Pigmy Corydoras

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Hello AdoraBelle. I completely disagree with you saying this is terrible advice. How did you come to this conclusion? Have you tried this method? I believe this is a very safe means of establishing a tank. I've used it several times and wouldn't recommend it if I hadn't used it myself. It's obvious you've never tried it and if you prefer waiting several weeks to cycle your tank, then you're welcome to do it your way. Some tank keepers, like me, would rather enjoy fish from the start and the method I described will allow this with no harm to the fish.

10

I already explained in reasonable depth exactly why it's bad advice - I can't spell it out more clearly than that for you.

It's not about which way I establish a tank, or the way you want to do it. There are lots of threads in the cycling section of the forum if you or anyone else wants to learn more about why "fill tank with water, add fish, do some water changes" is advice setting people up to fail and fish to die.

 

[Country joe]

It doesn't matter how it's kept, it's what's in it that matters.

Years ago, research was done to identify the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria in water with high nitrite levels. It was assumed the same bacteria grow in fish tanks. Later research showed that the ammonia eaters were the same as in fish tanks, but the nitrite eaters in fish tanks were different from that earlier research. The people who discovered the correct nitrite eaters in fish tank copyrighted the use of them.

On the website, Goop says it contains the wrong nitrite eaters, it says it contains the ones which only grow at high nitrite levels. What we can't know is whether that's because when they wrote their website they copied the bacteria name from the old research even though Goop contains the right species; or whether it really does contain the ones they say on their website, which are the wrong ones.

My next question has to be, does it work, according to all the comments on various fish keeping sites aquarists that have used it, say it does

 

[Essjay]

It's possible that the people who wrote the website have used out of date information. It is possible they looked at the old literature and just copied what was in there without realising that more recent research has identified the correct species. Maybe Goop does contain Nitrospira but they don't realise that's what's in there because the old literature they read said a different species.

 

[JackGulley]

Whether or not fish-in cycling works, Pygmy Corydoras are very delicate fish and an awful one to try this method with. They would probably all die. Please cycle your tank completely before adding these fish.

Cycle Your Tank! A Complete Guide For Beginners

Fishless cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ Silent or plant cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/planted-silent-cycling.470400/ Fish-in cycling...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Ichthys]

Be careful what you read. Some of these bacterial products do work. Waterlife Seamature (now Bacterlife) has been working since the late 1960s. Dr Tim's works, and Tetra paid them for the recipe so now Safe Start works. And from the sounds of it there are now others that also work.
The only thing I will add is, obviously, as responsible humans with animals' lives in our hands, we all will thoroughly test that it has worked before we add fish....

...because there are many factors at play and none of these products will work as expected every time.

 

[GaryE]

There are ways based on research and data, and methods based on luck. 10 tanks advice is what every pet store said in 1975, minus the short term bottled bacteria. So yes, I did that. Although I'm not a chemist like @Essjay , I have followed the more recent research into methods as well. I read the studies misidentifying the bacteria involved, and have looked closely at the newer research correcting it. Ultimately, the data is what you have to trust, not the hearsay. I read it, but I have easier methods than bought products.

If I were new to this, I'd test water. You have to have something concrete to ground you. @Country joe is on the right track with the question, although I'm not clear if the tank is cycled. You won't know that til you test without adding product. If it is, great, if not, take the time needed. I don't quite buy the claims for goop, but I use existing bacterial and archea colonies in other tanks to start. Slow and steady wins the race. Only once the readings are consistent, and the tank is cycled can you responsibly add new groups of fish. Fish like pygmy Corys are a step up in difficulty from the ones 10 has mentioned keeping, but they are hardy enough in a cycled tank with a thoroughly cycled filter.

I don't get upset about fish-in cycles, but I do recognize there are only a few very hardy fish that don't seem bothered by it. If your experience is only with those absolute bread and butter fish, you may tend to generalize and lead yourself astray. Would I do it with pygmy Corys? Nope.

 

[Ichthys]

Proper fish-in cycling, where you're creating the ammonia and nitrite in with the fish and changing loads of water to try to keep the levels low, is just barbaric animal abuse. Many fish die, and even those that survive are often hurt by the process.

The new 'instant cycle' products can work, but you need to check that it has worked, by adding ammonia a few times, before adding fish.

 

[sharkweek178]

Be careful what you read. Some of these bacterial products do work. Waterlife Seamature (now Bacterlife) has been working since the late 1960s. Dr Tim's works, and Tetra paid them for the recipe so now Safe Start works. And from the sounds of it there are now others that also work.
The only thing I will add is, obviously, as responsible humans with animals' lives in our hands, we all will thoroughly test that it has worked before we add fish....

...because there are many factors at play and none of these products will work as expected every time.

They might work in that they accelerate the cycle a little. But there is no product in a bottle that instantly cycles a tank. The only way I know to do that is to transfer an entire filter from an established tank to a new one.

 

[Naughts]

I would be very interested to see if Country Joe gets an instant cycle with the Goop pouch as others on here have.
I wonder if this newly available product would be manufactured in America soon. It won't be exported because of the shelf life.

 

[Fishfunn]

Proper fish-in cycling, where you're creating the ammonia and nitrite in with the fish and changing loads of water to try to keep the levels low, is just barbaric animal abuse. Many fish die, and even those that survive are often hurt by the process.

The new 'instant cycle' products can work, but you need to check that it has worked, by adding ammonia a few times, before adding fish.

Nothing disgusts me more than when people squeeze sponge filter media into aquarium water containing fish to seed a new filter. All that toxic waste poisons the fish before the new filter can filter it out. I had toxic filter waste in the water that killed fish before.

 

[Ichthys]

Nothing disgusts me more than when people squeeze sponge filter media into aquarium water containing fish to seed a new filter. All that toxic waste poisons the fish before the new filter can filter it out. I had toxic filter waste in the water that killed fish before.

Actually it doesn't, because it's not toxic. It's mulm, which is the inorganic residue of biological filtration, and maybe a bit of poop and stuff that's been drawn in and is being broken down. It's usually full of bacteria and is a great way to seed a new filter. I transfer a bit of the media rather than squeezing it, but that's just me.
That brown gunk in your filter is totally harmless.

 

[Ichthys]

They might work in that they accelerate the cycle a little. But there is no product in a bottle that instantly cycles a tank. The only way I know to do that is to transfer an entire filter from an established tank to a new one.

Well, you could transfer a portion of the mature media and you'd have a cycled tank.

 

[sharkweek178]

Well, you could transfer a portion of the mature media and you'd have a cycled tank.

I actually just did it with a betta tank. I cycled a sponge filter in another tank and planted the betta tank, including fast growers like anacharis and salvinia minima. Day before I got the fish, I put the cycled sponge filter in the new tank and it worked fine. But then it's one fish so it's not a heavy bio load and I have the fast growing floating plants to cover the margin of error.

 

[DoubleDutch]

I'd wait with Corys (def pygmies) till it is established.

 

[Fishfunn]

Actually it doesn't, because it's not toxic. It's mulm, which is the inorganic residue of biological filtration, and maybe a bit of poop and stuff that's been drawn in and is being broken down. It's usually full of bacteria and is a great way to seed a new filter. I transfer a bit of the media rather than squeezing it, but that's just me.
That brown gunk in your filter is totally harmless.

I choose never to do that because suspended' muck' can clog the gills, transfer diseases to a pristine tank, etc. If it were so harmless, I guess drinking it wouldnt make you sick? Whether harmless or not, I would just exchange filter media, drop another seeded sponge filter into the tank, or use goop and bottled bacteria as another method to seed my filter. But that is my preference. Disease prevention is my main concern.