good bacteria =o

[demon_surfer]

ok me and my gf just bumped our mbuna up to a 55 gallon tank yesterday. They are doing great :D no one has tried to claim any caves or anything yet but it seems i did the fishless cycle right cause they settled right in with no problems :D . but anyway, i am now looking to get fish for my 20 galloner that is free. I havnt emptied it or anything and i would rather not.

What i need to know is, how long will the good bactieria survive withouth fish in there?? i mean if i throw in a few this evening will the tank cycle again or do i have a few days before they all die off?? your help will be greatly appreciated

[ChilDawg]

They won't have died off as of yet...if you want to wait a while on getting fish, throw in some food every so often in order to keep the bacteria going.

I have been able to introduce fish into a tank that had been sans goldfish for months and was still fully cycled at that point.

[famman]

The bacteria will survive several days without food, but no more. Try throwing in a few ppm of the ammonia you used for the fishless cycle. You could maintain it indefinately that way.
good luck
:)

[demon_surfer]

awesome thanks! :D

[RTR]

Or if want to do it up really right, alternate ammonia and fishfood - take care of the nitrification bacteria and the heterotrophs. Neither has to be every day, I do empties day 1 ammonia, day 2 fishfood, day 3 skip, then start over. Works for me.