10 Gallon Tank Fish in Cycle Help and Advise Wanted

[EnderRen]

I am getting my first tank in the mail soon, and I am (reasonably) excited to get fish. I have done my due diligence and researched the absolute living daylight out of everything that I need to. I was planning on doing a fish in cycle. (yes I have seachem prime) My tank is a 10 gallon tank, and I'm wondering how to dose the seachem prime. Which fish in my list (see below) I should add while doing this cycle, and how long should I keep using prime. (also I am using fritz zyme 7)

WATER PARAMATERS: (out of the tap)
PH - 7.8
Hardness - 300 ppm

FISH: (I plan to get these to stock my tank)
1 Betta (Yes, I know, betta's are aggressive I plan on adding HIM last)
6-7 Ember Tetra
6-7 Pygmy Corydoras

I checked on AqAdvisor (a great website check it out), and it said my tank was basically full with this. I do NOT plan on getting these all at once (so as not to overload my bacteria) I also am planning on keeping live plants in the tank. (any recommendations for non CO2 plants would be great!)

 

[cjcummings]

Doing a fish in cycle is kind of tough for a beginner. Doesn't mean you cannot try but do prepare yourself mentally if it is not successful. Good choice on adding the beta last as they do not like strong current. You should start out with the species that do not mind strong current/flow. Reason being is that when you are dosing conditioner to detoxify the chemicals....Any extra conditioner will start depleting Oxygen in the tank. And in order to counter this you will need to start agitating the surface more or adding airstones to compensate which will probably increase the flow.

You can use this link here to calculate your dosage. A single dose should cover up to 1 PPM of total toxins every 24-48 hours. Then you just double it if your total toxins reach up to 2 PPM. If you ammonia is .25 ppm and your nitrites are at .5 ppm then a single dose should cover you until you redose.

You will need a test kit that will test ammonia and nitrites as well.

I do hope you reconsider on doing a fishless cycle since this is your first tank... But if not, having a detoxifier, diligent testing, and frequent water changes can increase your chance of success.

 

[excelsior]

Congrats and best of luck. I'll start by recommending fishless as it won't change the timeline much for you and might make things a bit easier. I'll still answer your question at the end if you intend to still decide to not do fishless.

Here is concise, step by step that you may find helpful:

The Cycle Process:

• Day 1 – dose ammonia to 2 ppm ammonia-nitrogen using Dr. Tim's Aquatics Ammonium Chloride Solution [NOTE: do not expect your test kit to exactly read 2 ppm and it is not critical to get exactly 2 ppm. The key is to not add too much ammonia]. If using Nitrifying bacteria add it now
• Day 2 – Measure ammonia and nitrite.
• Day 3 – If ammonia and nitrite are below 1 ppm add more ammonia: four drops of ammonium chloride per gallon (check the label).
• Days 4 & 5 – Measure ammonia and nitrite.
• Day 6 – If ammonia and nitrite are below 1 ppm add 2 ppm ammonia. Four drops of our ammonium chloride per gallon.
• Days 7 & 8 – Measure ammonia and nitrite. On the first measurement day (Day 2, 4, 5, 7 or 8) that BOTH ammonia and nitrite are both below 0.5 ppm your tank is close to being cycled.
• Now start to measure ammonia and nitrite every day.
• When BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm, add another 2 ppm ammonia.
• Continue to measure every day. When you can add 2 ppm ammonia and BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm the next day your tank is cycled – congrats! You’re done!
• Do a partial water change and add some fish.

One thing to note, using a starter solution or bacteria in a bottle is not always guaranteed. The cycle will happen with or without the bottled bacteria but it doesn't hurt to use it. Also, during the cycling process do not clean any thing, especially the filter, which I'm sure you already know.

If you still intend to do a fish cycle, I think the tetra as well as the cory is considered a fairly hardy fish so either should be ok.

For Seachem prime dosing use 1 capful (5mL) for each 50 gal. So in your case, it would be 1mL. To detoxify nitrite in an emergency, up to 5 times normal dose may be used.

