cherrybarbboi

hi i did my nitrogen cycle with 2 cherry barbs and they survived and thrived. is it normal for fish to survive tghe nitrogen cycle because the more i hear its not

matt6765

well I did all of my tanks with fish and they survied.....

Shawnie

some do survive but most do not...it depends on what measures you take as in water changes and detoxifiers...IMO its a cruel way to cycle a tank but in some cases, its unavoidable...if at all measures, you can cycle without them, thats the humane way to go..im glad both of you had success

ABCDemily

Most fish do, however there are complications for the fish in later life, it's very stressful for them, and can shorten their lifespan significantly. Of course sometimes it's unavoidable, as in people not knowing about the nitrogen cycle. Personally I'd never do it, as it's inhumane and cruel

cherrybarbboi

i had no clue about doing a fishless cycle when i started because the people at petco said nothing about it. it would be nice if they gave me more information. it was like all they cared about was selling fish immedietly. that annoys me

Shawnie

that happens with allot of us when we start out its what we do after knowing that matters

cherrybarbboi

when i get my next tank im deffenetly doing a fishless cycle. i had know clue what it did to them until i joined fishlore. thanks for the information shawnie and abcdemily : )

kimb

I am glad your fish survived the cycle. I too had fish in my tank when it was cycling, and although they survived the initial cycle, they have since once by one passed on. I think the effects of cycling with fish can (not always) lead to illness later on in life. Thanks to this forum, I now know how to be a better fish mom.

harpua2002

I agree with kimb about problems later in life. I started out the same way cherrybarbboi (and many of us) did, with bad info from a chain store. Of course I believed it- I didn't know any better. I lost my first parrot cichlid about a year and a half ago. It had survived my first cycle, 5 years before its death... but it never grew as large as the one I have left (still pretty bulky though!), and sadly, I checked the 75 gallon one day and found it dead. No marks, no sign of illness, it had been eating well, etc. I truly believe cycling with fish shortens their lifespan.

cherrybarbboi

you know i think something you said there really just gave me an idea to why one of the fish i started out with (a cherry barb hence the name cherry barb boi) is smaller than the one i got to replace one of my other starters that died. the one that didnt go through the nitrogen cycle has gotten bigger while the one that did and is know a over a year old hasnt really gotten bigger in the past maybe 4 and a half months

gmen4life

i will float bio wheels now lol so ill have bacteria when needed and now ill seed to start anything new make a dirty dirty lil filter etc etc i learned alot from here thanks to everyone