live fish to cycle a tank
- Thread starter blitz99
- Start date
firedad720
Member
did not, will not
rick
rick
salty cheese
Active Member
Did not and will not.
I used the 50# of lr that I bought from this site to cycle my tank.
I used the 50# of lr that I bought from this site to cycle my tank.
squidd
Active Member
Have...
But Will Not again...
There are Much (and many) better ways to cycle a tank...
It's the Bacteria that convert fish waste (Ammonia) to Nitrite and then to NitrAte...
You need to "feed" them to get them to "multiply" to levels that will "consume/convert" all the waste produced by your fish...
There are alot of ways to do this..one of them being to throw a fish in there to produce waste and feed the bacteria..But this is HARD on the fish (as levels are "imbalanced") and NOT recommended...
Another way that has gained alot of popularity is to add a "dead" grocery store shrimp to the tank ...allow it to "decay" and this feeds the bacteria and allows them to "multiply"... Many followers of this method...
A third way is to buy "uncured" Live Rock and allow the "die off" from that to "feed" the tank...But it can get pretty "stinky"...
Another way that "Bang Guy" has been promoting (I tried and liked) is to "feed" your empty tank fish food Just as if you had fish in there...
This low level of organic decomposition feeds the bacteria and allows them to grow at a rate equal to the food supply and is less "drastic" than a dead shrimp or LR "die off"...
Which ever method you choose you will need an Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte test kit to "follow" the growth rates (and resultant conversion levels) of the bacteria as Food is processed from organics to Ammonia to NitrIte to NitrAte...
When Ammonia levels are "back" to 0 and NitrIte levels are "back" to 0 this shows bacteria levels have risen to a level that can support your "first" fish...
But Will Not again...
There are Much (and many) better ways to cycle a tank...
It's the Bacteria that convert fish waste (Ammonia) to Nitrite and then to NitrAte...
You need to "feed" them to get them to "multiply" to levels that will "consume/convert" all the waste produced by your fish...
There are alot of ways to do this..one of them being to throw a fish in there to produce waste and feed the bacteria..But this is HARD on the fish (as levels are "imbalanced") and NOT recommended...
Another way that has gained alot of popularity is to add a "dead" grocery store shrimp to the tank ...allow it to "decay" and this feeds the bacteria and allows them to "multiply"... Many followers of this method...
A third way is to buy "uncured" Live Rock and allow the "die off" from that to "feed" the tank...But it can get pretty "stinky"...
Another way that "Bang Guy" has been promoting (I tried and liked) is to "feed" your empty tank fish food Just as if you had fish in there...
This low level of organic decomposition feeds the bacteria and allows them to grow at a rate equal to the food supply and is less "drastic" than a dead shrimp or LR "die off"...
Which ever method you choose you will need an Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte test kit to "follow" the growth rates (and resultant conversion levels) of the bacteria as Food is processed from organics to Ammonia to NitrIte to NitrAte...
When Ammonia levels are "back" to 0 and NitrIte levels are "back" to 0 this shows bacteria levels have risen to a level that can support your "first" fish...
T
tizzo
Guest
Originally posted by ViPeR_930
No option that says "I have cycled with live fish, but will not do it again." Many people are unaware of the inhumane points with cycling with live fish, but do learn them after making the mistake.
Yeah, dat!!!
dskidmore
Active Member
How about: I cycle with live plants?
It works for freshwater anyway. I also have not re-cycled completely for many years, for my tank upgrades and various moves I bottle up the old water, use the same filter in paralel with the new one, use the old gravel mixed with the new. I've had to become an expert on moving aquariums, when I lived at collage and moved my tank twice a year. I rarely lost fish while doing this.
The only time I had a major problem was when I had to switch filters in order to do a filter repair. I lost my dear little Otocinclus Catfish during that period. They are very fragile fish to begin with, I should have been more careful and found a way to stuff the old filter media into the other filter.
It works for freshwater anyway. I also have not re-cycled completely for many years, for my tank upgrades and various moves I bottle up the old water, use the same filter in paralel with the new one, use the old gravel mixed with the new. I've had to become an expert on moving aquariums, when I lived at collage and moved my tank twice a year. I rarely lost fish while doing this.
The only time I had a major problem was when I had to switch filters in order to do a filter repair. I lost my dear little Otocinclus Catfish during that period. They are very fragile fish to begin with, I should have been more careful and found a way to stuff the old filter media into the other filter.
angelcam
Member
" I am ashamed" I have cycled with live fish. When you are just starting out the LFS says "throw a couple of cheap fish in your tank", so without thinking about the suffering the poor things must go through.....ugggg, never again, I have changed my ways. I cycled my first SW tank with Damsels and it took me about 1/2 an hour to get them out ! They are at the LFS now. I will be setting up a 55 gal sw soon and I am going with the cocktail shrimp method.
NO MORE DAMSELS!!!!!!!!
NO MORE DAMSELS!!!!!!!!
dskidmore
Active Member
I suppose I should admit I cycled my first fish tank with fish, but it was an emergency save the fish operation.
There was a conference at my church, with the theme "fishers of men." The centerpiece of the conference was a kiddy pool with a bunch of small goldfish in it. At the end of the conference, they said anyone that wanted the fish could take them. A friend of mine took the two pretty ones, but then the teenage boys started daring each other to eat them! I saw one fish go down the hatch, and ran to get my mother to stop it. We ended up taking the entire batch home, with no fish tank! Every kind of large container was recruited to hold the fish until a tank could be set up. Had to do lots of water changes, found out local rainwater was VERY BAD for fish. (Luckily we only let Dad put the rainwater in one container, because none of the fish in that container made it.) In the end, I had about 10 survivors and a 10 gallon tank. I felt really bad for those fish, but stomach acid wouldn't have been pleasant to swim in either.
There was a conference at my church, with the theme "fishers of men." The centerpiece of the conference was a kiddy pool with a bunch of small goldfish in it. At the end of the conference, they said anyone that wanted the fish could take them. A friend of mine took the two pretty ones, but then the teenage boys started daring each other to eat them! I saw one fish go down the hatch, and ran to get my mother to stop it. We ended up taking the entire batch home, with no fish tank! Every kind of large container was recruited to hold the fish until a tank could be set up. Had to do lots of water changes, found out local rainwater was VERY BAD for fish. (Luckily we only let Dad put the rainwater in one container, because none of the fish in that container made it.) In the end, I had about 10 survivors and a 10 gallon tank. I felt really bad for those fish, but stomach acid wouldn't have been pleasant to swim in either.
ram6519
New Member
I did it once but will never do it again. This is my first SW tank and my LFS told me and gave me a dozen guppies to put in the tank. They said they will not live 48 hrs but it will help to cycle the tank. You should be able to trust your LFS, unfortunately they are the only LFS in Jackson, Ms.
cowfishrule
Active Member
lol @ guppies
im going to "feed" the empty tank to help cycle mine
im going to "feed" the empty tank to help cycle mine