 

[Azedenkae]

I am getting my first tank in the mail soon, and I am (reasonably) excited to get fish. I have done my due diligence and researched the absolute living daylight out of everything that I need to. I was planning on doing a fish in cycle. (yes I have seachem prime) My tank is a 10 gallon tank, and I'm wondering how to dose the seachem prime. Which fish in my list (see below) I should add while doing this cycle, and how long should I keep using prime. (also I am using fritz zyme 7)

WATER PARAMATERS: (out of the tap)
PH - 7.8
Hardness - 300 ppm

FISH: (I plan to get these to stock my tank)
1 Betta (Yes, I know, betta's are aggressive I plan on adding HIM last)
6-7 Ember Tetra
6-7 Pygmy Corydoras

I checked on AqAdvisor (a great website check it out), and it said my tank was basically full with this. I do NOT plan on getting these all at once (so as not to overload my bacteria) I also am planning on keeping live plants in the tank. (any recommendations for non CO2 plants would be great!)

I would recommend starting with the corydoras, from my personal experience they are more hardy than tetras. Start with one.

There is evidence to suggest Prime does not actually detoxify ammonia or nitrite, though it is also yet to be concrete, so just keep that in mind. If you do use Prime though, the instructions say to dose it every 48 hours, and you can dose 1x dosage per 1ppm ammonia/nitrite, up to 5x dosage.

Instead of using FritzZyme 7, because it is a fish-in cycle and the faster things are safe the better, I'd recommend its more concentrated version, FritzZyme TurboStart 700.

Personally I would rather just keep up with water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite lower.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Welcome to fish lore!
I dont want to be rude, but trust us, Please! Do a fishless cycle!
It is a challenge for experts to manage a fishless cycle, and a fish less cycle in a ten gallon tank will be even harder. Pygmy cories are sensitve little fish that are going to be tricky to keep even in a fully cycled tank Once again, I am not trying to be rude, but you will lose some, and then you will have a group of them that is too small.

Also, you need to realise that not all bettas are tolerent to tankmates, you need to have a back up plan if your betta remembers that it is a carnavore.
Add the betta last! Do not add fish to a betta fishes tank/territory, if you need to addfish later on, rearange the decorations first. It might be enough to confuse the territorial fish, but it is always a risk.

Also, Pygmy cories should really be in a 15-20 gallon tank, a ten gallon is a stretch,these are sensitivelitle fish, and they should be in a school of 12 or even more.

Also, ember tetras are small enough to be sean as food to a betta, and they are going to be up in his territory, it is a risk that I would not take, but if you do, choose ember tetra or cories, you do not have room for three species in a ten gallon tank, sorry. And Good Luck!

 

[JustAFishServant]

I could agree with what others have said above, however, SO many people have issues with this. It's fairly common to see crashes doing fishless where fish-in is pretty much impossible to see a crash. HOWEVER, fish-in cycling has its cons, of course. With beginners, many folks don't realize just how difficult it can be; testing the chemistry, performing frequent water changes, etc etc. MY advice is trying to find seeded filter media (from a pet store, a friend, online...) However be aware that there are also cons with seeded media even though it cycles fastest (about 24 hrs.) Never try media from a lightly-stocked 10 gallon to cycle a heavily-stocked 10 gal. It won't work. Use media from either a larger tank, or a tank your size with a similar stock.

If you want to try fishless, just know that it has a fairly high chance of crashing which can kill fish.

Good luck!

 

[Azedenkae]

I could agree with what others have said above, however, SO many people have issues with this. It's fairly common to see crashes doing fishless where fish-in is pretty much impossible to see a crash.

I have never heard of a crash caused by a fishless cycle (done properly), but have heard of so many crashes with fish-in cycles... o.o

My and your experiences seem to be absolutely opposite of each other's here.

 

[JustAFishServant]

I have never heard of a crash caused by a fishless cycle (done properly), but have heard of so many crashes with fish-in cycles... o.o

My and your experiences seem to be absolutely opposite of each other's here.

