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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| starting cycle
dose useing the rotting piece of fish work for starting the cycle in a new tank? | 
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| welcome to fishlore!!
it wont smell too good but it probably will work...id rather try a raw piece of fresh fish or shrimp myself (then let it "rot" in the water as it cycles ) LOL | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Yes it will decay and start to produce ammonia which you need to start the nitrogen cycle.  | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| the local fish shop said!
well my local fish shop said to start off with some feeder gold fish to get the cycle going. I hope this will work well and that the gold fish don't die. But they said it was the easyest way and the cheapest since i alrady have $500.00 plus dollers in the tank already and by the end of next month i will have even more lol  | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Don't do that, poor goldfish. Plus what are you going to do with it after the cycle is complete? Goldfish aren't very good for a tank. | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| It's best to cycle fishless for the sake of the fish because you wont have to do DAILY water changes to keep the toxins low so the fish wont get stressed and possibly die.  It also takes longer with fish because of the water changes. But it's all about the safety of the fish, not how long it will take. So please do it fishless! | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| !
i have not done it yet i am thinking about it and looking for other ways to do it! But a freind has red eared silders and he has feeder that he feed them soi thought i might but have not mad up my mind looking for other allturedtives soory for the speeling i know it sucks lol  | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Unfortunatly, if you cycle with fish and don't do daily water changes until the cycle is done there's a really good chance the fish won't make it. Either that or they have a better chance of getting sick because their immune systems will be compromised.
An easy way to cycle is to throw a raw peice of shrimp in the tank and forget it for a while (I suggest putting it in a mesh bag). The tank will cycle.
I hope you reconsider exposing a living thing to the toxins of ammonia and nitrite. | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| ?
so if i do it fishless what is the best way to start the cycle then? | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Wait, you said you have a friend who keeps fish. Ask him for some used filter material... it'll be full of the bacteria and you can get it off faster. | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| thanks to al for the advise i would also be interesed in fish combos for my tank if any of ou woul like to offer any sugestions please! | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| In order to avoid confusion LC Scotty's question has been moved here: Cycling question | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| would a bit of prawn work as well as a shrimp?? | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Yes, it should. | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by cgoodknight5976  dose useing the rotting piece of fish work for starting the cycle in a new tank? |
I put a piece of raw shrimp iny my 29 g when I was cycling. Not sure if it did any good or not.
Use the ammonia method. Go to ace hardware and buy their janitorial strength ammonina. Shake it first to make sure it doesnt foam up. Add about 3-4 drops of that per gallon every day.
nitrogen cycle | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I would not recommend putting anything in the tank to rot. If you use a fishless cycle its best to use pure ammonia. Using food or shrimp will and promote the growth of bacteria, fungus and other pathogens. Basically, you would have to sterilize the tank to make it safe which would kill the cycle anyways or the fish would be exposed to all kinds of toxins other than NH3.
There is no easy way to cycle. And no method is full proof. So its best to just find what works best for yourself though, some methods are better than others. And don't count on Safe Start to cycle because its about as reliable as a Chevette and is expensive. I use fish in cycle because they produce a steady supply of ammonia without over contaminating the water. But this method does require constant monitoring and maintainence. Its not cruel to do a fish in cycle as long as the toxin levels are maintained and the water changes are frequent, and certainly don't dispose of the cycling fish when you are done. Its best to use a fish you intend to keep. Danios are generally good and they are nice fish to keep. | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| IMO exposing fish to toxins such as ammonia and nitrite that occur during the cycle is cruel and not necessary when there are other methods to achieve your goal.
Here are a couple of links about the effects of ammonia on fish: Ammonia and water quality Hyperplasia
Last edited by Lucy; March 24th, 2009 at 08:01 PM.
Reason: links added | |
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March 24th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowavenger I would not recommend putting anything in the tank to rot. If you use a fishless cycle its best to use pure ammonia. Using food or shrimp will and promote the growth of bacteria, fungus and other pathogens. Basically, you would have to sterilize the tank to make it safe which would kill the cycle anyways or the fish would be exposed to all kinds of toxins other than NH3.
There is no easy way to cycle. And no method is full proof. So its best to just find what works best for yourself though, some methods are better than others. And don't count on Safe Start to cycle because its about as reliable as a Chevette and is expensive. I use fish in cycle because they produce a steady supply of ammonia without over contaminating the water. But this method does require constant monitoring and maintainence. Its not cruel to do a fish in cycle as long as the toxin levels are maintained and the water changes are frequent, and certainly don't dispose of the cycling fish when you are done. Its best to use a fish you intend to keep. Danios are generally good and they are nice fish to keep. | fish food and TSS both work..if done properly...im sure the chevette wont tho  using fish is cruel if its done knowing what they go thru...alot use fish because they dont know better... | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| qt tank?
so once my main tank is cycled i am going to be looking into getting a QT tank like ten gallons so if i put the filter for the ten gallon on my 55 after it has cycled would that be a good way to start a qt filter? | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Its best to leave the filter for the QT tank always in the main, so that the bacteria stay alive. Obviously when you need to put fish in the QT, transfer the filter there.
Another plus is that your main tank will be more filtered. | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| ya but what if the fish have a disease or any other problems should i return it to the main after that or should clean it first? | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| great advice llama~~
if you use it for a qt tank with sick fishies, yes you will have to entirely break it down and clean it then reset it up on your main tank again..they can seed in approx 2 weeks .... | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| and if there is no problems i can just tranfer it right back to the main right? | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by thumper and if there is no problems i can just tranfer it right back to the main right? | Yep.
oh and another good thing to keep in mind. Don't use activated carbon for your QT filter. It might adsorb some of the medication. | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| what type of filter should i run then? | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| run the same filter, just dump out the little black rocks or don't use the carbon insert, just use some extra filter floss or sponge | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| ok that sounds great thanks for the advice! | |
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April 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| good luck | |
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