right. We get them for pets to care for them not torture them.
7Enigma
Aquarium Advice Addict
courtnee,
Very good story.
Very good story.
TomK2
Aquarium Advice Addict
I had to switch ISP's, the article linked above about cycling with fish slowly is now at:
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~tomstank/index_files/page0017.htm
It still requires patience, restraint, and diligence. I have never done it with tiger barbs, and I think 7enigma had a good point about not being able to have only a few of them in a smaller tank to keep the bioload down without having harrassed members of the schoool.
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~tomstank/index_files/page0017.htm
It still requires patience, restraint, and diligence. I have never done it with tiger barbs, and I think 7enigma had a good point about not being able to have only a few of them in a smaller tank to keep the bioload down without having harrassed members of the schoool.
