cycling question (specific to me)

S

Spclk1981

Freshwater n00b
Oct 4, 2004
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Shelby Township, MI
www.wishuwerehere.us
My plan (depends on what tank I use) is to have

Neon Tetras, Whiteclouds, or Fancy Guppies (something small)
African Dwarf frogs (number depends on size of tank)
Ghost Shrimp (number depends on size of tank)

I plan on getting some used filter media from a well-established tank to speed up the fishless cycle.

Which would be the best to introduce first? I was thinking either the frogs or shrimp, but I don't know if they produce the ammonia needed to make a difference.

Just trying to form a plan, and figure out costs and when I need to buy what.

Thanks!
 
probably the white clouds would be your best bet, or the guppies. they're pretty hardy fish. neons are pretty delicate, definetely not cycling fish (although that shouldnt be a huge problem if you're using old-filter media)

just be careful if you want to put whiteclouds and neons together. someone correct me if im wrong, but whiteclouds prefer a lower temperature than do neons and neons are pretty sensitive to water conditions. it's not life-or-death, just a metabolism thing...
 
Thanks for the reply...

As far as I knew, White Clouds could live in just about any temperature. I'll look into that though.

The frogs or shrimp wouldn't do the job? I was thinking of getting those first, then the neons.
 
Are you doing a fishless cycle? If you are, then you can add them all at once. One of the benefits of the fishless cycle is that you'll build up enough bacteria to support a fully stocked tank by the time the cycle's complete.

If you're doing a fishy cycle then I'd put the minnows in first, then the guppies, then the rest (no experience with frogs).

White cloud minnows can be considered a cold water species but can live in higher temps. I wouldn't keep them in anything above 78F personally.
 
sorry, don't know too much about frogs - or shrimp really for that matter. someone else should be along to clear that up for you :)

and as for the whiteclouds - absolutely they can live at "any" temperature (in the tropical fish range, of course...) i was just under the impression that their bodies function better in "cooler" conditions, the same way discus thrive best at warmer temperatures.

do you have any idea how big of a tank you'll be getting? i dont know how much you wanted to spend, but I'd try to go for something at least in the 20 long to 29 gallon range. that'll give you enough room for a decent school of neons, plus the larger size will make it easier to keep water conditions stable.
 
Thanks for the replies...

I was misunderstanding then, I thought even after a fishless cycle, one had to be careful cause it still can be thrown out of balance easily. Like there's a limited number of bacteria to balance it, but adding creatures will force it to "up" it's bacteria count to maintain equalibrium. If not, that's fine, I'd rather "dump" it all in there at once :)

As for size of tanks, it's a long winded response....I am either going with a marineland 6, or a 15 gallon standard tank (I already have the 15). My problem is this - I live at home, I have no room in my bedroom. I wanted to put a tank on my dresser, but a 15 is FAR too heavy. So, I can either build a stand to raise the bottom of the 15 gallon tank 18" off the floor and use that. It just isn't as nice, I can't see in it as well as I'd like to. My other alternative is to spend a little more cash, pick up the marineland6 for now for the dresser, and expand when I get my own place in a year.

So, I guess to answer the size question, I really don't know yet. I am leaning towards using the 15. I had 2 clawed frogs (not the dwarf) and 2 feeder goldfish that grew to be huge when I was a youngin'. The frogs/fish were 7+ years old. I didn't really care for things like I should have (I was 12 when they all died) and they outgrew the tank and all fought and died.
 
White clouds thrive in water around 70F and survive in water around 78-80F. Neons thrive the other way around. White cloud, IME will not be as pretty or fun to watch in warmer water due to the lower oxygen content. You will need to airate the water well in that case.

If you are cycling with fish then add just a few at a time and watch for ammonia spikes. Anything over 2ppm is the danger zone and requires a water change. Add few new fish every week or so. If you are not buying some test kits (and I urge you to) do water changes daily for the first week. This will not hurt the cycle and will help the fish. Adding fast growing plants like water sprite is also very helpful as it will compete for the ammonia and reduce the levels naturally.
 
Thanks TKOS, I was wondering that too, about plants helping.

Yes, I will fishless cycle, and yes, I will definitely be picking up a test kit :)
 
If you stuff the tank full of quick growing plants you can effectively create a silent cycle. Add fish slowly, test often but the plants will make it so there are no ammonia spikes. Of course doing a full fishless cycle is also nice as it gives you practice dealing with water chemistry prior to adding any fish.
 
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