Do I Need To Fishless Cycle?

[HeatherW]

So I just bought a little 2 gallon tank for fry.
Also I got a small light that emits heat as well.
And I got a tiny little filter.

The gravel is new. The plastic plants are new.
It was filled with water from my main tank that is cycled and has fish in it.

Will it need to cycle? Or is the cycling done since the water in there was fine?
I'm expecting fry in under a week.

Also, is the temperature likely to fluctuate too much with the light on during the day and off at night?

How quickly does 2 gallons of water go from 78 degrees room temperature?
Will it bother the fry greatly if they have the fluctuation from the beginning?
Or should I invest in a 7.5 watt heater?

Thanks,
Heather

 

[Ethos]

Invest in the heater, most certianly.

I think that'll be fine...I'd feel comfertable doing it.
Although, since fry are very sensative, if I were you, I'd put one of your fish in the little tank to do a quick 'mini cycle.'
Just to keep the bacteria alive, and do some cycling if necesary.

 

[dgwebster]

What about the option of sticking the new filter into the existing tank ntill the fry are hatched? move the filter and some water then???

And I'd agree, heater would be required. the 2 gallons would adjust to room temp rather quickly unless you insulate it and keep it in a naturally warm place, eg an airing cupboard.

 

[rdd1952]

Moving the water doesn't do aything as far as cycling is concerned. There are no beneficial bacteria present in the water column. You would be better off replacing all the water with clean water. As for cycling, take the filter pack and add it to your current filter or run it in the water flow some how so that it can pick up some bacteria. Then when the fry come you can move the filter into the fry tank and it will have some bacteria present. I've never had fry so I'm not an expert by any means but I have to believe that fry don't produce much waste although I think you have to feed them quite ofton so maybe excess food would cause some ammonia.

 

[Torrean]

There is bacteria in the water, just not enough to use to cycle. I would take the filter from the old tank and swish it in the new one. This will seed the new filter with bacteria and speed the cycle. If you need to keep the cycle going go buy some ghost shrimp or maybe an ADF (not sure how they do with fry though) If you don't want anything but fry in this tank you could add some food each day to produce the ammo needed to keep the filter alive. or move the cyclers into the main tank when the fry come.

Any bacteria that MIGHT have been in the water is probably dead considering there has been no ammo in the water.