Use pleco to cycle a 55g tank?

L

lscall

AC Members
Mar 22, 2005
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Maybe a stupid question(s) but want to do this right...I am having to restart a tank due to bad advice on treating a Parrot Fish (see other post - Help - Water going downhill).

- Can I use a large (10") pleco to start a tank? I lost a Green Terror and Texas Cichlid, but have a Blood Purple Parrot, Firemouth and Purple Chocolate in small hospital tank.

The pleco is in the poor water (do not have large enough hospital tank), was going to empty, clean and rebuild the tank this evening.

- Where can I get sand vs. the fish store rocks to setup the new tank?

- Of the three remaining fish, once the tank is running for a week or two...Which would be a good/hardy fish to introduce into new tank water with pleco?

Thanks for everyone's help!!!!
 
Take the time and do it with amonia.

Do they still make that stuff called "Bio...?" Crap,forgot the name. It says that it will cycle the tank in 24 hours? That might work.
 
You could also, take a filter from a cycled tank and rib it in the tank you want to cycle. It would put a bunch of the bactieria in the water. I tried it and it cycled my tank in less than a day. Its just a really dirty way of doing it.
 
sounds like you dont have any option but to cycle with the pleco if you dont have a large enough hospital/quarentine tank. I would go with bowes idea of using the old filter from the quarantine and any substrate can be moved over as well all this will have the bacteria you need. If you have to put the plec in straight away just keep an eye on the perameters and do frequent heavy water changes where nesasary. as for stocking after that, it depends on your tanksize as to ow much fish load it can take at a time, the smaller the tank the larger the shock of adding a load of large fish! but if you add the filter from an existing tank it should cycle very quicky and you should be able to refill it pretty soon.
 
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