Fish Cycle

stacy

AC Members
May 7, 2005
7
0
0
Ohio
I have recently set up my 10 gal aquarium and I'm too impatient to do a fishless cycle.. so would a 3 platy (1 male, 2 female) combo be a good idea to cycle a tank with??
 
A much better idea would be to use Bio Spira. That small a tank would only cost about $11 to dose. You would spend almost that much replacing the platys down the road.
 
greendeltatke said:
A much better idea would be to use Bio Spira. That small a tank would only cost about $11 to dose. You would spend almost that much replacing the platys down the road.
I understand that it's your preference to do a fishless cycle, but as I said though, I'm too impatient. I have read up on fishless and fish cycling and I still choose to do it with fish.

"In any case, if you add a few fish and then let the tank develop enough helpful bacteria to handle them before adding more, things should go well. Adding fish in stages is a safe and easy way to cycle a tank, and chances are good that you won't lose a single fish during the process. But if you rush things and put too many fish in at once, you risk losing them all." - Mike Wickham (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freshwater Aquariums)

So my question was.. is 3 platies too much?
 
rich311k said:
You can add the Bio Spira with the fish. It will decrease the cyle time and allow you to keep fish at the same time. You will need to change 50% of the water at least every day. May be more.
and that's healthy for the fish?
 
I see. I'd never heard of it before, even with all my research. I guess I'll have to look for some of that. Do they sell that at most LFS?
 
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