How many to cycle with?

[canarsie11]

I was gonna do a fishless cycle, but because I cannot find a sufficient ammonia source, I will be using fish to cycle!

What are good fish to cycle with? I will be housing tetras, barbs, other small community tropicals.

I was thinking Zebra Danios. How many should I cycle with in a 75 gallon set up?

What are other good cycling fish?

 

[greathat]

i cycled with some cherry barbs, and would again. They didnt seem to notice... still going strong and pretty big now

 

[kribs mate]

ideal fish for cycling are danios, platy or black widow tetras.

about 1 fish for every 5 gallons.
its wheather or not you really want 15 zebra danios...i know i wouldnt.
are you in the uk? if so you can get amonia from boots. also a lot of hardware stores sell it.

***edit*** sorry just seen you are in virginia

 

[BIGMAC]

I used neon tetras,i have read since that they are not hardy enough to cycle with so im not sure they are all fine and seem quite happy i did not lose any .But i have read lots of threads tht recommend zebra Danios.Maybe i was just lucky my neons were ok.

 

[modernhamlet]

The hardy "ammonia bottle fish" only costs around $2 and is guaranteed to survive the cycle.

 

[canarsie11]

The hardy "ammonia bottle fish" only costs around $2 and is guaranteed to survive the cycle.

What is this? Never heard of that

 

[OscarCichlid]

i would go with the zebras. I dont know about the petco (if there is one) by you but the one by me sells them for 50 cents and they wouldnt be a bad addition to a barb, and tetra tank.

 

[spenc68]

I'm cycling a 50 gallon with 7 Zebra Danios and 1 Male Betta.
Its been 3 weeks and everything is still alive. No live plants yet.
I've been doing 15-20% water changes once a week.

Maybe you want to get 10 Zebras and see what happens.

 

[modernhamlet]

The hardy "ammonia bottle fish" only costs around $2 and is guaranteed to survive the cycle.

What is this? Never heard of that

I meant fishless cycling!

Sorry about that! Didn't mean to confuse ya!

Good luck with your cycle, however you do it...

 

[DarknessMe]

I just didnt cycle with my new tank and none of the fish have ever died from high amonia nitrate/nitrite, There was that time the ph went up to 8.0 but thats what you get when your young cousin wants to feed the fish without asking and puts about 4 table spoons of ph up in.

I have heard in different places that neons arnt hardy. I find they are vere tough.

 

[wetwetwet]

I'm not a fan of cycling with fish but its up to you - I thought ammonia was quite easy to get hold of in the states

Do you want a community tank and keep the fish you cycle with?

What are your local water conditions like? - maybe choose fish that prefer your local water.....



www

 

[canarsie11]

I'm not a fan of cycling with fish but its up to you - I thought ammonia was quite easy to get hold of in the states

Do you want a community tank and keep the fish you cycle with?

What are your local water conditions like? - maybe choose fish that prefer your local water.....



www

I do wish to cycle without fish. But so far has surfacants! And I have heard this kind of ammonia is no good. What kind of ammonia is good or bad?

 

[modernhamlet]

Generally, the cheapest off-brand is the one you're looking for. It should be labelled 100% or Pure Ammonia. Shake the bottle. If it leaves a bunch of bubbles you don't want it. That's it!