I want some fish!
- Thread starter lippy415
- Start date
if you are testing anf ammonia is 0 you better check the nitrites and see where you are there.
if you fins filter material from an established tank..monitore the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates daily. if the filter material is good you should see a drop in nitrites pretty quick.
if you fins filter material from an established tank..monitore the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates daily. if the filter material is good you should see a drop in nitrites pretty quick.
Whoa. Using fish to cycle a tank is perfectly fine. So in that case you must think feeding live fish to cichlids and other large fish is wrong.
"Dispensible" was probably a poor word choice. I wouldn't want to initiate a tank with discus, for example. It's simply a case of being practical; you want those first fish to be hardy and not worth a fortune, just in case something goes wrong. It's not as if you're offering them up as a sacrifice to the gods!
That said, taking a 30g tank (that is correct, I think?), containing active filter material, and putting in a couple tiny fish for a few days while monitoring the water doesn't seem to me to be particularly cruel or likely to cause any significant level of suffering.
My normal approach to starting a new tank begins a couple weeks prior to getting the tank. I put ceramic material into a mesh bag and drop it into an established tank. When I start the new tank, I drop the mesh into the filter and add a couple of whatever dithers I plan on using. I keep an eye on things for a few days, and if everything looks ok, I install the stock. I've never seen ANY problem doing it this way, and have never observed ANY indication of "suffering". Nonetheless, I wouldn't have put my ebjds in the tank immediately, because they cost a bloody fortune! Now if that pragmatism offends anyone, frankly you'll just have to live with it.
That said, taking a 30g tank (that is correct, I think?), containing active filter material, and putting in a couple tiny fish for a few days while monitoring the water doesn't seem to me to be particularly cruel or likely to cause any significant level of suffering.
My normal approach to starting a new tank begins a couple weeks prior to getting the tank. I put ceramic material into a mesh bag and drop it into an established tank. When I start the new tank, I drop the mesh into the filter and add a couple of whatever dithers I plan on using. I keep an eye on things for a few days, and if everything looks ok, I install the stock. I've never seen ANY problem doing it this way, and have never observed ANY indication of "suffering". Nonetheless, I wouldn't have put my ebjds in the tank immediately, because they cost a bloody fortune! Now if that pragmatism offends anyone, frankly you'll just have to live with it.
Fish getting eaten is one thing...its part of the food chain. Its also usually not a tortuous process. How long do you think a guppy lasts after it gets swallowed by an oscar? Days, hours? Seconds, maybe.
Knowingly putting fish into bad conditions where ammonia and nitrite will burn their gills and possibly suffocate them to death over a period of days or weeks is a different ballgame.
Regardless, its not a new argument and there will always be opposing sides. It has more to do with what kind of standard you hold yourself to regarding the treatment of living animals than anything else.
Knowingly putting fish into bad conditions where ammonia and nitrite will burn their gills and possibly suffocate them to death over a period of days or weeks is a different ballgame.
Regardless, its not a new argument and there will always be opposing sides. It has more to do with what kind of standard you hold yourself to regarding the treatment of living animals than anything else.
Dude, we are talking about some danios or rosy reds here. Its not going to "burn their gills off". They are used to cycle the tank.
