white cloud mountain minnows

[FishNiX]

hey all-
can i use my white cloud mountain minnows to help finish a cycle for my african cichlid tank? i will grow bacteria on the filter pad for a few days in my community tank's filter and use atleast half "mature" water from other sources, but i would also like to cycle with some fish too....

the real problem is that the bottom is going to be covered with crushed coral sand...ie very high ph... i would expect the ph to get up around 8.0 while they are in there....

otherwise the tank will be empy and they will be relocated back to their little 3 gallon once i get the africans..

 

[Lateral Line]

At high pH, they are going to be at the limit of their range, (most sources quote the top end as 7.5, but they will go higher, I know this from personal experience). So, taking a fish at the extreme of it's conditions, and using it as a cycling aid? Well, they may well help you cycle, but their going to be as miserable as hell.

 

[BigSteve]

That is indeed a high PH, but I'm sure white clouds will survive it.
Once the tank is cycled and presumably you get them out of there, treat
'em good.

 

[FishNiX]

hey all-

im not so concerned about the "non cycled" tank part since i will be using half old water from my community tank and a filter that has some pregrown bacteria on it... but i certainly dont want the fish to be unhappy... i have absolutely no experience with coral based sand, so i dont know how fast it will raise the ph. i do have a tap water ph around 7.8 and a relatively high hardness in my water already...

so basically, my first concern is the Africans, i dont want them to die b/c the tank is not mature enough (so i will not buy and for 3-4 weeks probably), but my second concern is the minnows... i like them a lot, dont want them miserable, and certainly want them to grow up to be happy adult minnows (they are still quite small... like 3/4 of an inch....

cheers!

 

[oazanki]

Hey FIshNix,

Why don't you use Bio Spira, it can cycle the tank in a couple of days.. I tried it on my 30 Gal tank and it was amazing..

they usually keep it frozen at the LFS

 

[Opcn]

White clouds are the second hardiest fish around (only after bettas) and they will be fine but they will not be happy in a 5 gallon they need room to swim.

Opcn

 

[FishNiX]

hey guys-

i just finished everything up and i am starting the cycle... perhaps i will go get some of that biospira when i hit my lfs today (they got some fresh plants in!! w00t@!$!)

actually... they are in a 3.5 gallon

but they are still tiny...like 3/4"-1" so the tank is huge compared to them!

cheers!

 

[akhtar]

theyll survive up to 8, thats the highest, my tapwater is 8, and theyre fine, but have to put sum ph softener for the bettas tho, but minnows are nice and hardy