After Fishless Cycling

[orange shark]

Hey,

I have had my 29 gallon for just over a month now and i am finally going to set it up this week or next. After I have finished my fishless cycling i was going to put in 6 neon tetras and 6/8 cherry barbs. Would this be enough to feed all the bacteria in or would I need to put in more fish to keep my bacteria happy?

Thanks, orange shark

 

[doresy]

Your bacteria will adjust, in time, to the amount of fish you put in after your fishless cycle. A massive water change is required to get the nitrAte level down after cycle is complete and before adding fish. Once cycle is completed you must add fish right away or continue to add ammonia.

It is recommended to add your first stock in one go. If you decide not to then after you have added your first load of fish, any further fish should be added in smaller numbers to prevent your set-up going into a mini cycle

 

[rdd1952]

If you add a partial fish load, you will lose some of the bacteria but it shouldn't be a problem when you add a few more. The bacteria colony can double in about 24 hours so even doubling the fish load shouldn't cause but just a very slight mini-cycle if any.

 

[vinylman]

I wouldn't add Neons as a first fish; try to think of something else until the tank matures, then add the Neons around 5-6 weeks after the cycling has finished.

 

[Nosnibor]

I wouldn't add Neons as a first fish; try to think of something else until the tank matures, then add the Neons around 5-6 weeks after the cycling has finished.

That's not the route I'm going down, or have been guided down. My cycle finishes in about a week and I'm adding 10 Cardinal Tetras or Neons if I can't find any.

Why would you not add Neons?

Martin

 

[rdd1952]

Neons are generally considered more delicate than some other species, cardinals being one of them. They can rarely make it through the cycling process. You will be fully cycled but the tank won't be mature so there is more of a chance that something can go wrong to cause problems for them.

 

[OrganizedChaos69]

Actually itr's quite the obvious. The bacteria don't feed on the fish, they feed on the fishes waste. It's a matter of having enough bacteria for the fish, not enough fish for the bacteria. If there are too many fish and not enough bacteria (like soon after cycling) then ammonia will build up. Get no more than 6 fish the first time. this way, with enough waste, the bacteria will multiply and the tank will stay healthy as long as there is enough bacteria to cycle the waste.

 

[rdd1952]

Actually itr's quite the obvious. The bacteria don't feed on the fish, they feed on the fishes waste. It's a matter of having enough bacteria for the fish, not enough fish for the bacteria. If there are too many fish and not enough bacteria (like soon after cycling) then ammonia will build up. Get no more than 6 fish the first time. this way, with enough waste, the bacteria will multiply and the tank will stay healthy as long as there is enough bacteria to cycle the waste.

If you do a full fishless cycle, there will be way more than enough bacteria to support a full fish load. You should get as close to your full fish stock as possible from the beginnig. If not, all the extra bacteria will die off from lack of food. Then when you add more fish, you will experience a mini cycle.

 

[Nosnibor]

If not, all the extra bacteria will die off from lack of food. Then when you add more fish, you will experience a mini cycle.

What is meant by a 'mini' cycle, what does that entail? (no pun intended )

Cheers
Martin

 

[OrganizedChaos69]

Actually itr's quite the obvious. The bacteria don't feed on the fish, they feed on the fishes waste. It's a matter of having enough bacteria for the fish, not enough fish for the bacteria. If there are too many fish and not enough bacteria (like soon after cycling) then ammonia will build up. Get no more than 6 fish the first time. this way, with enough waste, the bacteria will multiply and the tank will stay healthy as long as there is enough bacteria to cycle the waste.

If you do a full fishless cycle, there will be way more than enough bacteria to support a full fish load. You should get as close to your full fish stock as possible from the beginnig. If not, all the extra bacteria will die off from lack of food. Then when you add more fish, you will experience a mini cycle.

Actually not neccessarily considering the tank has not had a living fish in it during the cycling period. After it has cycled with no fish, it merely means there is enough bacteria to support a population, but andding too many fish at once, will overload the unprepared bacteria colonies, resulting in a new cycle.

 

[rdd1952]

Actually not neccessarily considering the tank has not had a living fish in it during the cycling period. After it has cycled with no fish, it merely means there is enough bacteria to support a population, but andding too many fish at once, will overload the unprepared bacteria colonies, resulting in a new cycle.

I totally disagree. When a fishless cycle is completed, the bacteria present are processing 4 to 6 ppm of ammonia at least twice a day. That is way more ammonia than a full fish load could possibly produce in a days time, regardless of the tank size. If a tank is "cycled", it's cycled regardless of whether it was with live fish waste or artificially introduced ammonia. Adding a few fish at a time basically defeats the entire purpose of a fishless cycle which is to completely cycle your filter for you fish load.