Cycling Using Fish (sorry)

[chad07]

Hi Guys,

Sorry about yet another Cycling post... Ive attempted to do some research and now know the basics (I think lol) but i have a couple of questions

Firstly I think id like to cycle using fish, is this in your expert opinions advisable? I will change my tactics and use fishless if you guys think it would be better.

My tank has had treated tap water in it for a week now, if i go with cycling using fish when should i put the first few fish in and how often does the partial water change need to take place once they have been added?

Secondly ive brought some bog wood (expensive it was as well for a lump of wood ), when would be right time to add it along with some real plants??? (My bogwood has currently been soaking in water for a week)

Finally once these fish have been added and are producing poo etc how long should i leave them before its safe to add some more sensitive fish?? What do Nitrate levels etc need to be?

I think thats it for now. Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[stang1]

It's always best to do a fishless cycle, in my opinion, as it's a lot fairer on the fish.
What size tank do you have? What filter do you have?
You need a test kit that contains the following: PH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Ph varies in tanks but most tend to be around the 7.0 mark (depends also on what fish you wish to keep.)
Ammonia should read 0.
Nitrite shoud read 0.
Nitrate also varies but anything under about 100 will be ok.
Bogwood and plants can be added at anytime, some people prefer to wait for the tank to cycle but others add them whenever.
Water changes should be performed about once a week, about 20% should be fine.
When you first add fish (providing they are small) you should introduce about 5-6 at first. Continue to check your water readings and if after a week they are fine then you can add a few more fish.
It's always best to take your time and do things slowly as you will get a better end result.
Good luck!

 

[chad07]

Thank you for that reply.

My tank size is L=2.5feet W=1foot, its quite deep but i dont know excatly.

As for the filter, its made by interpret and says PF3 near the bottom. What does that mean?

So i should be Ok to add some hardy fish now that the water has been left a week or is that too soon??

Thanks again

 

[blue acara]

fishless cycling is a lot better for the fish, but, if you do decide to cycle with fish choose a hardy fish like the zebra danio or swordtail and dont buy too many or feed too much.
test your water for ammonia (especially in first 4-5 days) and nitrite for the first month. Id do 30-50% water changes every couple of days to keep the nasties at a reasonable level, use a dechlorineator like Tetras aqua safe for the water change water.
only add more fish when your test kits say 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, that is when your tank is cycled-should take about a month.

But pleese do fishless cycling its easier and safer.
hope this helps.
Dave

 

[stang1]

A tank can take anywhere from a week upwards to cycle so you are best checking your water before adding any fish.
The PF3 on your filter just refers to the size of the filter. The higher the number the bigger the capacity of water it will filter. It sounds pretty much spot on for your tank.
If you've got exact measurements of your tank then it'll be easier to work out how many litres/gallons it holds.
What type of fish are you planning on keeping?

 

[chad07]

OK, ill get the exact measurements of my tank...

Im fasinated Angel fish so i definatley want to have one in my tank.... other than that the only other animal that i have decided id like is a couple of African Dwarf frogs as i like them too.

Have you any suggestions of fish that could work well with these?

So just going back to my tank again im thinking of doing the following, please advise of whether its OK.

1. Buy a water test kit
2. Test my water tommorow and if its OK ill add a few hardy fish like the zebra danio just to start the cylcle off
3. Every couple of days do a 30%-50% water change (treated of course)
4. Leave these fish in for as long as it takes for the test kit to read 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite (Testing daily)
5. Add bogwood and plants etc
6. Begin to add more sensitive fish


Thanks for being so helpfull

 

[stang1]

You're definitely best buying the water testing kit first. As for 30-50% water changes every couple of days, I think that's a bit excessive. As long as your water readings are ok, then you only really need to do a water change weekly.
You are probably best adding the bogwood and plants before you add the fish, mainly so you don't disturb them but also because it disturbs the substrate and makes the water a little cloudy.
As far as I know, Angels need an 18" high tank so you may not be able to put any in there. If you have more ideas of other fish then people can help you with the compatibility.
I'm not clued up on Frogs so not sure what needs they have.

 

[chad07]

Ive measured my tank and its exactly 18" high so i think ill have an angel when my tanks cycled .

