[CrazyCory]

Hi Folks, what fish do you put in a tank in cycling process? I normally use regular White Cloud Mountain Minnow (Tanichthys albonubes). They are very hardy, not expensive, and not bad looking at all.

 

[Guy]

Why do you need to use a live fish to cycle? Can't you just add fish food as a source of ammonia?

 

[lauraleellbp]

The best fish for cycling is a dead cocktail shrimp.

Fishless cycling FTW!

 

[smp]

A couple of feeder goldfish

 

[CrazyCory]

The best fish for cycling is a dead cocktail shrimp.

Fishless cycling FTW!

???:confused1: you mean the cooked shrimp sold in frozen bags? How do you use that?

 

[CrazyCory]

A couple of feeder goldfish

IMO, goldfish messes with my plants. For a newly planted tank they can cause a mess.

 

[lauraleellbp]

???:confused1: you mean the cooked shrimp sold in frozen bags? How do you use that?

Yup.

Throw it in the tank and let it decompose. It provides all the ammonia you need to cycle the tank. Just watch the water parameters and let the tank cycle as normal. When the tank is done cycling, if there's any left you just toss it out, do your normal water changes to bring the nitrates back down, and add fish.

Can't get much easier to cycle a big tank... unless you can bring over and established filter/media.

This way, no fish are stressed or harmed in the process.

 

[Lamar]

I agree with fishless cycling, however, I use ammonia (without surfactants).

 

[CrazyCory]

interesting! :icon_smil

I'll try this for the next tank. BTW, how many shrimps per 10 gallons of water? Does the shrimp size matter? I have 31/40 and 71/90 cooked shrimps in my freezer.:smile:

Yup.

Throw it in the tank and let it decompose. It provides all the ammonia you need to cycle the tank. Just watch the water parameters and let the tank cycle as normal. When the tank is done cycling, if there's any left you just toss it out, do your normal water changes to bring the nitrates back down, and add fish.

Can't get much easier to cycle a big tank... unless you can bring over and established filter/media.

This way, no fish are stressed or harmed in the process.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Seachem Stability works for me.

 

[Karackle]

I'm definitely a fan of using filter media from an established tank, stuffing the tank full of fast growing stems and aiming for a "silent cycle". Then I get to have fish right away but without stressing them Of course, you have to have an established tank to borrow media from, and you do still have to keep an eye on parameters so that you can do a quick water change if the ammonia starts getting too high, don't want to stress the poor fishies!

 

[lauraleellbp]

The "rule of thumb" is one (small) shrimp per 10gal water.

 

[daFrimpster]

+1 for SeaChem Stability. I have used it with fresh and saltwater with no fish losses or stress. Fish can be added immediately.

 

[gnomemagi]

I fishless cycle with ammonia, like a poster above.

Add the ammonia gradually to bring up to 3ppm, and keep it that value daily until I start seeing nitrites on my test kit. Keep the ammonia up until their are some nitrates visible, then stop adding ammonia and add my fish. ^_^

 

[Church]

Usually fishless cycling, but sometimes when in a hurry, or for other random reasons, I will use whatever the cheapest tetras at the moment are. I've used bloodfin tetras, glowlight tetras, black neons, and rummynose, all with extreme success. As long as you are doing an EI-dosed tank, you'll be keeping up with the weekly water changes, so the fish should all survive.