Cycling Tank w/ Prized Cichlid

[volcomstone]

Just curious...Has anyone ever put in their prized CA/SA cichlid in a tank which wasn't fully cycled and were still successful at keeping their prized cichlid healthy? Crazy question I know...the reason I ask is because I have a friend who did not finish his cycling however, added some fairfly nice and expensive cichlids/fishes which were handed over to him. His water parameters he indicates to me are like 1ppm for each Ammonia and Nitrate.

FYI...I would of taken care of the fish for him during his cycling however, he lives too far from me.

 

[Dmaan.]

i've put my barreds in water that wasn't completely established.
but i had established filters with about 15 gallons of water.

i don't think the water matters as much as the filter bacteria is necessary.

my barred has lived in his new tank for about a month and a half now.
i haven't noticed any problems.

 

[ward1066]

I recently bought 11 wild caught frontosas that were around 80 dollars each. At the same time my bio filter crashed and had a huge ammonia spike. I bought some Prime conditioner and began water changes almost on a daily basis. I also got some seachem stability and dosed the tank daily for a week. 2 weeks later the fish are all still alive and eating normally. I even had a female spawn after a few days. these products really wirk at binding ammonia and saving fish loss.

 

[Dmaan.]

I recently bought 11 wild caught frontosas that were around 80 dollars each. At the same time my bio filter crashed and had a huge ammonia spike. I bought some Prime conditioner and began water changes almost on a daily basis. I also got some seachem stability and dosed the tank daily for a week. 2 weeks later the fish are all still alive and eating normally. I even had a female spawn after a few days. these products really wirk at binding ammonia and saving fish loss.

lol this could have been a lot of just luck though.

some people wouldn't think of doing daily water changes.

 

[ward1066]

true, most people probably wouldn't,s. I dont recommend it at all, but it can be done if you really watch your water chemistry and watch signs of stress in your fish. For the most part i have found that most cichlids are pretty hardy, there are some exceptions though.

 

[Columbian Shark Catfish]

i got a new 4-line pictus and put him in a 10g to see if he had any diseases or health issues. i put him in 10 mins after the tank was set up (in a hurry) and he's not in my 75 and very healthy.

 

[volcomstone]

Thanks for the feedback so far everybody...keep em comming

I think ultimately he's worried about the health of these expensive fish in the long run....Hopefully the cycling of his tank happens quick enough before something serious happens. He did indicate that most if not all look to be stressed out/scared and are hiding which is typical when adding new fish.

 

[Otherone]

A fresh tank with uncycled media and ornimants...............never any large sa/ca will be dead in 2 weeks from nitro poisoning you'd have to do 80-100% water changes daily and the tank would never cycle......................if you use already cycled media and ornimants the large cichlid will be fine.

 

[djarmstrong]

Its more the filter that needs to be cycled/ established , than the water in the tank . But if you can put half of the water from a already established tank and then just top up with tap water . Also add a couple of big hand fulls of gravel form a tank which is already been running for a while and possible some already cycled filter media .

 

[Jason_S]

Its more the filter that needs to be cycled/ established , than the water in the tank . But if you can put half of the water from a already established tank and then just top up with tap water . Also add a couple of big hand fulls of gravel form a tank which is already been running for a while and possible some already cycled filter media .

yeah, having filter media from an established tank will help TREMENDOUSLY. I haven't cycled a tank in years even though I've torn down and setup tanks several times...I just move filters around and add fresh water to a new tank and have never had any problems due to an uncycled tank.

However, if your friend has no other alternative, then I would advise using AmmoLock or Amquel <both are supposed to neutralize harmful ammonia without removing it...this will slow down the cycling process but not stop it> and aquarium salt to try to reduce the effects of the nitrites that will become present after the ammonia spike. This is definitely not the recommended or preferred method, but if he has no access to an established tank or decorations/gravel/filter media from an established tank, then this MIGHT help save his fish...or at least some of them.