*sigh* this is gettin' way off base.. i have done research, and it is, despite popular opinion, possible to do a fish cycle and not have the fish die. i have already decided to do a fish cycle and i did not post for people to try to persuade me otherwise and/or make me feel bad about doing a fish cycle. i just wanted to know if 3 platies would be too much to cycle a 10 gal. tank. that's all. so can someone help me?
Fish Cycle
- Thread starter stacy
- Start date
Folks are trying to help you. The first statement above is absolutely incorrect, to do a fishy cycle without harming the fish you will need to do a lot of work, and will create a lot of unnecessary risk. Your statement is correct that a fishy cycle can be done without harming fish, but for someone to say it's easy is wrong. In a 10g you probably won't want to start with more than 1 small platy, anything more will increase work and risk. Feed extremely lightly, and monitor water regularly. If you see ammonia or nitrites above 0.25 ppm do a water chang to get them back down. After the 4-6 weeks it takes to estabilish (probably closer to 4 with fishy) then you will want to add one fish at a time and allow 1-2 weeks for the bio-filter to grow to compensate. A 10g is small enough that it takes very little bio-load to cause spikes. If you were dealing with 30 plus gallons, 3 platies would be fine.
There is a far cry of difference between not harming fish and actually killing fish. Ammonia causes gill burn, which in turn causes scars which in turn permanently effect the fish's long term health. The effects of nitrite are not as permanent, but you will not have one without the other so when nitrite spikes, and gills are already burnt, the fish suffers more. Many fish will live through this, and many hobbyists tend to reccomend it, with the attitude that it's O.k. to bring an animal home, put it through hell and then replace it when it dies. If that is what you want to do then you are probably seeking advice on the wrong board. If you want to fishy cycle, then you have some work cut out for you, and even with experience and a lot of care you run some risk. Almost all of the old timers here have fishy cycled, many of us have done so without any spikes or damage to our livestock. We have also all found better safer easier ways because experience has taught us that it isn't easy to do a proper fishy cycle.
If you want to do fishy, and you want to do it without harming your fish proceede very slowly and test often. Remeber that excess food generally causes more problems than fish will in new set-ups. It is close to impossible to starve a fish, but it is also difficult to resist the urge to feed your new fish too often.
To put the fish per gallons in perspective, when I had 55g tanks, I cycled with two or three juvenile giant danios (about 2" long) I fed once every three days. If I ran more fish or more food I had to do frequent water changes during the early part of the cycling process. Then I would add no more than one or two fish per week until stocked, and not up my feeding until a week or so after the last addition. To do things right you need to proceede so slowly that you don't see spikes at a measurable level, and when you do that it is hard to recognize what is going on and usually very tempting to goahead and add another fish, which will in turn cause spikes, increase work, and potentially damage your fish.
There you have it in a nutshell.
Bio-spira is to my knowledge the only legitamite cycling aid out there, all others are either snake oil, or they cuase more trouble than they are worth. In addition it is quite possible to buy a bad bottle of Bio-spira, so be prepared to get another bottle if it doesn't work the first time. If bio-spira is good, it will give you the bacteria you need and pretty much instantly cycle your tank for a full bio-load. The risk involved lies with the bio-spira, and if it fails you will be doing multipl daily water changes to keep from killing the fish. It is better to put in the bio-spira as is done with fishless, dose with amminia and test the next day. If the bio-spira is good the ammonia will be gone, and you can safely put your fish in the tank. If the bio-spira isn't good, you will no via the testing and you won't have atank full of fish to worry about caring for.
Dave
That might be too much. My first foray into tropical tanks was a 10 gallon with two platies. One died about two weeks in and never really looked right. I can't say for sure it was from ammonia/nitrite since I didn't know much about them at the time, but it probably was. It might have been all right if I had been advised to change the water more often than "when the water looks cloudy". If you're impatient to get the fish in the tank and willing to order the Biospira online, you can add it even when the fish are already in there--they'll appreciate the bacteria boost.
I'm not tryin' to be rude or anything. I understand what cycling is about though. I don't need people to tell me it will harm/kill fish if I don't do a "fishless" cycle. I know the risk. I did fishless cycling before, but never with 3. That's why I asked. It's all I needed to know. Thank you for the answer, mrakins.
Most of us have never done fishless cycling with three fish either :laugh: :laugh:
Relax a little bit, information and advice is always meant to help, not scold. My post answered your question very well if you read it, and also volunteered some additional info for your use and purpose. Fishy cycling is not a sin, but fishy cyling improperly is cruelty. If you have done successfull fishy's in the past without measurable ammonia or nitrite, then stick with what has worked. Your question tended to lead me to believe you weren't fully aware of what was entailed, or how it would play out. As said one platy would be the limit IME, and light feeding constant testing will be needed even at that light of a level.
Good luck
Dave
I did not know about fishless cycling 4 months ago and started two 10g tanks.. Within a short time I found this site( what a helpful site). People are not here to make you feel like crap. They are here to share their mistakes and knowledge with you in hopes that it will make your experience better than some of theirs. Anyhow there is alot of work and dedication involved in a fishy cycle. It took almost 8 weeks for my 10g tanks to cycle with fish. To keep my ammonia and nitrite levels below toxic readings I had to do one sometimes two 60% water changes a day. I learned from my own mistakes and just finished a fishless cycle on my 55g about a month ago. No work involved and it only took 19 days. If you can't be persueded otherwise do your fishy cycle... but be prepared to do many water changes to give your fish the best water quality possible. They deserve that. Even though they are "just fish" they are at your mercy to provide them with a life that they need to be healthy. FYI... Parents are obligated to do this for their children otherwise it is considered abuse.
i just wanted to say that im curently doing a cycle in a ten gallon tank and had 1 platty in the tank to start the cycle. But i came home one day and it was under a huge amount of stress with the amonia level at 5 ppm. There was no way i could watch it die so i stuck it in a 5 gallon hospitol tank for now and am currently ussing cycle to treat the tank.
Unless your 5g was previously cycled the same thing is going to happen ."Cycle" is garbage no matter what anyone tells you. It will not change your test readings. The only thing that will help is water changes. I hope your fish makes out fine, you sound like you are concerned.
right now im doin 1.5 gallon water changes every day now in the 5 gallon. I just wanted to tell her that its worth it to wait.
