How long without food?

[dafishman]

No, not the fish. How long can bacteria live without their ammonia/nitrites?

See, I'm trying to get a tank set up to take my multies that will be coming in the mail. Have established filter media I can use, but if the fish show up when I'm not around, I want the process to be as simple as possible for whoever is home to be able to deal with them. So I'd like to put my filter in beforehand, and get the heater in there as well and get the tank up to temp. I pretty much just want to leave instructions on how to acclimate the fish without having to explain the steps for getting the filter running without burning it out, making sure they don't break the heater by turning it on too soon, et cetera.

The fish are being shipped Monday. Would the bacteria survive if I put the filter in first thing Tuesday morning, assuming the fish show up that day?

 

[roscoe70]

You might search the forum, I do know that some use a fish less cycle to establish the bacteria using food, shrimp or other food, or even ammonia, I believe. I would think they could last a day or two without fish, especially if starting with a light bio-load in the tank. Good luck.

 

[jetajockey]

Bacteria are more resilient than people give them credit for, they've been around for a LONG time and had plenty of time for refinement.

That being said, they adapt to their environment, and will be just fine. I've had a tank go through a minicycle after being left without stock for several weeks, but even then it didn't take much to balance out again.

I bought one tank that came with a bucket of sand, the sand had been in a bucket for over a week, barely damp, the tank was completely dry also for over a week. I set it up, stocked it, and it never once had an ammonia or nitrite spike.

I think the most important thing is that you test the water frequently and do water changes as needed, until you are certain it is good to go.

 

[nzmolina]

I usually do fishless cycles. And from my experience I've only stopped putting ammonia in my tank a day before. But I keep an ammonia reader in my tank, what I do is shoot ammonia into my tank with a spray bottle(marked only for ammonia). And if my bacteria remove all ammonia and nitrites within a period of a 8 hours I know It's ready. Once this is done I buy my fish. Hope this helps you

 

[Mgamer20o0]

No, not the fish. How long can bacteria live without their ammonia/nitrites?

See, I'm trying to get a tank set up to take my multies that will be coming in the mail. Have established filter media I can use, but if the fish show up when I'm not around, I want the process to be as simple as possible for whoever is home to be able to deal with them. So I'd like to put my filter in beforehand, and get the heater in there as well and get the tank up to temp. I pretty much just want to leave instructions on how to acclimate the fish without having to explain the steps for getting the filter running without burning it out, making sure they don't break the heater by turning it on too soon, et cetera.

The fish are being shipped Monday. Would the bacteria survive if I put the filter in first thing Tuesday morning, assuming the fish show up that day?

should be fine though i would just have them put them in the tank and when you get home movie the media over.

 

[RazzleFish]

Recent studies have shown that the bacteria needed for a tank can live (as a population) as long as 6 months without ammonia as long as they stay wet. While the population will decline the dying bactera will offer food for the rest of the colony until a more constant supply can be added (fish, shrimp etc.).

It will be fine for the time being if you run the filter and heater before the fish come.