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Hi..iam soon getting my 150L tank and would like to know if i should cycle the tank with or with out fish in the tank.If i am going to cycle the tank with fish i thught to have some hardy fish..like zebra danios and barbs.What about a bottom feeder?
Any suggestions?
Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

i have cycled new tanks with upsidedown catfish in them..

everything else i have tried died off...
just so you dont go through the mistakes .. here are the ones i tried..

Guppys, Mollys, Swordtails, killifish, Gold nugget plecos, angelfish, and quite a few cichlids...

thats all the fish i have tried after starting 6 new tanks in the past month
the upsidedown catfish was all i got to survive through the cycle... of course i did not use any of that cycle helping stuff either..

The best to cycle with is something like Danios or Rosy Barbs. Danios are good as once it is cycled they are small enough to be eaten so you don`t neccesarilly (spelling) have to catch them and take them back.

I set up my 29gl about a month ago. Started out with no fish for a couple of days, then added a net full of gravel from another established tank... within two days the tank was crystal clear. I then added a pl*co for a about a week, and have added some other fish gradually. Have not had any problems (yet) lol.

Barb

If you are going with the cycling using fish. I would use zebra danio IMO. They are cheap. They are active fish and IMO(in my opinion) are kinda of interesting. I have never done a fishless cycle, but they are lots of articles on the web. do a google search. Personnally I would wait on the pleco untill the tank is established. Most plecos are not cycle hardy. Best to wait for some algae growth.

Last edited by openwater at 29-Oct-2004 16:58

What I would do, in order of preference:

1. If I already have a tank, put an extra filter sponge (or piece of floss) in the old tank's filter for a week or two and transfer it to the new tank. Stock the tank with 1/4 to 1/3 of its final load. That's what I did with my 55, and even with some aggressive increases in stock level, I never had an ammonia problem. Doesn't work well if the tank has a disease in it.

2. Bio-Spira. People who have used it suggest fully-stocking the tank on the first day. I'd do this as first-choice if I were starting a tank of aggressive African cichlids, who don't take kindly to new introductions once they're settled in to territories.

3. As #1, except a friend, or the LFS, gives me the sponge. I'd consider doing this if I had to start over from scratch.

4. Fishy cycling with one or two hardy fish, zebra danios by choice because they're almost hyperactive and fun to watch. I don't ever want to have to do this.

5. Fishless cycling. If I were going to spend six weeks on a road trip to California, I'd do it this way. The best I can say is that it gives you plenty of time to read about aquaria.

The best to cycle with is something like Danios or Rosy Barbs. Danios are good as once it is cycled they are small enough to be eaten so you don`t neccesarilly (spelling) have to catch them and take them back.

It sounds like you are implying that Robby should eat the danios when he's done with them.


Anyway, danios, white clouds, and many other small cyprinids are excellent cycling fish. Some tetras that are also good for cycling are head and tail lights, black skirts, and serpaes. Livebearers, although tradionally thought of as being good cycling fish, actually aren't very hardy. This is because they have been inbred and kept in poor conditions for so many generations that they have very weak immune systems.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I said that as when I cycled my tank I removed them but could easily have left them in there and the BGK or African Butterflyfish would have munched through them

why replacing them at all?
as long you add them one by one, they don't get hurt by the process. i heard of people cycling with everything, from hardy danios, bettas, barbs, tetras, and even plecos and otocincluses.
as long as you add one-two fish at a time, they'll do fine, as the spike will be minimal.
it also prevents too much turmoil in your tank, when fish are fighting for their territories.