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Hello there,

All i really want to know is, is this fish hardy enough to help cycle my 48 uk gallon tank. cheers all.

I would not reccomend it.

There are other options without risking the life of even any fish. Is there a specific reason you feel the need to use a SAE for cycling .

^_^[hr width='40%']
"in any case, chocolate is hardly a rare comodity." said Chaos. "There are planets covered in the stuff"
REALLY?
"Indeed."
IT MIGHT BE BEST, said Death, IF NEWS LIKE THAT DID NOT GET ABOUT. ~ Theif of Time [link=Terry Pratchett]http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]

well its one of the breeds that i want to keep and ive had the tank running for around a week with plenty of plants. so i was just wonderin if it was an idea worth havin.

I wouldnt suggest it simply because I wouldnt consider them among the more hardy fish.

Running with plants likely hasnt given you enough of an ammonia source to start the cycling process. Depending on exactly how planted the tank is will determine how much of an ammonia and nitrIte spike you see.

What are the other species you're considering? One of them may be more sutible.

^_^[hr width='40%']
"in any case, chocolate is hardly a rare comodity." said Chaos. "There are planets covered in the stuff"
REALLY?
"Indeed."
IT MIGHT BE BEST, said Death, IF NEWS LIKE THAT DID NOT GET ABOUT. ~ Theif of Time [link=Terry Pratchett]http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]

possibly some danios. i did read somewhere that live plants help the cycle. But ive got a dozen ambulia which are growing like weeds with some 10 cobomba.

Danios are some of the best for cycling a tank. A small school of 4-5 should get the tank cycled for you.

The only way plants would cause a tank to cycle is if they were dying faster than the ones that are growing can consume the ammonia . You need an ammonia source to start cycling a tank. Ammonia comes from fish (breathing and fish waste) it can also come from decaying food matter.
The idea behind fishless cycling is to use either fish food (which then decays and produces ammonia) or pure (unscented uncolored) ammonia from the drug store and adding that a few drops at a time until the cycle has compleated fully THEN adding fish to the tank.

^_^[hr width='40%']
"in any case, chocolate is hardly a rare comodity." said Chaos. "There are planets covered in the stuff"
REALLY?
"Indeed."
IT MIGHT BE BEST, said Death, IF NEWS LIKE THAT DID NOT GET ABOUT. ~ Theif of Time [link=Terry Pratchett]http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]

allright cheers for that