Over the past few months I have tried two methods of fish-in cycling and would like to share my experiences.
Tank # 1 - 5 Gallon with a gourami and some black skirt tetras.
One dwarf gourami and 5 black skirt tetras purchased and added to the tank right away. Tank was stocked to full capacity from the start. I tested water parameters TWICE a day and did a 50% water change any time that ammonia or nitrite were above 0.25. During times when my ammonia peaked this sometimes required a 50% water change in the morning AND evening to keep levels down. Once levels were reading well I slowly decreased the water changes to once a day and then to every few days. Will continue 1-2 times a week water changes in this tank because it is so fully stocked. Cons: took a long time, probably 4 weeks or so to completely cycle the tank due to keeping levels so low. LOTS of water changes (although not too difficult on a 5 gallon it would be tons of work on anything larger). Pros: happy healthy fish, a fully cycled tank. No signs of fish distress. I would call this method a success IF you are willing to be extremely dilligent with water changes and have a small enough tank to be able to do such large percentage changes so frequently.
Tank # 2 - 15 Gallon cycling with feeder fish or "suicide fish method"
This tank is nearly finished cycling now, I added 10 feeder goldfish and just let it go. Only changed the water about 30% if ammonia or nitrite levels were through the roof. Had a giant nitrite spike for about 3 days where I did slightly larger water changes and even did a 50% change twice one day simply because I was worried the feeder fish would not make it since nitrites were so incredibly high. Ammonia is minimal now at two weeks after start and nitrites look like they are drastically decreasing - almost finished cycle. BUT now my feeder fish have come down with a nasty case of ich and I am worried about the water quality before adding my "proper fish". Have increased temp to 80 degrees and plan on purchasing ich meds and treating feeders & tank for a good week before I replace the feeders with my actual stock. Some people will definitely have an ethical issue with this method but I wanted to let people know my experiences. Cons: Although I could allow my levels to spike and speed up the cycle significantly this case of ich is going to likely be a huge problem. I want to ensure my tank is safe before I remove the feeders and add my new stock. This will likely set me back an entire week anyways. I wasn't concerned about the longtime health of the feeder fish when exposed to levels but I didn't forsee a huge ich outbreak. (in hindsight it makes complete sense considering how weaked their immune systems must be). Pros: Fast cycle if you DON'T count the ich outbreak. Its been just under two weeks and my tank is pretty much cycled.
My thoughts: I definitely won't cycle with feeder fish again. Although effective the ich outbreak has caused me more hassle than what it is worth. I decided to use this method because it is nearly impossible to find proper ammonia in many cities in Canada, I could NOT find any after looking at all the hardware stores and walmarts. If I ever set up a third tank my method of cycling will depend on the size of the tank. If 15 gallons or small I would definitely fish-in cycle with whatever stock I plan on keeping in there (of course with very strict monitering and water changes). If a future tank is ever larger I would probably look into ordering ammonia online and fishless cycling. I don't like the idea of waiting for the ammonia to ship, but it would probably take as long waiting for fish food to rot and produce ammonia, and would be a lot easier to know how much ammonia was being added to the tank. Just figured I would share my experiences, not saying any method is right or wrong IF it wasn't for the nasty ich outbreak I would definitely recommend cycling with feeder fish since it was SO quick, but now in hindsight I'm pretty sure you would always be at risk of a good case of ich considering how weaked the fish become.
Tank # 1 - 5 Gallon with a gourami and some black skirt tetras.
One dwarf gourami and 5 black skirt tetras purchased and added to the tank right away. Tank was stocked to full capacity from the start. I tested water parameters TWICE a day and did a 50% water change any time that ammonia or nitrite were above 0.25. During times when my ammonia peaked this sometimes required a 50% water change in the morning AND evening to keep levels down. Once levels were reading well I slowly decreased the water changes to once a day and then to every few days. Will continue 1-2 times a week water changes in this tank because it is so fully stocked. Cons: took a long time, probably 4 weeks or so to completely cycle the tank due to keeping levels so low. LOTS of water changes (although not too difficult on a 5 gallon it would be tons of work on anything larger). Pros: happy healthy fish, a fully cycled tank. No signs of fish distress. I would call this method a success IF you are willing to be extremely dilligent with water changes and have a small enough tank to be able to do such large percentage changes so frequently.
Tank # 2 - 15 Gallon cycling with feeder fish or "suicide fish method"
This tank is nearly finished cycling now, I added 10 feeder goldfish and just let it go. Only changed the water about 30% if ammonia or nitrite levels were through the roof. Had a giant nitrite spike for about 3 days where I did slightly larger water changes and even did a 50% change twice one day simply because I was worried the feeder fish would not make it since nitrites were so incredibly high. Ammonia is minimal now at two weeks after start and nitrites look like they are drastically decreasing - almost finished cycle. BUT now my feeder fish have come down with a nasty case of ich and I am worried about the water quality before adding my "proper fish". Have increased temp to 80 degrees and plan on purchasing ich meds and treating feeders & tank for a good week before I replace the feeders with my actual stock. Some people will definitely have an ethical issue with this method but I wanted to let people know my experiences. Cons: Although I could allow my levels to spike and speed up the cycle significantly this case of ich is going to likely be a huge problem. I want to ensure my tank is safe before I remove the feeders and add my new stock. This will likely set me back an entire week anyways. I wasn't concerned about the longtime health of the feeder fish when exposed to levels but I didn't forsee a huge ich outbreak. (in hindsight it makes complete sense considering how weaked their immune systems must be). Pros: Fast cycle if you DON'T count the ich outbreak. Its been just under two weeks and my tank is pretty much cycled.
My thoughts: I definitely won't cycle with feeder fish again. Although effective the ich outbreak has caused me more hassle than what it is worth. I decided to use this method because it is nearly impossible to find proper ammonia in many cities in Canada, I could NOT find any after looking at all the hardware stores and walmarts. If I ever set up a third tank my method of cycling will depend on the size of the tank. If 15 gallons or small I would definitely fish-in cycle with whatever stock I plan on keeping in there (of course with very strict monitering and water changes). If a future tank is ever larger I would probably look into ordering ammonia online and fishless cycling. I don't like the idea of waiting for the ammonia to ship, but it would probably take as long waiting for fish food to rot and produce ammonia, and would be a lot easier to know how much ammonia was being added to the tank. Just figured I would share my experiences, not saying any method is right or wrong IF it wasn't for the nasty ich outbreak I would definitely recommend cycling with feeder fish since it was SO quick, but now in hindsight I'm pretty sure you would always be at risk of a good case of ich considering how weaked the fish become.
/www.drsfoster...fm?pcatid=24530