Really!? How odd...maybe it's our differing water. With a filter installed, the water straight from the tap has 0 chlorine, 0 chloramine, 0 heavy metals, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 15 nitrate, and 6.8 pH. I've never seen better water, but can't say if this is why fish-in cycling or using seeded media is easier for me

Look up "fishless cycle crash" here on Fishlore

 

[Azedenkae]

Really!? How odd...maybe it's our differing water. With a filter installed, the water straight from the tap has 0 chlorine, 0 chloramine, 0 heavy metals, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 15 nitrate, and 6.8 pH. I've never seen better water, but can't say if this is why fish-in cycling or using seeded media is easier for me

Look up "fishless cycle crash" here on Fishlore

For me it has always been the robustness offered by fishless cycling, as if I want to (and I do), I just ensure the aquarium can handle far more ammonia than it needs, and then I have a robust colony of nitrifiers in the aquarium offering plenty of buffering against things going wrong. So even when my parents accidentally dumped a whole container of food into my tank, well, it was still taken care of before I noticed. And limiting bacterial and algal blooms too, that was great.

 

[JustAFishServant]

For me it has always been the robustness offered by fishless cycling, as if I want to (and I do), I just ensure the aquarium can handle far more ammonia than it needs, and then I have a robust colony of nitrifiers in the aquarium offering plenty of buffering against things going wrong. So even when my parents accidentally dumped a whole container of food into my tank, well, it was still taken care of before I noticed. And limiting bacterial and algal blooms too, that was great.

I've never had bacterial, algal, or diatom blooms in a fish-in or seeded! How odd...must be our water...

75% I seed (I have 14 tanks) with the sponge filters from my goldie tanks. However, since I've run a fish rescue for 9 years, I never know who'll pop up! Can't take 6 weeks to fishless every tank for every fish

I once cycled a temporary 15 gallon rescue tank for 2 goldie arrivals in 8 days using Prime and Stability! Still cycled to this day, but not home to goldfish

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Welcome to fish lore!
I dont want to be rude, but trust us, Please! Do a fishless cycle!
It is a challenge for experts to manage a fishless cycle, and a fish less cycle in a ten gallon tank will be even harder. Pygmy cories are sensitve little fish that are going to be tricky to keep even in a fully cycled tank Once again, I am not trying to be rude, but you will lose some, and then you will have a group of them that is too small.

Also, you need to realise that not all bettas are tolerent to tankmates, you need to have a back up plan if your betta remembers that it is a carnavore.
Add the betta last! Do not add fish to a betta fishes tank/territory, if you need to addfish later on, rearange the decorations first. It might be enough to confuse the territorial fish, but it is always a risk.

Also, Pygmy cories should really be in a 15-20 gallon tank, a ten gallon is a stretch,these are sensitivelitle fish, and they should be in a school of 12 or even more.

Also, ember tetras are small enough to be sean as food to a betta, and they are going to be up in his territory, it is a risk that I would not take, but if you do, choose ember tetra or cories, you do not have room for three species in a ten gallon tank, sorry. And Good Luck!

Sorry for the typos, I meant "It is a challenge for experts to manage a FISH IN cycle, and a FISH IN cycle in a ten gallon tank will be even harder. "

 

[86 ssinit]

Ok thing is the first thing you need to know is your water. Great you’ve already tested your tap water. Now let it sit for 24hrs and retest. See if the ph has changed. This will tell you how your water is. Many have 7-8ph and 24hrs later it has dropped to 7.4-7. These people age their water before adding to the tank. I’m all for a fish-in cycle. But like keeping a fish tank it does take work. For me I would just change 2.5g of water daily for about 2 weeks than every other day for another 2 weeks. Checking the water daily and then as needed. I’d start with the ember tetras. I’d start with 6. Both the embers and the corys havnt been the strongest fish lately. So adding to any tank can lead to deaths. But embers are cheaper than corys. Acclimate these new fish to your tank (ask if you don’t know how to acclimate). Run the tank with the 6 for the month. When you see your nitrates you can then add your corys. 3 at a time and give it a few days to a week i between adding. After each adding you may get a mini cycle. With ammonia showing as the bacteria is building in the filter to convert the new waste. When all done you’ve learned a lot about keeping fish and doing water changes.
Now a fishless cycle is like a Science project. Add ammonia add bacteria…. Hope it works .

 

[EnderRen]

Welcome to fish lore!
I dont want to be rude, but trust us, Please! Do a fishless cycle!
It is a challenge for experts to manage a fishless cycle, and a fish less cycle in a ten gallon tank will be even harder. Pygmy cories are sensitve little fish that are going to be tricky to keep even in a fully cycled tank Once again, I am not trying to be rude, but you will lose some, and then you will have a group of them that is too small.

