I Have been at this board about 3 years ago when I had my old tank, I used to be a very active member. I know a lot about fish, read a lot of books and owned different types of fish so i know wat i'm doing, but everyone learns new things no matter what lol.. I just bought a new 33 Gal Fishtank from the lfs. I got the temperature regulated and it has been filter cycling for the past week and my next step is to get a few fish to start off the tank to get a good biological circle going. I was just wondering if anyone had any recomendations on what are some good fish to cycle with.
Cycling fish
- Thread starter Sharkyloach
- Start date
I know this may not be the answer you're looking for, but I recommend a fishless cycle - you have to look at a bare tank for a while, but it's much kinder to the fish and you get to add all (or almost all) of your stock at once when the cycle's done.
There is LOTS of info on the AC site and in the forums - there may even be a sticky - on fishless cycling, and if you Google it you'll come up with lots of stuff, so I won't get into the details
There is LOTS of info on the AC site and in the forums - there may even be a sticky - on fishless cycling, and if you Google it you'll come up with lots of stuff, so I won't get into the details
Thats a really good suggestion, My friend suggested that before but the Lfs suggested that I get a fish to cycle.. I think this weekend i'll be buying deco only.. as well as test kits.. a fishless cycle sounds like the safe way to go.
I'm in the middle of my fishless cycle, and I find it kind of neat. Doing the tests each day, seeing if anything's changed. I enjoy it, and there's no worry about fish, no water changes to protect fish from ammonia, and I'm doing my decor a bit at a time, adding as I go. It's more affordable for me, and it gives me a chance to re-arrange stuff, add stuff, try new plants, and lots of other things.
And when the cycle's complete, I can go to my LFS and order all my fish at once, which cuts down on territorial issues somewhat, and I'll have a fully stocked tank.
I wouldn't do it any other way.
And when the cycle's complete, I can go to my LFS and order all my fish at once, which cuts down on territorial issues somewhat, and I'll have a fully stocked tank.
I wouldn't do it any other way.
Besides, if you fishy cycle then your tank is only cycled for that fish. Every other fish you add creates a new cycle. So unless you plan on throwing out the cycling fish after it has done its job you will end up with possibly sicker fish.
That isn't to say that fishy can't be done safely but fishless is always the safest way to go.
Make sure to use ammonia that has no additives in it (chelating agents are fine though).
That isn't to say that fishy can't be done safely but fishless is always the safest way to go.
Make sure to use ammonia that has no additives in it (chelating agents are fine though).