Bioload Of 4 White Clouds Vs 3 Black Skirt Tetras

[serbusfish]

Just out of interest would the bioload of 4 white cloud mountain minnows be roughly the same as the bioload of 3 black skirt tetras?

The reason I ask is im currently cycling with 4 black skirt tetras and 4 white clouds, and to be honest im not really keen on the white clouds so figured I could swap them out and up my school of black skirts and not hinder my cycle. Would this work ok?

 

[lloyd]

It depends on the size of the fish but the difference of one small fish wont make any difference.

Theres a few problems with what your doing though. You should never cycle a tank with fish, its cruel on many levels. \T|he sizes of your two shoals are to small, you need at least 8-10 minimum of each species. also mountain minnows prefer much colder and faster flowing water than your black skirts.

 

[Mikey1]

no noticeable difference,

kind of like asking if there are 100,000 hairs on my head or 100,001 hairs on my head

 

[serbusfish]

It depends on the size of the fish but the difference of one small fish wont make any difference.

Theres a few problems with what your doing though. You should never cycle a tank with fish, its cruel on many levels. \T|he sizes of your two shoals are to small, you need at least 8-10 minimum of each species. also mountain minnows prefer much colder and faster flowing water than your black skirts.

Ok thats great, might have to go through with it then.

Obviously I know cycling without fish is the ideal method, I however received bad advice from a LFS so im just getting on with it, im in the Nitrite phase so hopefully i'll be done soon.

The minimum for Black Skirts is 5/6 not 8/10, the same goes for the minnows. I had 5 minnows but one has disappeared, no idea what happened to it but I cant find it anywhere in the tank. Also they are ok up to 25'c and my tank is at 24'c.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

With black skirts and many other tetra, the more the merrier. There are differing opinions regarding how many, but in smaller numbers they can get a bit nippy. In larger numbers, they behave much better.


As for the temperature for the mountain minnows, they can handle higher temps, but generally for brief periods. They are mountain fish, meaning higher elevations and colder streams/rivers as the snow melts. They generally prefer much colder water, although they can survive brief periods at higher temperatures. Its similar to goldfish. They are also "cold" water fish, but can survive warmer temps. But, the warmer water increases their metabolism, and their lifespans are greatly reduced from 20+ years down to just a few.

In my opinion, your absolute BEST move would be to return the minnows and replace them with the black skirts... Or better yet, try to just return the minnows and wait to get the black skirts until the cycle is finished. Then add the extra black skirts.

 

[serbusfish]

In my opinion, your absolute BEST move would be to return the minnows and replace them with the black skirts... Or better yet, try to just return the minnows and wait to get the black skirts until the cycle is finished. Then add the extra black skirts.

Well the reason I wanted to swap the minnows for more black skirts was so the waste production was the same, wont the cycle take longer with only 4 fish? But yeah I think I will be taking them back, whether I pick up more black skirts or not remains to be seen.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Not exactly. Your filter is only ever "cycled" for the bioload on it. So, I smaller bioload would cycle faster than a larger one. It would be safer for the fish with a smaller bioload, and let the cycle finish with just those fish. Wait 3 weeks after the cycle is complete, and then add them. By that time the biofilter should be mature enough to quickly grow to match the bioload, and will come up double zeros in a few days...

 

[lloyd]

It depends on the size of the fish but the difference of one small fish wont make any difference.

Theres a few problems with what your doing though. You should never cycle a tank with fish, its cruel on many levels. \T|he sizes of your two shoals are to small, you need at least 8-10 minimum of each species. also mountain minnows prefer much colder and faster flowing water than your black skirts.

Ok thats great, might have to go through with it then.

Obviously I know cycling without fish is the ideal method, I however received bad advice from a LFS so im just getting on with it, im in the Nitrite phase so hopefully i'll be done soon.

The minimum for Black Skirts is 5/6 not 8/10, the same goes for the minnows. I had 5 minnows but one has disappeared, no idea what happened to it but I cant find it anywhere in the tank. Also they are ok up to 25'c and my tank is at 24'c.

Black skirts can be nippy so you really will be better off with more than 5-6. you wuld never find a wild school of 5-6 black skirts or mountain minnows in the wild, youd be closer to the number if you times by 10. its good that your trying to ort your tank out though, i dont know how lfs's get away with giving such bad advice

Not exactly. Your filter is only ever "cycled" for the bioload on it. So, I smaller bioload would cycle faster than a larger one. It would be safer for the fish with a smaller bioload, and let the cycle finish with just those fish. Wait 3 weeks after the cycle is complete, and then add them. By that time the biofilter should be mature enough to quickly grow to match the bioload, and will come up double zeros in a few days...

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