Nnnnnnnooooooooooo!

[stang1]

Have people give you giftcards to the petshop for your birthday...

That's a great idea!

 

[@ombomb]

well thank god your opinion isn't law then...

well i have plans to do something about that

 

[Matty P]

Yeh i've had birthday giftcards before

 

[GRJ]

I sympathise mate, i have done a cycle fish in and its taken 2 and a half months, but its a great feeling when it finally cycles. I dont advocate doing it this way though as apart from the stress it causes to the fish, its very, very hard work with water changes and testing! Its a full time job and if you cant commit the time, have patience with the fishless cycle. If you do choose to use a few hardy fish, use something like zebra danios or platys, they are interesting to see and have great characters. Dont just use them to cycle though, i used them as they are what i wanted to have in my tank anyway. I do know how frustrating it is but believe me the feeling at cycle end is intense! Also, if you do get a few fish, dont add any more untill you have zero's and then only a few fish, 2-3 evry 14 days, checking your stats. If you want any info on what i had to go through, dont hesitate to send me a PM. Good luck whatever you do. HTH GRJ

 

[Slufa111]

lets stop the "comparsions" because they arent making sense. Boils down to, if you want your fish to live in a less stressful environment and more likihood of living then do a fishless. If not, doing a fish cycle is at your own risk.

 

[@ombomb]

If not, doing a fish cycle is at your own risk.

i'd say it was at the fishes' risk

 

[Colonel Mustard]

i never cycle

doing a planned cycle is a really good idea

 

[squarefish]

Patience is the word here - some things take time to do properly

 

[chishnfips]

@tombomb I think you should lighten up, orange shark is only 15 and maybe doesn't have the experience you do at the age of what 29. If you want to be constructive help him out, dont ridicule him otherwise he'll do what he wants anyway. (which it looks like he is doing)

Orange shark: cycling with fish does without a doubt harm the fish, and patience is what is needed here, but in saying that it doesn't mean you cant do it, (although we would all reccomend that you dont). However if you are going to do it, be prepared that you'll maybe lose some fish and possibly cause more problems for the tank and put yourself back to square one, just keep the water changes up, do like 50% everyday to reduce the amount of amonia in the tank as much as possible until the filter can catch up, maybe use some supplements that boost your biological filter, like stress coat and stress zyme they will also help reduce the stress for the fish. Certain fish just wont cope with a fishless cycle and some others are a lot more hardy. Also remember not to clean the filter with tap water.

Just out of curiousity, how did you start your cycle, you dont want to be adding too much amonia for the filter handle straight away that might be the reason for it taking so long. When I did my cycle I added fish flakes every day for the first three days. the amonia slowly built up once the food began to rot and eventually after two weeks the tank was cycled,. After that you can build the stocking up in your tank gradually so the filter can cope.


chish

 

[orange shark]

14

i put ammonia in the tank

 

[chishnfips]

lol sorry 14,

how much and how often did you put inthe amonia, do you know what your amonia and nitrite readings are? It would help to see how your tank is doing. Then you be able to see how much longer it may take

cheers

 

[orange shark]

Ive put it in once because its not dropped to 0 yet. I dont know my ammonia now ive not tested it

 

[chishnfips]

Did you put alot of amonia in? or just enough to start a cycle?

 

[@ombomb]

@tombomb I think you should lighten up, orange shark is only 15 and maybe doesn't have the experience you do at the age of what 29. If you want to be constructive help him out, dont ridicule him otherwise he'll do what he wants anyway. (which it looks like he is doing)

If you'd like to point out where I have ridiculed anyone in this topic, feel free.

Personally I find the "I'm bored of doing it the right way so I'll do it this way instead attitude" disgusting, particularly as this is someone who clearly knows that doing a fished cycle is not required. One of the main problems with this forum (IMO of course) is that so many of the users are too willing to make excuses for their actions and the actions of others despite the fact that they have been around long enough to read about the better more ethical methods which are an option.

 

[pieman]

In my second tank, I put plants in whilst cycling (which i didn't do with the first), and I found that it cycled alot faster.

If you do get plants, make sure you read up on what your getting, order them online from a store with lots of information as opposed to lfs which often sell plants which aren't suited for tropical tanks. Anyways yeah, make sure you get an easy to care for selection that suits your pH and such if you are buying them, otherwise you will end up with alot of algae and your tank will not be pritty.