Right ill be in touch when im selecting some fish.

Thanks alot

Chad

 

[stang1]

Your tank works out at about 28 Gallons so I'd double check with oher members to make sur it's big enough for Angels.
Good luck!

 

[lifebegins]

Hi.

Just to share my experience.....to make you feel better, perhaps?

I have a small 45L orb which whilst it looks stunning, I found out after I had bought it that it limited my fish choice greatly because of the reduced water surface area and the need for quiet fish, not energetic ones!

I bought a lovely bit of bogwood which I soaked for 48 hours before introducing to my water, pre-fish.

And I so desperately wanted to do fishless cycling as I'm a softie and read all the experts on these forums extolling the virtues.

BUT.

Spoke to the LFS experts and they were not at all worried about cycling with fish as long as I picked the right hardy ones and tested regularly and did frequent water changes initially.

THEN within the week, with no fish, the water went green and no amount of water changes had much impact. It was from the wood leaching even though I'd soaked it well.

SO. FIRST TESTS.

I tested the water for pH (mine is 8.00! but when I checked, so is the tap water, the tank of the fish keeping chap in the flat below and the LFS water so I decided not to worry); Ammonia zero (no fish no poo!); Nitrate 10 and nitrite 0.1.

All seemed fine enough so I took the plunge and introduced three zebra danios.

A week later in came three rosy fin tetras and two dwarf neon rainbow fish.

Three weeks after the wood went in, I got fed up with the colour took the original wood back to the shop and swapped it for a new bit.

SO HOW DID THEY GET ON?

The danios have driven the others nuts - they're way too zippy! so they have gone to the fishkeeping chap downstairs.

Testing with water changes 20 - 30% every 4 or 5 days has kept levels ok (the test kit will give you the levels and what to do) and most of all, no dead fish.

So from one real 'virgin' newbie to another, my key was: frequent testing and water changes, trying to choose the right compatible fish (less successful with that!).

And I get so much pleasure....I call them my boys!

 

[chad07]

"Your tank works out at about 28 Gallons so I'd double check with oher members to make sur it's big enough for Angels"


Does anybody know if 28 gallons is big enough for angels??

 

[lifebegins]

Hi.

I'm a newbie as above, but I have a good book!

It advises this about Angelfish:

"Provide open water in the centre with broadleaved plants such as Amazon swordplants and thickets of vallisneria at the sides and back. Add some low growing plants in the centre.

Mnimum 3-4 in the aquarium, As youngsters they are peaceful, although if two pair off you can keep just these two as they become very dominant - although not causing actual bodily harm.

Adults grows to 6 ins excluding the tail [so you can work out the maths using the rule about an inch of adult fish per gallon from this - or use the 12 sq inches of surface water per inch of adult fish. The book says minimum tank size 36ins but this is with a 12ins deep tank, so I think you'll be fine.]

Only keep Angelfish with fish they cannot eat. A half grown angel will eat small neons! Do not overfeed - they are very greedy!"

As I say, it's only in the book, I haven't had angels and people who have angels may say different, so hopefully you will get some useful comments on this brief summary.

One thing I would ask everyone is how hardy are angels ie how soon can they be introduced to a new tank?

Another plan you may need is that if you cycle with danios (as I did a week after setting the tank up with no problem) you may need to have a different home for them when you put the angels in as they might get to be lunch!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

your tanks needs to be mature before adding angels, so after you've finished cycling, wait 6 months if you've no diseases or problems in thos 6 months then you can add some angels. the tank won't be able to support them before then. Gives you plenty of time to do your research though.

 

[starsatnight]

this is a wonderful thread with a lot of great information for a newbie, such as myself. i'm attempting a fishless cycle and have been testing ammonia daily & always having a reading of 0.0 - 0.6. i keep waiting for the spikes everyone refers to. but it makes sense that no fish = no poo = no ammonia. guess it's off to the store to buy a bottle of ammonia!

 

[Amunet]

If you can't find ammonia, you could try getting a chunk of raw shrimp or a chunk of raw fish (the kind we eat).. and throw it into the tank and let it decay.
I haven't personally tryed this, but from what I've read, this is another alternative to cycling a tank fishless.