What Happens If You Don't Cycle A Tank?

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zophie

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Hi everyone,
I'm new here- my name is Zophie- Hi!
I just bought my first Betta Fish, and I was reading up on cycling the tank. I talked to my friend about it, who is a breeder of betta's, and she said that she had her first five fish in un-cycled tanks :/ . She also said that they were all very happy, healthy fish that lived to about 3.
My tank is cycled, but I was just wondering, what will happen if you don't cycle?
I've herd of fish living long, happy lives in un-cycled tanks.

Thankyou,

Zo :wub:
 
if you dont do a fishless cycle a fish in cycle happens so it cycles either way - whether or not the fish survive or not is an other question especially if a fish in cycle tank is maintained properly in the cycle stage with daily water changes.... Some people luck it through but the fish do usually sustain some kind of nerve damage as a result of the high ammonia.
 
The simple way is, imagine a human living in its own waste. They would be unhealthy for starters, it would lead to poisoning and possibly death. You may not notice the poisoning but it can and has happened with lots of fish.

If you're doing a fish-in cycle, just be prepared to do lots of water changes. drawbacks of fish in...slow adding fish, possible poison/death = more likely to have disease, less choice of fish
Fishless cycle, can be long(especially when not aided by mature media).
 
ive done a fish in cycle, its right what the others say about the risks and deaths, but i had a situation where i had to do a fish in cycle im nearly a month into it and i must say my tank is looking amazing and the fish look happy and none stop playing the plants are thriving and looking lush as i type. ive not had a single issue. but thats not to say it wont go aswell for others.
 
Well as a betta breeder she was probably keeping them in unfiltered tanks, in which case they will not cycle. This does work just fine with bettas, not with other fish though. It does require more water changes, like every 2-3 days.
 
The facts are very simple to state. A fishless or fish-in cycle means that you need not worry much about ammonia or nitrites in your tank. If you do not do one or the other cycle methods on your tank, it will rely completely on your maintenance techniques. Betta splendens breeders are notorious for not doing a cycle on their tiny fish containers. That does not mean that they ignore the cycle but that they are willing to do the work involved in maintaining an uncycled container safe for their fish without a cycled tank. What they do instead is a huge water change every few days to keep their fish containers in a condition that has very little ammonia or nitrites present. By doing so, they maintain water chemistry safe for their young bettas.
 

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