thinking about adding ammonia...advice please:)

[canucks]

It's just so dang hard to stay patient!! So now my questions are...
1). If my tank has been cycling fishlessly for a week can I still add ammonia to it? (I'm involved in a culinary competition and don't really want to focus/worry about anything else til Sunday.)

2). I currently have a peice of bogwood and a slab of granite in the tank borrowed from the turtle's, so will that affect anything?

3). Is it really true that you can fully stock a tank after a fishless cycle?

My boyfriend thinks we should just wait it out, but I really want to have some little swimmers in there asap. Is this a safe method?
Also, what say ye about these fish? Maybe too many? I (ooops, I mean WE) have a 20 gallon planted ( tho not now, see other post"giving up on fishy cycle") tank. 24"lx12"wx16 or 18"h. We're thinking of getting:
6-8 neons
2-4 honey gouramis
3 peppered corys
1 bristlenose catfish...I really wanted a pleco, but too big I think. Do they have similar antics?
Maybes, if it's not too much:
1 more small school of fish or a few more neons
a couple of guppies (to help provide live food, is that morbid or what???;)
Please let me know what you all think, and sorry for so many questions in one post! Tanks a bunch, Kat.

[canucks]

...also, is it even possible to get ammonia into a tank without adding it by either the liquid or fish????

[pinballqueen]

Don't put more than 2 gouramis to a tank, ever. They'll constantly be in territory disputes.

Yep. you can stock a fish tank completely after a fishless cycle. Dump a full load in at once, with no guilt and no ill effects, if you have everything set up right. At least, that's how I understand it to be.

If you want a tank, you've got to make up your mind from the start as to whether you want to cycle with fish or without. You can't start a fishless cycle and switch over halfway without really running the risk of killing whatever you're trying to keep as a pet. Ammonia will poison your fish, so adding ammonia to a fishy-cycling tank is a no-no, too.

Fishless cycling is a little shorter process, but it does have the disadvantage of a waiting period. The disadvantages of cycling with fish are already apparent to you, I assume....

As far as other methods of ammonia infusion, the only other thing I can think of is putting a piece of unseasoned, uncooked fish in the tank and letting it decompose, which is a much more lenghty (and smelly) process than by adding the ammonia directly.

[Faramir]

Erm... there is a way. Humans produce ammonia the same way that fish do.

No, you didn't just read that.

[RTR]

Yes humans do produce ammonia the same way that fish do. But no, they do not excrete it the same way. Fish release ammonia largely through their gills by simple diffusion into the water around them. Humans excrete ammonia in the form or urea in unine.

Not the same thing.

[Faramir]

Granted, but there are plenty of bacteria that can turn urea into ammonia, CO2 and water.

I'm sure I can remember someone on here talking about fishlessly cycling a tank this way...

[OrionGirl]

That would be wetmanNY. Just don't ask him how he figured the 'dose'...

[canucks]

hahahaha....yuk

[superstein61]

Originally posted by pinballqueen
Don't put more than 2 gouramis to a tank, ever. They'll constantly be in territory disputes.


have to disagree with this. perhaps in smaller tanks, yes - but in larger tanks, I have successfully had several pairs of gouramis or different types with no problems.

[canucks]

OK, I've been doing continual research, (almost to the point of obsession!), on fishless cycling and have realized that that was a really dumb question..."thinking of adding ammonia". Of COURSE I need to add it. I guess I just thought that the media from my turtle tank would be enough. Anyways, thanks for all your replies. I'll get the hang soon! :) Kathi

[amy]

The media from the turtle tank will certainly help.
Get at least an ammonia and a nitrite test kit. Add the ammonia as per all the fishless cycling articles. Watch the levels. When both the ammonia and nitrite tests read zero, do a big water change and the tank is ready.

The turtle tank media will bring in some beneficial bacteria so you won't be waiting as long as if you were starting with a completely barren tank.

[O-man21]

The "Bristlenose Catfish" your talknig about IS a pleco. They only grow to 4 inches and do the same stuff as a common pleco. I have a full grown one..pics of him coming,bu tI can't semm to ind him..

[canucks]

Thanks! We bought test kits I think the same day we got the tank. (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH). And I've been doing tests and adding ammonia every evening since last Sunday. But last night we were away from home and so I didn't get to do a test at all until this morning. Will that screw anything up, or can I still just resume adding ammonia to 5ppm. Like, do the additions have to be 24hrs apart? (sorry if I'm a little unclear, it was a late night... ;)

[Gourami_Boy]

I agree with pinballqueen's view on territorial Gourami's but I have found that Dwarf Gourami's seem to get on very well if they have a big enough tank for each male to claim a small amount of its own terretory.
I have 6 Dwarf Gouramis (3 pairs), the males are fine with each other and even seem to enjoy each others company by idling at the top of the tank together!
I have these 6 Gouramis in a 30 gallon tank, they dont require any special needs and they seem to have an appetite for anything...even my new plants..!
One thing I would add is that Gouramis should never be introduced on their own, if your adding gouramis make sure you add a pair (male & female).


- Im new to these forums and it looks as though im going to have some fun here!

cheers :) Dave

[canucks]

...So if we have
6-8 neons
2 dwarf honey gouramis
3 peppered cories
1 bristlenose cat
will there still be enough room for another school of 6-8, say rasboras and a couple of guppies? ( I think I'm pushin' it...)

[OrionGirl]

You'd be more than pushing it. Keep in mind that stocking levels are determined by the adult size and behavior of the fish. In such a small tank, you will not have 2 schools, you'll have one big mixture.