I have been researching for the last couple of hours and my roommate thinks I am crazy to care about fish this much. I just dont want to hurt my fish! I read that fishy cycles and cause permanent damage because the ammonia burns them? Also, the nitrate or nitrite, not sure which, makes it difficult for them to "breathe"? Please let me know, I DO NOT want to hurt my fish!!
Are fishy cycles wrong?
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"Wrong' requires a moral judgement. You'll probably hear heaps either way. It's going to be a matter of personal choice.
To clarify, though--yes, ammonia and nitrites harm fish. The gills are damaged by high concentrations of ammonia, and nitrites compete with receptor sites on hemoglobin for oxygen, reducing the amount of oxygen a fish can 'breath'. Neither are healthy for fish, and both can have long term consequences for the fish--but fishy cycles have been done for years and years, they work, and managed properly (ie, testing the water dialy and doing water changes as needed to prevent high spikes), minimize the damage to the fish. Does minimizing make it right? Your call.
To clarify, though--yes, ammonia and nitrites harm fish. The gills are damaged by high concentrations of ammonia, and nitrites compete with receptor sites on hemoglobin for oxygen, reducing the amount of oxygen a fish can 'breath'. Neither are healthy for fish, and both can have long term consequences for the fish--but fishy cycles have been done for years and years, they work, and managed properly (ie, testing the water dialy and doing water changes as needed to prevent high spikes), minimize the damage to the fish. Does minimizing make it right? Your call.
I see. I do not want to hurt the fish so I will do a fishless cycle. I am learning how to do that but help will be GREATLY appreciated!
As you can see, it is not black and white, right and wrong. However, a fishless cycle is guarenteed not to hurt the fish in your tank during the cycle(cuz there's none in there)Feel free to post any questions you have on cycling. Did you read the cycling sticky? You can also try the search tool at the top of each forum to get answers to the more common questions. Good Luck!!!