Also, you need to realise that not all bettas are tolerent to tankmates, you need to have a back up plan if your betta remembers that it is a carnavore.
Add the betta last! Do not add fish to a betta fishes tank/territory, if you need to addfish later on, rearange the decorations first. It might be enough to confuse the territorial fish, but it is always a risk.

Also, Pygmy cories should really be in a 15-20 gallon tank, a ten gallon is a stretch,these are sensitivelitle fish, and they should be in a school of 12 or even more.

Also, ember tetras are small enough to be sean as food to a betta, and they are going to be up in his territory, it is a risk that I would not take, but if you do, choose ember tetra or cories, you do not have room for three species in a ten gallon tank, sorry. And Good Luck!

Okay, so I am not changing my mind on the betta specifically, and I am acutely aware that they each have their own personalities, and I may need a backup plan. (It would be an excuse to get another tank ) Another question I would have is this. What fish would you keep with a betta. I know how challenging of a question that really is, but hey no harm in asking.

Ok thing is the first thing you need to know is your water. Great you’ve already tested your tap water. Now let it sit for 24hrs and retest. See if the ph has changed. This will tell you how your water is. Many have 7-8ph and 24hrs later it has dropped to 7.4-7. These people age their water before adding to the tank. I’m all for a fish-in cycle. But like keeping a fish tank it does take work. For me I would just change 2.5g of water daily for about 2 weeks than every other day for another 2 weeks. Checking the water daily and then as needed. I’d start with the ember tetras. I’d start with 6. Both the embers and the corys havnt been the strongest fish lately. So adding to any tank can lead to deaths. But embers are cheaper than corys. Acclimate these new fish to your tank (ask if you don’t know how to acclimate). Run the tank with the 6 for the month. When you see your nitrates you can then add your corys. 3 at a time and give it a few days to a week i between adding. After each adding you may get a mini cycle. With ammonia showing as the bacteria is building in the filter to convert the new waste. When all done you’ve learned a lot about keeping fish and doing water changes.
Now a fishless cycle is like a Science project. Add ammonia add bacteria…. Hope it works .

So, I have researched the difference between fishless and fish-in cycling. The problem with the fishless is I would have no way to generate ammonia reliably. I cannot find it anywhere (I have check fish stores and pharmacies and my grocery stores), and I hate just throwing fish food because it would stink up the tank (which will be right next to my bed), and I want to avoid that where possible. (I know I have high expectations...) I am going in very understanding of the fact that I will not be a perfect fish keeper to start out, and that I will make mistakes. I also wish I could just seed the tank, but I don't know anyone who owns an aquarium, and I feel like it might be just a bit awkward to go to the fish store and beg for some filter media...

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Can you order Dr Tims's or Fritz aquatic ammonia from amazon? or is that not an option where you are? You can go to the grocery store and get a shrimp or 2. You could put them in a nylon stalking or a wig cap, and hang them in the tank or filter.
It isnt that awkward to ask such an important question. "Just wondering?, Do you give used filter media to customers for a quicker start-up?" You could call and use a fake accent!

Bettta tank mates,
The most likely fish that will get along with a betta...
Plain dull-colored fish with short fins. Fish that are not too active. fish that are not nippy or tail chasey. Fish that are not too small or too big, I know that is a vague statement, maybe 2-3 inches?. Bottom feeders are the best option IMOP. If you have a back up tank, and a decent amount of time to watch the tank in the first few weeks, then you can experiment.

Some fish I think are the safest tankmates to try- x-ray tetra, Harlequin rasborra, cories, kuhlie loaches.

 

[EnderRen]

Can you order Dr Tims's or Fritz aquatic ammonia from amazon? or is that not an option where you are? You can go to the grocery store and get a shrimp or 2. You could put them in a nylon stalking or a wig cap, and hang them in the tank or filter.
It isnt that awkward to ask such an important question. "Just wondering?, Do you give used filter media to customers for a quicker start-up?" You could call and use a fake accent!

