New 5 Gallon

[Airbend3r]

Ok well I just bought a 5 gallon tank and have a few questions about cycling it.

1)After setting up the tank how long should I wait before I add the fish that I will be cycling it with?

2)Can I cycle it with guppies?

3)How long should I wait before adding more fish on top of the ones I used to cycle the tank with.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi airbend3r and welcome to the beginners section!

I'm going to attempt to jot down a roadmap off the top of my head:
1) Look for our Beginners Resource Center and begin some "homework" reading of about 5 articles,
these being Nitrogen Cycle, Fishless Cycle, Fish-In Cycle, tank startup by Miss Wiggle, similar by Alien Anna.
2) Describe and review your filter hardware and media with the members here in your thread to be sure you have the best setup for success in your particular tank (perhaps likewise for heater.)
3) Perhaps learn the risks to fish in a fish-in situation, which organs get damaged etc. and the difficulties of the task.
4) Discuss your tank size with the members and understand the limitations, making sure you don't have other options.

Often we find newcomers arrive with little exposure to the somewhat newer concept of "fishless cycling" and will opt for it once they understand what needs to be accomplished in their tank and the pros and cons of different ways to do it. If one has to fish-in cycle, guppies are particularly vulnerable and not usually considered a good choice (which presents problems in a small tank as there will be minimal room for stock (about 5 inches of fishbody will max the tank, five small fish.))

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Airbend3r]

Hi waterdrop, I looked around and finally learned about this fishless cycle ive been hearing so much about and im going to definitely going to use this instead. Ive also decided to get a betta which will be perfectly at home in a 5 gallon