I am very confused! help please !

hi guys!! i’m new to the fish world and i’ve only just now learned about “cycling”. im very confused about cycling and what it’s for. do we need to “cycle” every time we get a new fish? why do we have to do this? how do you do it? i’m just really confused and i want to give my fish the best life possible

 

Welcome to Fishlore

you may want to take a few minutes to read this thread. Fish In Nitrogen Cycle Simplified | Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Forum | 414083

Hopefully once you do you will have a better understanding of what it means to cycle a tank. I will be happy to answer any questions you have after you've read the thread I linked to.

 

hi guys!! i’m new to the fish world and i’ve only just now learned about “cycling”. im very confused about cycling and what it’s for. do we need to “cycle” every time we get a new fish? why do we have to do this? how do you do it? i’m just really confused and i want to give my fish the best life possible

Hello. No, you don't need to cycle a tank every time a new fish is added. Cycling is only needed in new tanks. There are two kinds; fishless, where you add ammonia and wait for the bacteria colony to develop to convert it to nitrites, and then nitrates, and fish-in, where you add fish immediately, then test your water often and do water changes as needed to keep the combined ammonia and nitrite levels low to avoid harming the fish while the bacteria colony develops.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

you may want to take a few minutes to read this thread. Fish In Nitrogen Cycle Simplified | Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Forum | 414083

Hopefully once you do you will have a better understanding of what it means to cycle a tank. I will be happy to answer any questions you have after you've read the thread I linked to.

Thank you so much! That was a very helpful thread

Hello. No, you don't need to cycle a tank every time a new fish is added. Cycling is only needed in new tanks. There are two kinds; fishless, where you add ammonia and wait for the bacteria colony to develop to convert it to nitrites, and then nitrates, and fish-in, where you add fish immediately, then test your water often and do water changes as needed to keep the combined ammonia and nitrite levels low to avoid harming the fish while the bacteria colony develops.

ohhh ok!! that makes so much more sense, thanks!

 

As ProudPapa pointed out we can do either fish in or a fishless cycle. If you already have fish in your tank you will be doing a fish in cycle. I assumed from your original post that you already have some fish. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

As ProudPapa pointed out we can do either fish in or a fishless cycle. If you already have fish in your tank you will be doing a fish in cycle. I assumed from your original post that you already have some fish. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

i have one betta fish currently. i've had him for about six months and he seems to be doing great

 

i have one betta fish currently. i've had him for about six months and he seems to be doing great

If he's been in there this long you certainly don't need to worry about the cycle. One betta probably didn't produce enough ammonia to be a problem initially anyway. You do need to be careful to not do anything to disrupt the bacteria colony, like too much cleaning.

I don't know what kind of filter you have, but don't replace the media periodically like the manufacturer says to. Rinse it in old tank water when you're doing a water change instead, and put it back.

 

i have one betta fish currently. i've had him for about six months and he seems to be doing great

If you've already had him in this tank for 6 months it will surprise me to find this tank isn't already cycled. Cycling a tank simply means growing ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria. We don't have to do anything special to grow that bacteria. As long as there is an ammonia source, in this case the betta, the bacteria will grow.

oops, Ninja'd by ProudPapa