Doing a fishy cycle should be avoided at all cost. But if you find your self in the dilemma of having a new set up with fish in it. Then you need to have a test kit on hand, that test for ammonia and nitrite at the least. OK you have to understand a few things first, once you have a ammonia source (fish in this case) your tank will cycle. A ammonia of 4ppm is considered the ideal amount to cycle a tank fast. But fish cannot withstand a ammonia reading of 4ppm. So with a fishy cycle you need to check your ammonia and nitrite levels daily. And at any time you find a reading of 1ppm or more of ammonia or nitrite you need to do a 50% water change immediately. It does not matter if this happens once a week or 3 times a day. You have to do this to keep the fish alive and disease free. That is the goal in a fishy cycle, to keep the fish alive and well. Because they are your ammonia source for cycling your tank. So you ask if 4ppm is ideal and you have to keep it down under 1ppm to keep them alive what does that do to your cycle? Well that means it is going to take longer to cycle your tank, than it would if you would have done a fish less cycle. A few things you can do to help your fishy cycle complete faster is to add a cycle booster. My personal favorite is safe start by aqua safe. There are many out there, some work and some do not. Safe start does. So after you have seen a rise in ammonia and then a rise in nitrite and then both of those gradually go down to zero's for a week or 2. Then you can start a normal routine of maintenance, like 50% weekly water changes and filter cleanings.
Adding fish after cycle
- Thread starter Arizonagrace
- Start date
Ok so here's what Ive been doing for cycling. I take a good amount of feeders and put them in the tank for a wile. After about a week I pull 2 thirds of them out. I usually don't have a whole lot of casualties. Is that just giving my ammonia a boost and why I cycle so quickly? When It comes time for the fish I want, I take all the feeders out and let it sit empty for about a week. Is that bad?
Leaving it sent empty is probably starving off a lot of the good bacteria.
When doing a fishless cycle, at the end of the cycle, the bacteria will be able to take care of any ammonia and nitrite, but the nitrates will be sky high. For this reason, you need to do a big (I usually do 75-80%) WC and then add fish within 24 hours while the bacteria population is still high.
With a fish cycle (which I agree should be avoided if possible), you just do small waterchanges to keep the ammonia under control (so it doesn't kill the fish), but stays high enough to undergo the cycle.
When doing a fishless cycle, at the end of the cycle, the bacteria will be able to take care of any ammonia and nitrite, but the nitrates will be sky high. For this reason, you need to do a big (I usually do 75-80%) WC and then add fish within 24 hours while the bacteria population is still high.
With a fish cycle (which I agree should be avoided if possible), you just do small waterchanges to keep the ammonia under control (so it doesn't kill the fish), but stays high enough to undergo the cycle.
i think you need to review your methods of tank cycling buddy,try and read more on cycling the tank. leaving your tank for 8 weeks without a water change is just a no no that too just after tank cycling. changing water dosent make much of a difference to the bacteria. it gives the fish clean and fresh water to live in and keeps nitrates in check.i dont usually sit for weeks before adding fish because i always use filters from the already cycled tanks which kick starts my new tanks. and i make regular water changes. havent lost a fish ever.cichlid_starter;3198198; said:
I'm having more trouble cycling my small molly fry tank than I ever had with my big tanks. I moved gravel & sponge from my old tank, but still not working. I just added a Tom Mini-Filter & it seems to have helped. Once this little filter is colonized, I'm gonna use it for cycling new tanks. Its basically just a little electric sponge filter with a spray bar.
I guess I just got some bad info when I first started doing fish tanks ( 11 years ago ) and I've been practicing those bad methods ever since. Sorry for the bad information on the start of this thread. I guess I know a lot better now. 
Glad you guys could set me straight before I jumped into a tang tank!
Glad you guys could set me straight before I jumped into a tang tank!Well, I used the fishless cycle, and while it took awhile to get a good start, it cycled pretty quickly after it did start and is now cycled. I was just concerned about the water, as there has been decaying deli shrimp in there for several weeks now. Seemed to me that the fish would rather move into a home that doesn't have a "dead fish" atmosphere.
My plan is to remove 75% of the water tomorrow, remove the last pieces of the deli shrimp, add 25% fresh water, and 50% of the water they have been living in. Would be just like doing a 50% water change in their old home, which I have done on occasion and they seem to be fine with that. After they are in there, I will do my normal 20% weekly water change. (Okay, so sometimes it is biweekly if they look at me with those sad eyes, but the 2nd one is always 10%).
These are swordtails (gorgeous coloring) and I wanted to move them to a tank with more room, especially side to side, as these guys/gals prefer to swim side to side more then up and down. I will then add 3 more females to their old tank after removing them and their water and add fresh water. I want to isolate the new females before adding to current stock.
My plan is to remove 75% of the water tomorrow, remove the last pieces of the deli shrimp, add 25% fresh water, and 50% of the water they have been living in. Would be just like doing a 50% water change in their old home, which I have done on occasion and they seem to be fine with that. After they are in there, I will do my normal 20% weekly water change. (Okay, so sometimes it is biweekly if they look at me with those sad eyes, but the 2nd one is always 10%).
These are swordtails (gorgeous coloring) and I wanted to move them to a tank with more room, especially side to side, as these guys/gals prefer to swim side to side more then up and down. I will then add 3 more females to their old tank after removing them and their water and add fresh water. I want to isolate the new females before adding to current stock.
