This Is What The Guy In My Local Aquarium Supplies Store Told Me

[MrBThatsMe]

It's a small, aquaria only store with both supplies and live fish for sale and it seems to be owned and primarily maintained by one man and his wife so he obviously has experience. Anyway, I popped in for a look and was considering buying a master test kit along with a fluval U2 (until I seen the prices!). I asked if he sold pure ammonia so I could start cycling and he told me that the fish-less cycling method is wrong because the bacteria that gets built up on the filter is different to the type needed for a healthy fish tank. He said that the way to do it is to get about 6 fish such as tetras, but not guppy's and a few others because they have more oily skin that will be more sensitive to the harsher water conditions. I listened to him explaining the whole process and how it works then politely left afterwards. I'm new to fish keeping so had I not done some research online first, I'd have probably come home with a bag of fish and be at the beginning of my cycle right now.

Why is it that someone with as much experience as this man, tells me not to do a fish-less cycle? There's something like 140 tanks with live fish in his store so it's not as if he's simply selling the hardware. I am considering going back however and asking if there's any chance that I could buy some mature filter media from him.

 

[HayzH]

i spoke to the guy in our lfs...and he looked like a rabbit in headlights...said to leave the dosing for a week, to let the bacteria build up.

 

[Clarousel]

I believe he was just trying to get you to buy his fish. If every LFS shopkeeper encouraged his customers to do a fishless cycle, he'd not be making any money. Well technically he would when you do return to buy fish but that would be 2 or even 3 months later.

It's a good thing you didn't fall for it.

 

[Greg_DS]

I've read a LOT over the past few months and there are as much people saying the fish in cycle is better than the fish less, this forum seems very for the fish less and won't have any other opinion voiced, its there way or no way.

I'm not experienced enough to say which is best though!!

 

[micko]

Ammonia is ammonia at the end of the day, whether that is from a bottle or the waste produced by a fish. Saying that, there are many "old school" shop owners who still stand by the fish-in cycle as that's how they were taught to keep fish and seem to forget to tell you that a water change must be done a lot more often and a lot of time will be consumed by this method.

There is of course the other side of this story where the owner will just want a sale and see's a few fish as nothing more than an extra pint or two down the local pub.

A thing I'd definitely suggest you do if you go back to that shop os to research your fish well before buying them (which you should do regardless) so as the owner of this shop won't try to sell you 12 bala sharks for a 2ft tank or something crazy.

 

[MrBThatsMe]

Well this guy didn't seem like he was all about the money, as I told him which filter and testing kit I was after and he never even told me the prices of the ones that he had, only that my choices were good (I spotted the price of the filter on my own though and it's much cheaper online). He spent a good 10 minutes explaining what I should be doing and never once hassled me to buy anything from him. Had he been telling me to buy the filter and test kit there and then, I'd have been wary of his motives but all he seemed interested in was explaining his/the correct method for cycling.

 

[micko]

Sorry you feel that way Greg_DS, there are in fact a good few members that I know of on here including a moderator (possibly more that I don't know of) who will say that there's nothing wrong with a fish-in cycle, everyone has their own opinions and that's fine, I just find it a lot easier on myself not having to do a water change twice daily/daily/every two days in order to keep my fish alive and well.
A fish-less cycle also means you can fully stock your tank straight away once your fish-less cycle is complete rather than adding one or two every number of weeks

 

[This Old Spouse]

It amazes me that these owners don't understand that if they teach noobies the correct way to cycle a tank and take care of their fish, they'll be loyal customers for life, rather than frustrated customers for a couple of months. They're putting themselves out of business this way.

 

[MrBThatsMe]

He advised me to get the same type and number of fish that people on this forum recommended, and he also agreed that the fluval u2 would be a good choice, as well as the API master test kit since the strips aren't very accurate. He did say though that ammonia from a bottle won't produce the same bacteria as fish waste will. I can't remember if he said it's different due to it simply being fish waste, or due to the food that the fish have been fed but he definitely didn't support the argument that ammonia from a bottle will work.

 

[Greg_DS]

I don't doubt the fish-less method is better but as a learner I'd like to see a bit more debate rather than "take all your fish back and start again".

 

[ace61502]

A fish-less cycle also means you can fully stock your tank straight away once your fish-less cycle is complete rather than adding one or two every number of weeks

But wouldn't a fish in cycle have you fully stocked in pretty much the same time period? I've seen some threads were it has taken MONTHS to get a good completed cycle. I did fish in (this was before I got fully hooked by fishkeeping and started learning, didn't even understand there WAS a cycling period yet) and now I just stick a new filter on the old tank to get it started so the cycle is shorter. For me, I see dosing a tank daily to be a bigger chore than water changes. There's no immediate reward in dosing, no date you can put on a calendar that says, "This is when I'll be able to get my fish". At least with the water changes you still get to see fish and it's a labor of love. But that's me. I know I'll remember to feed my fish because I know I'll be stopping to look at them several times. I know I'll forget to dose an empty tank.

 

[micko]

Well maybe you could post a topic regarding this in the tropical discussion Greg, it would generate responses from both sides of the fence. I have seen the "take them all back" comments and also said the same myself but these tanks were incorrectly stocked as well as uncycled when I've said this. My personal belief is that I feel it would be stressful to the fish to do a fish-in cycle and then you can only stock your tank a fish or two at a time

 

[Greg_DS]

I totally agree if the fish arn't suitable for the tank or in the famous fruit bowl thread!! lol

 

[micko]

Fully stocking a tank and having an uncycled filter? Have you actually done this and did all the fish survive?

 

[Clarousel]

Sounds like one of the LFS I go to. A pretty nice man who has the passion for fish-keeping. He never did mention fishless cycling but really took the time to explain the nitrogen cycle. I agree it's a personal opinion. For me, I do fish-in cycling because it's impossible to find pure ammonia here and I find dosing (and getting the right amounts) and counting the hours pretty confusing. When I was cycling my 5G tank, I found the daily WCs rather relaxing. Totally agree with ace61502!