Someone Set Me Straight!

[pandaq]

Hi All!

I'm new to the forum, and I need some clear advice on how to go about caring for my new tank. I have a 29 gallon, which i set up on the 9th. I talked to the owner of my LFS, and he gave me pretty simple instructions, and I thought "hey this isn't too hard!" So I filled the tank with filtered tap water, added in the TSS ( to condition the water) & stabilty, then waited 3 days on the advice of my LFS, then went and got a few fish. During the 3 days I waited, I got into reading about the cycle of a new tank, and I started getting a bit paranoid about water testing. When I got my fish, the owner said not to drive myself nuts with testing, to put the fish in the tank, and feed sparingly and let nature take it's course.
But of course, I'm reading everywhere else that I'm a total idiot for cycling with fish, and I need to test 2x a day, and do 50% water changes daily...etc etc.
Now I'm
worried I've doomed my fish. I want to keep them alive, I would never dream of harming an animal and I don't have any test kits, so I'm going nuts thinking I'm certainly dooming my fish. I've done 30% changes every day since adding fish, and they seem to be doing perfect, I'm adding stability, and the TSS ( safe start) into the new water and letting it sit overnight to get to room temp before dripping it in slowly.

I have 3 phantom tetras, and 2 mollies. Total of about 6" all together in a 29 gallon. I surely need to add more to the tetra shoal soon, the LFS said I could come back in 2 weeks and get 3-5 more tetras, then bi-monthly add one or two more fish at a time. My goal is to have 6-8 tetras, 4-6 cories, and a pair of dwarf Gouramis all together, The mollies weren't part of that originally, but they are there now, so I need to plan for them, maybe nix the DG so my load isn't too much.

But now I'm hearing that I pretty much have screwed up everything, and I need to take my fish back and wait 2 months for my tank to cycle by itself before putting any more fish in.

I'm confused. I have fish in my tank, I don't have the testing kit, ( my LFS said it wasn't really essential, just told me to let the tank cycle, not to change until the bacterial bloom, then 2x a week, going down to once a week)
However other sources say I need to be doing 50% or MORE water changes every single day....so what's the real deal with fish in cycling? I just want to do the right thing, I'm so worried about all this now, that I'm not even sleeping at night. Help?

 

[Uriel]

Fish in cycle isn't ideal, but it was the way that all tanks where cycled before the hobby moved on and started using fishless cycling. It's certainly nothing to lose sleep over. LFS advice is slanted at best and completely wrong at worst so try not to be to hard on yourself. You are now left with the option of cycling with the fish in or returning the fish to the LFS and doing a fishless cycle. If you choose to do a fish in cycle please invest in a test kit. I would personally reccomend a API mini master. You need to be able to monitor the levels of Ammonia and Nitrite in the tank to protect your fish from any nasty spikes which could harm them. You can purchase these kits off the internet and they are useful to have around incase you have any problems in the future. The is a big section on fishless cycling at the top of this forum in the beginners section.

 

[Skins]

Hello pandaq and welcome to TFF,
You are off to a good start with some sound advice from Uriel, I've noticed your post is drawing some attention as i type so all i will say for the mo is don't panic your in good hands.

Skins.

 

[pandaq]

Hello pandaq and welcome to TFF,
You are off to a good start with some sound advice from Uriel, I've noticed your post is drawing some attention as i type so all i will say for the mo is don't panic your in good hands.

Skins.

I'm obviously very panicky LOL. I'm getting so much conflicting advice from every person i've talked to, so I'm just at a total loss here .

LFS owner has been in the fish business for 30 years, and I browsed the store for months before deciding to purchase my fish there. I had been inside the store over a dozen times and spent hours asking questions and looking at the tanks. I never saw one dead/diseased fish in any of the tanks, and as far as I could tell all the fish looked very happy and healthy. So as a newbie I figured I could trust the advice he gave me.

I guess I'm going about this the "old school" way, and realized that it's not the ideal way of doing it anymore, and I'm wondering what i've gotten myself into!

 

[the biffster]

hi i am going to put a link up for
you to read there is some very useful
advise in it if you take not of what
the people on the forum you wont go
far wrong this i the first link
i will put up
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/58-beginner-questions/

here is another link as well
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/141946-cycling-resource-center/

oh by the way hi and to the forum

and dont panic!!

 

[Uriel]

Fishless cycling is a fairly new concept in fish keeping in some senses. and it's more the growth of the internet and forums such as these that have lead to a lot of people switching to fishless cycling. The gentleman at your LFS may just have been completely ignorant of the process and may have been giving you the best advice he was able. I have had any number of responces from my LFS when mentioning fishless Cycling from a flat out it won't work(Completely wrong) to Fishless what ??? Fishless cycling does have it's advantages but it's not the be all and end all. Fish in cycling is just a lot more work and a much slower process.

 

[Rogue4Fish]

I've just fish-in cycled a 29gallon as well.

Seriously, the more you read, the more you panic, the more you get confused.

As long as you keep an eye on your levels, and don't add too many fish at once, you'll be fine. The API test kit is a good idea, don't use the strips. I'd just wait until you've cycled this load before you add any more fish.

Don't over feed as your nitrites will shoot, and your fishy wishies won't like that.

 

[drobbyb]

I'd have to echo what everyone else has said. Having been in the hobby myself for 18 years, I have cycled tanks both ways. I'll give some pros and cons of each.

Fishless cycling pros:
Relatively low labor and maintenance, better for your stock, less complications.

Fishless cycling cons:
No fish to enjoy for a while.

Fish in cycling pros:
You get to have a few fish in the tank.

Fish in cycling cons:
Labor intensive, time intensive, bad for your stock, sometimes unpredictable.


Having cycled each way, I choose fishless cycling every time I need to cycle a tank now.

 

[waterdrop]

Well said Robby. WD

 

[the biffster]

Well said Robby. WD

agreed i am with you two on that
one