To cycle with fish, or not to cycle with fish...

[DannyBoy17]

I always cycle with fish.

DB

 

[Erised]

Same here, my danios have gone through it more than once already, and they seem to still be going strong.

Thinking about it now, it aint completely true, smaller tanks (as in, smaller than 10G) I tend to "cycle" by simply getting substrate, water and filter media from a different tank

 

[DannyBoy17]

My fish all seem to be fine, and my 100g only took 2 days to cycle.

DB

 

[Vip]

I add water, wait fot the to hit 28, then add fish lol, been doing it for 2 years now.

 

[CTS]

I also use fish. Im cant wait for a tank to cyle on its own. Im in this boat right now. Yesterday i just set up a 50 GAL. And i was gonna do a fishless cycle but i dont think so anymore.

 

[sylvia]

I cycled with fish in my first ever tank (when I'd never even heard of fishless cycling) and haven't needed to realy cycle ever since then (just use old filter media from an established tank, or gravel/ornaments or run your new filter in an old tank for a while). However, if you are starting completely a-fresh, I urge you to do a fishless cycle. You may not be able to see the damage but it's there - just think of cycling with fish as if you were in a small pool for weeks on end swimming in your own waste. Ammonia causes serious burns and damages the gills. It also causes stress, weakening the immune system of your fish, making it more susceptible to disease. Shure, hardy danios and big cichlids do ok but try doing that with rams, discus or chocolate gouramies - and I see no reason why the common hardier species should get worse treatment than the fragile, sensitive fish just because they can survive it. It only takes a few weeks to fishless cycle, longer if you cycle with fish, and this time can be very useful for researching and deciding on the set-up. If more first-time fish-keepers, fishless cycled, I''m sure fewer would be attempting to keep bala sharks, clown loaches and common plecs in a 10 gallon. A little patience goes a long way with fish and I always say fish-keeping will not allow for corner-cutting or laziness so if you can fishless cycle, do.

 

[keane]

Hi,

I set up my first (and only, at present) tank and then added platys to cycle with. I had, at the time, never heard of fishless cycling.

Since joining this forum though, and reading all the pinned topics and threads I can understand the damage cycling with fish can/may cause to the fish so when I get my next tank (which hopefully be quite soon! I can't wait!! ) I am gonna fishless cycle.

That said, my current tank is now fully cycled so I will be using media and gravel from that to speed up the process. Better than waiting six weeks or so!!

tbr

 

[Jen]

I just added all the water and gravel and whatnot, let that run for a day or to to get it to temperature, and added 5 zebra danios and let them have the tank for like 3 weeks. It was a while back, so i cant remember all the details.

 

[FoundMoney]

I only ever set up one tank and I fishless cycled it. Before buying a single piece of equipment I did my research and found this site. I went to several lfs's before I found one that was supportive of the idea, even though they said they didn't do it with their own tanks.

It did not take all that long for the tank to cycle. In less than a month ammonia and nitrites were at 0. Two months later, I have 8 von rio tetras, 1 bristlenose cat, and 3 otos. The otos are my newest addition and so far they look fine, although I've only had them for 3 days now. Everyone else looks happy and healthy; they are active and colorful. Fishless cycling is the way to go, IMHO.

 

[Inchworm]

I have lots of tanks so I just relocate the bacteria from them to any new one I set up.

I have never done a fishless cycle and cannot possibly imagine myself dumping a cleaning product into a fish tank. The natural way is always best, IMHO.

When injury to the fish is a result of cycling, it is because people are too impatient and add too many fish at once without properly monitoring the water chemicals and doing adequate water changes to keep them in line.

A "cycle with fish" if it is done slowly and with consideration for the fish's' comfort and health is just fine.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I have established tanks to use to seed new tanks so I dont exactly cycle them.

but if for some reason I had no established tanks to hand, I'd always fishless cycle. why not?