Feedback on an idea? (Rather Long)

justahannah

justahannah

Fascinated newb
Jul 29, 2008
649
0
16
Tacoma, WA
www.myspace.com
Real Name
Hannah
Granted, the length may be due to sleep deprivation and me not being as clear in my head on this as I think I want to be...but here's the scenario:

46 gallon tank, very nearly cycled via fishless w/ammonia method
Freddie the betta, stuck in a pickle jar
I'm leaving for a week in a week, plus a couple week quarantine time for new fish once I'm back (so a month+ before additional fish can be added)
Jeremiah's being put on 12 hour shifts, so we need minimum tank maintenance during the week I'm gone

I just spent a month building up this bacteria colony and I know the bio-load of one male betta is not sufficient (in a tank that size) to sustain them in a decent amount and I'm looking at a mini-cycle when I add my school of neons if I put him in early. But I also don't want him stuck in the pickle jar for another month when I anticipate my cycle to finally be done in a couple of days thanks to a generous media/drippings donation from star_rider (nitrite already dropped a point and nitrates are going up again...I believe the stall is officially over. Thank you!!)

I started thinking about this last night, and my first thought was "If I can rig up something, maybe a drip system, to supplement the tank with ammonia in such a way as to sustain the bacteria but not cause a spike so Freddie can enjoy some freedom...that would be awesome." That didn't last long... I know I'm not an engineer, mechanical things fail (A valve could stick, dump everything in at once, and kill Freddie), and I would have to ask Jeremiah to check on on/refill it while I'm gone and I'm trying to keep it so his only job is keeping the cats & Freddie fed. I trust him, but I want him to be able to relax after twelve hours of being bullied by the sergeants, not have to deal with my faulty ideas. I kept mulling it around in the back of my head when inspiration hit...why not add a shrimp to the tank? I'm talking a dead shrimp, fishless shrimpy cycling style. Only difference is...my tank is already pretty much cycled, so the shrimp would add to my bio-load but the bacteria are already there to handle it, keeping them fed and (as decay happens at a pretty constant rate) no ammonia spikes to hurt Freddie, no mini-cycle when I go to add more fish. I would put the shrimp in a media bag, both for ease of removal and to keep Freddie from getting into it, and if I put the shrimp in today it could start the decay process while I'm still adding ammonia to keep the colony from starving...get things moving so in a few days I can wean them off the straight ammonia and then get Freddie in there.

Where I'm not so clear is how much shrimp is adequate to keep my 46 gallon tank cycled for a month, should I change it out at some point, and is this going to smell and/or do anything harmful to Freddie that I'm not thinking of? Because overall it seems like a maintenance-free solution to keeping my big tank cycled while allowing Freddie some much deserved space until I can safely finish stocking the tank. Any commentary is appreciated.

In unrelated news, I found this extremely hilarious: http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/darling_theres_something_ive?utm_source=onion_rss_daily
 
I wouldn't...not with a fish in there anyway. There's no way to control it, and you'd want someone checking on it every day to keep tabs. Once the bacteria colonies are established, adding a school of neons isn't going to have a huge impact on the bioload (barely readable ammonia for a day, maybe?). If you're that worried about it, add the school in two parts, half first, then the second half a week later.
 
I never said it was...I'm just looking for reasons why it would or wouldn't work, holes in my logic. I haven't had much sleep lately, so I definitely want to double-check things with those more knowledgeable/awake than I am :P. Can you tell me why though? That would be the more helpful than a simple yay/nay so I can understand the science behind this stuff better. Thanks!
 
Like I said before, mostly because its not really necessary, and because you can't control it.
 
Thanks! I had another thought (uh oh)...what about snails to help increase my bioload in the meantime? I was wanting some MTS to help keep my sand n plants happy anyway...I've never heard of snails carrying diseases or being quarantined, and I hear the apple snails have quite the bioload... Could I find some MTS at my LFS and dump them in once the cycle's complete risk-free?
 
and then what do you do with the snails? any amount of bioload is only going to sustain the bacteria sufficient for that bioload. you will still get some sort of spike when you add more fish.

also, if you put the betta in the big tank, how will you quarantine the neons when you get them?
 
I was planning on keeping the snails...I've got a planted, sand bottomed tank and I think they'll do me a favor by helping keep things aerated. And I do have a 10 gallon tank set up for a quarantine tank as I stock...the neons aren't the only thing I'm going to be keeping in there :P. I know the colony adjusts to the load and a little mini-cycle isn't a big deal, I can do PWC...I'm just trying keep my bacterial colony from going through such a huge die-off that it'll be like I never cycled in the first place. My fear is my one tiny betta won't produce enough waste over the next month to keep my 46 from almost shutting down biologically and the spike when I do get around to adding fish being as bad as going through a fishy cycle.
 
I know what I do when I plan to buy more fish - I up my feeding gradually over about two weeks until I'm feeding the amount I would feed, if I had the new fish in there.

Additional food = additional colonies, just do it gradually.

It's true overfeeding as a rule is not good, however your tank is not at bioload capacity - and when you buy new fish, you'll have to feed them anyway. Might as well do it a little bit more and a little bit more beforehand, rather than shock the system right away.

And it'll create your ammonia in small levels and be totally safe for the betta.

(You also might want to grind up the extra food in to small particles to make sure it's getting dissolved faster than it develops fungus.)
 
okay. . . . . this is what you do.

move the betta over to the 10g tank. today. i doubt your pickle jar is cycled, so when you have the option of using two uncycled tanks, the bigger one is better. more water equals more dilution of ammonia, which equals a healthier living situation for the fish as well as more time between water changes.

next, finish cycling the 46. use that as quarantine for the neons. once they are done with QT, move the betta over to the tank. then, use the 10g for any other fish you buy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom