Fishless Cycle
- Thread starter railer20
- Start date
I was going to write a snarky reply but I'll save it...for a little while...lol...but with better advice I hope 
Water changing or vacuuming, it's almost the same thing IMO...you'll see soon enough...when you're done testing all the time & have fish to look at
You're almost to the fun part!
Water changing or vacuuming, it's almost the same thing IMO...you'll see soon enough...when you're done testing all the time & have fish to look at
You're almost to the fun part!I think what I have settled on is the following for stocking (won’t know until noon today if he has everything though)...this puts me at 90% stock and plenty of filtration according to the Calculator.
1 bristle nose pleco
1 nerite snail
8 julii corys
3 pearl gourami (1 m / 2 fm)
10 rummynose tetras
10 harlequin rasboras
T TwoTankAmin - I know we discussed this before with acclimating but I just want to make sure that if I get everything today I’m good to just set the bags in the water for 20 or 30 minutes and then net them out and put them in. No need to add tank water or anything to the bags?
Also just for the heck of it I tested this morning and ammonia and nitrites were at zero as expected
1 bristle nose pleco
1 nerite snail
8 julii corys
3 pearl gourami (1 m / 2 fm)
10 rummynose tetras
10 harlequin rasboras
T TwoTankAmin - I know we discussed this before with acclimating but I just want to make sure that if I get everything today I’m good to just set the bags in the water for 20 or 30 minutes and then net them out and put them in. No need to add tank water or anything to the bags?
Also just for the heck of it I tested this morning and ammonia and nitrites were at zero as expected
Hooray- it was a bumpy trip but we got you there. I really wish this site would use my cycling article. it is pretty easy to follow and is guaranteed to succeed if one follows the instructions to the letter. It is actually based on the method used by Dr. Hovanec who discovered the specific nitrifying bacteria at work in aquariums. However, with his method most folks would need to do diluted testing at some point, My adaptation of his method makes that impossible, In your case it was not so much the excess as something making the colors look odd.
I do not even float the bags except when I have fish going into several tanks. Then I will "float" the bags as a way to sort them. But, I want to get the fish out of the bags ASAP once the bag is opened. However, I rarely buy fish from retail stores. I buy them shipped to me as imports, from breeders from a few hobbyist now and then. Most often fish coming in have been in bags for 24-36 hours and sometimes more. Your are shopping locally so your fish will be in bags for a fairly minimal amount of time. ,
Most acclimation is a myth in that any true adaptation to different conditions takes one to two weeks for the all the physiological components that will change to do so. Fish bagged for a day are in lousy water where ammonia has accumulated as well as CO2. The latter lowers the pH of the water which keeps most of the ammonia in the form of NH$ aka ammonium. Opening the bag klets out the co2 which lets the pH rise which turns some of the ammonium into ammonia NH3 which is highly toxic. The longer the fish are left in such bags the more likely they will suffer from ammonia. This is much worse than their having to deal with any changes in water parameters besides ammonia.
Finally, in research into temperature extremes which kill fish, some studies also wanted to know how to save a fish on the edge of death from water too warm or too cool. What they discovered was that the way to save such fish was to get them back into water in their normal temperature range as fast as possible, No acclimation at all. I should clarify that I am now talking only about fresh water fish, i do not do salt water an I cannot comment on these fish.
I can also tell you a lot of folks will not agree with the above. However, the people who import and have fish regularly shipped to them for resale will mostly tell you the same thing as I have.
As for plants I would like you to visit the site of the worlds largest and oldest suppliers of aquatic plants, Tropica. I have used their fertilizers now for close to 20 years. The have superb information on all things related to planted tanks. The original founder created some of the most popular plants in the hobby. They now produce most of their plants by cloning. The section you want to start with is the one called GUIDE. https://tropica.com/en/
I do not even float the bags except when I have fish going into several tanks. Then I will "float" the bags as a way to sort them. But, I want to get the fish out of the bags ASAP once the bag is opened. However, I rarely buy fish from retail stores. I buy them shipped to me as imports, from breeders from a few hobbyist now and then. Most often fish coming in have been in bags for 24-36 hours and sometimes more. Your are shopping locally so your fish will be in bags for a fairly minimal amount of time. ,
Most acclimation is a myth in that any true adaptation to different conditions takes one to two weeks for the all the physiological components that will change to do so. Fish bagged for a day are in lousy water where ammonia has accumulated as well as CO2. The latter lowers the pH of the water which keeps most of the ammonia in the form of NH$ aka ammonium. Opening the bag klets out the co2 which lets the pH rise which turns some of the ammonium into ammonia NH3 which is highly toxic. The longer the fish are left in such bags the more likely they will suffer from ammonia. This is much worse than their having to deal with any changes in water parameters besides ammonia.
Finally, in research into temperature extremes which kill fish, some studies also wanted to know how to save a fish on the edge of death from water too warm or too cool. What they discovered was that the way to save such fish was to get them back into water in their normal temperature range as fast as possible, No acclimation at all. I should clarify that I am now talking only about fresh water fish, i do not do salt water an I cannot comment on these fish.
I can also tell you a lot of folks will not agree with the above. However, the people who import and have fish regularly shipped to them for resale will mostly tell you the same thing as I have.
As for plants I would like you to visit the site of the worlds largest and oldest suppliers of aquatic plants, Tropica. I have used their fertilizers now for close to 20 years. The have superb information on all things related to planted tanks. The original founder created some of the most popular plants in the hobby. They now produce most of their plants by cloning. The section you want to start with is the one called GUIDE. https://tropica.com/en/
Your stock choice sounds interesting and should make for a lively and fun to watch tank. Some questions though.
I have forgotten what substrate you have in the tank? Larger chunky, sharp stuff isn't the best for corys. They like to sift and root through sand or much smaller grained substrates.
Just throwing some thoughts out there. In my mind, with your stock choice you'll have 4 different feeding styles between the pleco, corys, gourami and tetras in terms of the speed they're able to get at and eat food. All the fish will be fine, but the corys and pleco each have their own feeding needs. A new tank also won't have bio film build up for the pleco to skim on.
I used to feed my corys quality sinking pellet foods
For my BN plecos, I buy those mini pickle sized cucumbers. I peel them and shove a SS fork or big SS screw into them so they'll sink to the bottom. For me with multiple BNs, nothing but the fork or screw remains after a day or two. They come flying right out and squabble over who's gettin' on the pickle first... That didn't sound right.
I have forgotten what substrate you have in the tank? Larger chunky, sharp stuff isn't the best for corys. They like to sift and root through sand or much smaller grained substrates.
Just throwing some thoughts out there. In my mind, with your stock choice you'll have 4 different feeding styles between the pleco, corys, gourami and tetras in terms of the speed they're able to get at and eat food. All the fish will be fine, but the corys and pleco each have their own feeding needs. A new tank also won't have bio film build up for the pleco to skim on.
I used to feed my corys quality sinking pellet foods
For my BN plecos, I buy those mini pickle sized cucumbers. I peel them and shove a SS fork or big SS screw into them so they'll sink to the bottom. For me with multiple BNs, nothing but the fork or screw remains after a day or two. They come flying right out and squabble over who's gettin' on the pickle first... That didn't sound right.
Your stock choice sounds interesting and should make for a lively and fun to watch tank. Some questions though.
I have forgotten what substrate you have in the tank? Larger chunky, sharp stuff isn't the best for corys. They like to sift and root through sand or much smaller grained substrates.
Just throwing some thoughts out there. In my mind, with your stock choice you'll have 4 different feeding styles between the pleco, corys, gourami and tetras in terms of the speed they're able to get at and eat food. All the fish will be fine, but the corys and pleco each have their own feeding needs. A new tank also won't have bio film build up for the pleco to skim on.
I used to feed my corys quality sinking pellet foods
For my BN plecos, I buy those mini pickle sized cucumbers. I peel them and shove a SS fork or big SS screw into them so they'll sink to the bottom. For me with multiple BNs, nothing but the fork or screw remains after a day or two. They come flying right out and squabble over who's gettin' on the pickle first... That didn't sound right.
My substrate is smaller black gravel. The guy here in town says it will be ok with corys. I have flakes, pellets, algea wafers and deied bloodworms. I also planned on cucumbers/green beans for the pleco, snail and corys.
One other question as I finish up my water change. What is all the white film that floats in my tank after a water change? Is that something the fish will eat? Or is that part of the good bacteria or something?
No offence to your guy in town, but my experience is they are generally not accurate on fish keeping advice. They're there to sell you stuff. Gravel is not the best substrate for corys. The more versed cory keepers can give you the details as to why.
In terms of your foods, all that matters is the ingredient list. If the first 3-4 listed ingredients aren't whole protein and plant products, it's generally a very low quality food. Lots of fish foods out there will list grains and fillers in the first 3 ingredients. It's junk.
That film you speak of are generally proteins, oils and tiny solids that coagulate and float to the surface due to the tiny air and CO2 bubbles introduced into the water when you do water changes.
In terms of your foods, all that matters is the ingredient list. If the first 3-4 listed ingredients aren't whole protein and plant products, it's generally a very low quality food. Lots of fish foods out there will list grains and fillers in the first 3 ingredients. It's junk.
That film you speak of are generally proteins, oils and tiny solids that coagulate and float to the surface due to the tiny air and CO2 bubbles introduced into the water when you do water changes.
food is all Xtreme aquatic brand except blood worms are Hikari. Bought them from Aquarium Coop online.
As far as fresh veggies for bn, cucumber is not the best nutritionally speaking. Consider zuchinni instead. Either way if you blanch the veggies or mildly nuke them, they should sink on their own. Do not cook them however. With the green beans , split them open for smaller bn but adults can handly them unopened easily.Another good food is the Repashy gel mixes. Soilent Green for the bn and the corys will love the Bottom Scratcher. You can even mix different types to make your own mix. Hikari algae wafers are a good food as well. Corys will eat them as well as bn.
Corys do better on finer substrates because the food tends to stay near the surface. With larger gravel the food can slip deeper down and the corys damage their barbels trying to get at it. It isn't that there are edges to the sand or gravel but rather they scrape the barbels as they try to get deeper down. This causes the damage. In the wild corys are found on all types of substrate from solid rock to sand with gravels in between.
Ian fuller, one of the world's most respected cory experts will tell you that he uses smooth sand or rounded gravel with a max. size of 1.5 mm and no deeper than about 3/8 of an inch. This lets the corys work right down to the bottom glass digging for food and not damage their barbels. He also uses bare bottom tanks in certain cases. If you want to see some of his expert advice you can find his articles and posts on any decent catfish site. Goggle "corydoras + Ian Fuller"
Corys do better on finer substrates because the food tends to stay near the surface. With larger gravel the food can slip deeper down and the corys damage their barbels trying to get at it. It isn't that there are edges to the sand or gravel but rather they scrape the barbels as they try to get deeper down. This causes the damage. In the wild corys are found on all types of substrate from solid rock to sand with gravels in between.
Ian fuller, one of the world's most respected cory experts will tell you that he uses smooth sand or rounded gravel with a max. size of 1.5 mm and no deeper than about 3/8 of an inch. This lets the corys work right down to the bottom glass digging for food and not damage their barbels. He also uses bare bottom tanks in certain cases. If you want to see some of his expert advice you can find his articles and posts on any decent catfish site. Goggle "corydoras + Ian Fuller"
