I have two dwarf gourami in there now, some java fern and anacharis and I'm thinking of adding the next set. Would some cory's be good for the cycle? (It's a 65g and two gouramis don't exactly fill it up) I would like to go s-l-o-w-l-y and only add what I want to keep long term (tho that changes a lot).
Any comments?
Essentially you want the entirte cycle to estabilish so that all ammonia, all nitrites are consumed. You should at that point show detectable nitrate readings. Once you have reched that point (Usually 4-6 weeks when starting from scratch) then you can add a couple fish, wait a week add a couple more and so on until you are fully stocked. For more information try this link:
Yeah make sure the cycle is completely finished before you add new fish. Also remember to add fish slowly(aka don't fill up the entire tank on one trip to the lfs) as it creates a minicycle.
Yeah, it's in cycle now - but with only the two in there, I'm not sure I've got enough going on to get the cycle going without it taking 3 months! And no, I don't want to use chemicals. That's why I was hoping to add some cory's to the mix. Went to 2 lfs today - not one cory in stock. Go figure. The fish gods must be trying to tell me something.
My preference is go slow. Use the time to finalize what you want for the long haul. No need to stress the fish while getting the full cycle. Do you have any other tanks you could pull media from?
I do have a 55g tank running. It has a few cichlids and a pleco in it. But it recently had a couple deaths, tho they were very new fish. (This is my g/f's tank, btw) Not too willing to take anything from it right now.
Yeah, it's in cycle now - but with only the two in there, I'm not sure I've got enough going on to get the cycle going without it taking 3 months! And no, I don't want to use chemicals. That's why I was hoping to add some cory's to the mix. Went to 2 lfs today - not one cory in stock. Go figure. The fish gods must be trying to tell me something.
The time it takes to cycle will not change with more fish. Extra ammonia does not speed up the process. Wait it out and then add your cories when it's ready. Patience is not easy but it is worth it.
Dave
If you must use fish then I second the danios(zebra)
daveedka is correct..adding more fish won't speed the cycle.
you are just trying to add ammonia in the tank to get the cycle going. once you get ammonia you''ll get bacteria in that will consume the ammonia..then the bacteria to consume the nitrite.once you establish a bacteria colonies...then you can slowly add fish to get the cycle boosted..a small spike is expected but the bacteria will catch up..the big thing is to get the bacteria in the tank.
