Just Luck?

[Delloy12]

When I had my first fish tank (about 12yrs old) I didn't know anything about ammonia, nitrate, nitrite etc. So when I done my fishless cycle all what I did was let the tank run for a week before adding fish and five years later those fish are still alive and well. So am I extremely lucky?

 

[Athena]

You're not the only one LOL

That is the way we were all told to do it years ago. There was no such thing as internet when I first started keeping fish (showing my age LOL) to get advice from any other fishkeepers. We just assumed those in the aquatic centres were experts and did exactly as we were told.

I knew nothing about doing weekly water changes either. I used to wait until the water looked quite yellow!!! How my fish survived I don't know. I cringe when I think back to those times of being totally naieve about it all. I even have some old photos of my early tanks and it's quite shameful to see how disgustingly dirty the water looked compared to how I keep my tanks these days.

My boyfriend keeps asking me why I am wasting so much time every weekend doing water changes when he "kept pirahnas for years and didn't do any water changes" GASP!!

Ah well, you live and learn (well, hopefully)!

When you set up your tank, how often were you doing your water changes? Could be that if you were doing regular changes and had a good filter and not overstocked, live plants etc you completed a successful fish-in cycle (successful in the sense that your fish didn't suffer illness or death).

Athena

 

[SchottayB]

Suppose Athena is right. With out the internet and what not back then it was 'people in the shops are the experts'!

Lucky to have no fish die I guess lol.

I have a friend who also kept red belly pirahna and didn't cycle the tank or change waters etc and they lived for a long long time! Infact the only time they died was when one riped the other to bits then he got rid of the last one! Can't belive how some people manage it.

If that was me they would all die in a week!