Bettta tank mates,
The most likely fish that will get along with a betta...
Plain dull-colored fish with short fins. Fish that are not too active. fish that are not nippy or tail chasey. Fish that are not too small or too big, I know that is a vague statement, maybe 2-3 inches?. Bottom feeders are the best option IMOP. If you have a back up tank, and a decent amount of time to watch the tank in the first few weeks, then you can experiment.

Some fish I think are the safest tankmates to try- x-ray tetra, Harlequin rasborra, cories, kuhlie loach

I wish that I could have a twenty gallon tank, but my college dorm wouldn't that. (10 gal and under) So the only ones from that list that I feel comfy putting in a ten gallon with a betta would be the tetra and the cories (specifically pygmy or habrosus). I guess if I only keep the cories or the tetras I could throw in a mystery snail or a nerite. I personally like the look of the mystery snails more, but which would you choose?

 

[briangcc1997]

I know nothing about nerites - having not had them. Mystery snails are a hoot. They'll go up the glass then suddenly let go and float down to the bottom. Then they'll repeat that process.

I've had one that was the bubble column for a good minute before it hit the eject button and floated down to the bottom.

I swear they are the class clowns of the tanks they're in.

 

[MasterPython]

If you want to do a fish in cycle start with just the betta

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Mystery snails are fun, I have also witnessed them ride the bubbles to the top, skim the surface upside down for a while, drop, and repeat. But they have antennas that are tempting to betta fish.

Nerites come in some amazing varieties, They will write you messages in the algae, but they usually leave live plants alone. also nerites do not have tempting antennae. but Nerites lay little white eggs in the tank, they will not hatch in freshwater, but they are a pain to remove.

 

[bgarthe]

I could agree with what others have said above, however, SO many people have issues with this. It's fairly common to see crashes doing fishless where fish-in is pretty much impossible to see a crash. HOWEVER, fish-in cycling has its cons, of course. With beginners, many folks don't realize just how difficult it can be; testing the chemistry, performing frequent water changes, etc etc. MY advice is trying to find seeded filter media (from a pet store, a friend, online...) However be aware that there are also cons with seeded media even though it cycles fastest (about 24 hrs.) Never try media from a lightly-stocked 10 gallon to cycle a heavily-stocked 10 gal. It won't work. Use media from either a larger tank, or a tank your size with a similar stock.

If you want to try fishless, just know that it has a fairly high chance of crashing which can kill fish.

Good luck!

If you go this route…..w seeding filter media, put a hang-on-the-back (HOB) filter on the aquarium and kinda pack it full of the used media from another tank and even attach a piece of it to the overflow. Looking at this used media looks gross, but that’s ok and what you want. Do not wash out the used media. Once your tank is established, be sure to only rinse out your filter media w discarded aquarium water….never tap water. Also, I’d go ahead and supplement this with adding a product like FritzZyme 7 to the system. This is, I know some people don’t like/approve of bottled bb, a quality product imho. And then…..add the fish slowly and feed carefully while testing your water daily for a bit. One last thing you can use is the SeaChem Ammonia Alert submerged tag/gauge which is merely an assist Ammonia alarm device one can check throughout the process in addition to daily testing. Once your ammonia and nitrite levels are 0 and you see the nitrate levels rise, get into your WC (water change) routine. I applaud your looking into this beforehand and good luck.

 

[JustAFishServant]

If you go this route…..w seeding filter media, put a hang-on-the-back (HOB) filter on the aquarium and kinda pack it full of the used media from another tank and even attach a piece of it to the overflow. Looking at this used media looks gross, but that’s ok and what you want. Do not wash out the used media. Once your tank is established, be sure to only rinse out your filter media w discarded aquarium water….never tap water.

Great advice bgarthe!

Also, I’d go ahead and supplement this with adding a product like FritzZyme 7 to the system. This is, I know some people don’t like/approve of bottled bb, a quality product imho.

I agree - by far the best bottled BB on the market appear to be: Fritz Zyme 7, Fritz TurboStart, Fritz Zyme 360, Seachem Stability, Tetra SafeStart, or Tetra SafeStart Plus, containing both nitrobacter (nitrite, NO⁻₂, to nitrate, NO⁻₃,) and nitrosomonas (ammonia / ammonium, NH₃ or [NH₄]⁺, to nitrite)