Fish to cycle with?

[kevy]

I'm getting read to start cycling my 55 gallon using fish. The guy at the LPS said most tetras are good, is this true? I'm looking for a couple of schooling fish that can withstand the ammonia and nitrate spikes, something other than zebra danios and possibly flashy/colorful.


Anyone have any ideas?


~thanks

 

[baseballfan111]

as far as i know most tetras are bad including neon tetra and expessly carndnal tetra, what fish i would do is gupps they kinda school. and i bet smb is going 2 prech about fishless cycly

 

[Alien Anna]

I would never cycle with fish. I think it's cruel to put fish through that, and the chances of losing fish is very high.

However, theoretically, if I were to do so, danios would be the only choice.

 

[Moe]

I'm currently doing a fishless cycle. It is so much better and faster than cycling with fish. It has been less than a week and my 10G is almost done. I think it may to take up to 2 weeks to cycle a 55g but then you're done. You don't have to wait the 6 weeks of a cycle with fish and you aren't stuck with fish you don't really want. You can also load the tank right away after a fishless cycle so you could get a bunch or cichlids or whatever. For more info on how to fishless cycle just hit search in here or use an internet search. There is tons of info on exactly how to do it. Good luck.

 

[pondfreak4365]

Speaking from personal experience here don't use tetras! They are not as hardy as the LFS would have you believe. I too, now use the fishless cycle...no more uneeded fish deaths!

 

[Morrgan]

Forgive me for posing what probably is a stupid question, but what's the point with cycling with fish if it's both slower and bad for the fish?

 

[kevy]

Fishless cycle only taking 2 weeks for a 55 gallon? I though it'd be a lot longer. Is that the way when you add household ammonia at the start, then every other day? Can anyone give me directions about how to do his? I've read about doing it with 10 and 20 gallons but not 55's. How much ammonia do I add?

 

[Alien Anna]

Kevy, it doesn't matter how big your tank is. The principals are the same. They're even the same for fish bowls with no filter, and ponds with enormous filters.

To quote one website:
"Simply add 4-5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons per day until you get a nitrite spike. Once you have nitrites, cut the ammonia back to 2-3 drops per 10 gallons per day until the nitrites disappear. When you get a 0 ppm nitrites reading, you have a fully cycled tank."

And Bob's your uncle! It really couldn't be simpler. I've done it on a 35 gal tank and on a 5 gal hospital tank. I know people who've done it on absolutely enormous 150 gal tanks. If you "seed" the tank from another, matured tank, it can literally take 2 weeks.

As for the ammonia, it's clear ammonia you want, not ordinary household ammonia. The household stuff often has detergents added - you can tell this by shaking the bottle. If it's got detergents, it'll froth up. Hardware shops usually sell the clear stuff.

 

[kevy]

"If you "seed" the tank from another, matured tank, it can literally take 2 weeks."


Would putting some gravel from an old tank into the new one work? What about if I put a filter cartrige from a mature filter into the new filter?

 

[Alien Anna]

Would putting some gravel from an old tank into the new one work? What about if I put a filter cartrige from a mature filter into the new filter?

That's the right idea, Kevy! Yes, that certainly would work, provided you remember to keep the filter media and the gravel wet and well oxygenated throughout, to keep the bacteria alive. In fact, if you take the water from the old tank as well you could well "cycle" the tank over-night.

However, in this case I wouldn't necessarily recommend actually adding any ammonia, unless the new tank was significantly bigger than the old.

I actually did this "tank transplant" thing the other week, from an 8 gal to a 12 gal. Because it was effectively like doing a 50% water change I didn't see the need to do anything to the new tank and just took everything across, filter, gravel, rocks, plants, bogwood and fish. I also had only a few fish (8 black neon tetras) so the filter wouldn't be over-loaded. However, had I transplanted from an 10 gal to a 50 gal, say, I'd certainly have done proper Fishless Cycling first. It's common sense, really.

 

[Fishsmurf]

If you are still looking for an article on fishless cycling try this one (written by Chris Cow, the guy credited with pioneering fishless cycling)

Chris Cow - Fishless Cycling

Another good reference site is:

Skeptical Aquarist

Both are reference only sites and not forums. Another idea is to "google" fishless cycling, but be prepared last time I did it I got something like 220,000 matches !!

Good luck and deff go fishless !!!

 

[kevy]

Okay, I’m definitely going fishless, I just wish I had more patience . Looking at an empty tank for a couple weeks is going to suck.

Thanks for everyone’s advice

 

[Alien Anna]

Okay, I’m definitely going fishless, I just wish I had more patience . Looking at an empty tank for a couple weeks is going to suck.

Thanks for everyone’s advice

You sound like me, but if I can encourage you, sitting watching your fish die off one by one is an awful lot worse. There are no quick ways to do this. Cycling with fish might seem quick, but actually it takes months and at the end of it, your fish may be permenantly damaged (therefore get ill and die at some later date).

So what do you do in the meantime? You do your research. You go around fish shops (without your credit card) and you look at their stock. If they ask if you want to buy something say "No, my tank isn't cycled yet". If they reply "Huh?" or give you a load of flannel about how fish are hardier than expected etc (or worse - tries to sell you "Cycle"), you know that's a bad LFS. Remember this for future reference - don't buy living things from people who haven't got a clue. (Please note: fishless cycling is a relatively new concept, but they should know what the word "cycling" means).

Get on Ebay and get yourself a copy of Baesch's Aquarium Atlas Vol 1 (you don't need Part 2), or the compact edition. Alternatively, it's in most libraries. Baesch is the fish-keepers bible and will tell you everything you need to know about fish you're interested in, and also has amazing photos. Take Baesch to the LFS and learn to identify their stock.

At this point you can start posting "menus" for your new tank and we can discuss the pros and cons of your ideas. You can also invest in bogwood (which will need to be pre-soaked for a week or boiled), backgrounds, substrate, plants and rocks and get the scenery of your tank ready for the fish (you'd need to have an idea what type of fish you were getting at this point, since some fish eat plants!). You can buy some of this stuff cheaper online, but rocks obviously aren't good for mail-order!

By the time you get your first fish, your tank will be like a paradise for him and you can sit back and plan your next tank... Oops! Didn't mean to give the game away like that. No, no, when you've set up your first tank you'll relax and think about planning a model railway or something. You won't think about more tanks. Honest

 

[teknikz]

i used congo tetra's and pristella's to cycle my tank and they were quite hardy...ive still got them now

gettin a new tank this weekend but im gonna fishless cycle it as i dont wanna harm anymore fishies

my 50 gal cycled in 2 and a half weeks with fish in.....but i got some gravel from my smaller tank and put that in a cotton bag and suspended it in the bigger tank

addin water from a matured tank will help the process too.....maybe u could get some from ur lfs if u dont already have a tank

just remember not to stock ur tank too quickly when its cycled.........6 small/medium fish a week

good luck

Tek

 

[kevy]

Is there anything wrong with doing any of these things in my 55 gallon? (Haven’t gotten it yet just trying to set out a plan first)


Adding the wastewater from the next water change (8 gallons worth) from my mature tanks into the new one, then willing it with dechlorinated tap water.


Rinsing the filter media from mature tanks in the 55 gallon after it's filled.


Adding mature gravel.



Then going on with the fishless cycle procedure (one of the ones from smb's signature).

Sound good? Will doing the first 3 things speed the cycle up without hurting anything or is it only worth doing one.


Anyone have a guess at how long it will take if I d those things?