new tank

[laurasmithuk]

am going to do a fish cycle.... when can i put my first fish in? and what fish that hardy is best to start off with?

 

[Saz]

I started with guppies. They're hardy and easy to breed. Neon tetras are also good for a beginner.

 

[SarahBravo]

Why do a fish cycle? Fishless cycling doesn't really take that long, or go for instant cycle and beg/borrow/steal some established filter media!! Where are you, I've got some gunky sponges you can have!

 

[Angel Lady]

You could doing some stealing from other tanks. Mollies are a very hardy fish, also guppies, danios. I cant think of anymore at the moment.

 

[k3vin2k3]

zebra danios and common plecos

 

[boxman]

Care with common pl*cs - they grrrrooooooowww!

I wouldn't bother doing a fish cycle, fishless cycle only took me 2 weeks from start to finish and at least you know you've got it right from the start - I personally think it can be a bit cruel to use fish to cycle a tank - my own opinion and everyone is entitled to theirs!

Molly's are hardy, guppies are cheap - steer away from cories, neons and other tetras like rummy nose / flame tetras, not bettas either.

Keep us informed as to how your getting on!


Good luck whatever you decide to do!

 

[mandi]

What size tank is it?

I'm a fan of fishless cycling myself, but IF you want to do a fish-cycle, then typically I'd reccomend danios, however ONLY if your tank is 20 gallons or larger.

If it's under 20 gallons, I'd go with guppies.

... Keep in mind, if you keep up with your water changes, there's a good chance that your fish will survive the fish-cycle, so make sure they're a fish that you like and will want to keep once the cycle is over OR make sure you can trade them back to the LFS.

Good luck!

 

[Ethos]

I'd recomend 3 danios. 2 Large danios, and 1 zebra danio.....Those were my first fish...and good fish they were...they're retired now, but I think I might just bring em' out of retirment for my 55G cycle...

 

[laurasmithuk]

i am in southampton uk so has anyone got any media i can have? the tank is 96 ltrs so about 20 gallons...... i have read articles on fishless cycling nut am still confused!