Fish folks?

strawberrysmom · 02-15-2013, 11:09 AM

For over a month now I've been doing a fishless cycle for Freshwater and I've finally got nitrite and nitrAte showing up so its almost time for tropical fish!! Anyone else do a fishless cycle for their aquarium and got as giddy as I am when it started creating its bio filter??? Any one currently doing one??

cathface · 02-15-2013, 12:08 PM

hi I'm a fishy person!! not... in the sense that I'm untrustworthy...

embarrassingly with my first fish I jumped in headfirst, and didn't know the least bit. as in my 2 flatmates and I got 3 goldfish in a 16 litre tank without a filter! that's like 4 US gallons.

obviously three died and then the remaining one (mine) continued to pull through and eventually I realised it wasn't a great setup, went on the internet, realised just how wrong I was, and eventually ended up with 4 fancy goldfish in a 40g (the original one was stunted by this point and I kept very much on top of waterchanges so I thought I could push the limits of the '20g for the first, 10g for each subsequent fish' rule). that was after 3 tank upgrades, which was very expensive but worth it in the long run! and with all the tank swaps, the filters/filter media I eventually basically got cycled fish-in.

then when I decided to get a 35l/10g, I just seeded that filter with media from the goldfish tank. so I basically never really went through the magic of fishless cycling, which I can imagine can be a pain! on a fish forum I'm on, I've seen how some people just keep running into problems and I think I'm kind of glad I had something to seed from for my currently only tank (the 35l) haha.

HammieandMerlin · 02-15-2013, 01:35 PM

my best friend is fish crazy haha, she's got two comets in a 75 gallon, as well as female betas in another tank, when she got the 75, it felt like forever before she could finally put the fish in, but it's so much better for the fish in the long run haha

cathface · 02-15-2013, 06:05 PM

I wish I had a place to put a 75 gallon... I'm just waiting for my bf and I to get a place together (probably won't be for at least 2 years!) so I can have a fish room!

strawberrysmom · 02-15-2013, 10:42 PM

It is so worth the wait. And you are doing all the work in the beginning without having to do it with the fish. If you don't do it for the fish to begin with you have to do so much water changes and such so they don't die and even then they are in all that ammonia and nitrite at insane levels they are never going to be that healthy. I didn't know this years ago when I had a tank before. *sigh* I just set a tank up and plopped them in back then.

It seems like it's never going to happen. You wait SO long and nothing... you think - what am I doing wrong? It sounds so easy so what more can I do? Then one day BAM - you have nitrites! Then BAM you quickly get nitrAtes. It's so exciting. I feel like I am part of a science experiment lol!!!!

I'm such a nerd but it's just so exciting for it to happen at your own hand.

I plan to get just basic fishies. Just a school of Danios and a Pleco since I have real driftwood in there and they like to eat little bits of driftwood and some neon tetras. I wanted to risk getting one male beta but then I'd have to have another tank set up as backup in case he didn't get on with the others. I don't have the room! Gerbils, hammies, fish, two kids and two adults and a dog! I am at max capacity lol.

cathface · 02-16-2013, 02:12 AM

if you wanted a betta it's probably best you get him his own tank as it is, since he might see the tetra as a threat, or the tetra might nip on his fins if he's not a plakat! best not to risk it as best case scenario is that your betta will have ugly, nipped fins, and the worst is a few dead tetra.

there's always room!

bettas only really need a 10g, though I know of people having them in 5-6g tanks. I wouldn't really go smaller than that because I think it'd be cruel.

ps. I would love to see pictures of your tank, even if it's still cycling at the moment!

HollyHamster · 02-16-2013, 01:07 PM

I have found that a great method for allowing a male betta fish to coexist peacefully with other fish is to have the other fish placed into the tank first, for a couple of weeks, then introduce the betta. That way, the betta won't become all defensive and territorial over the tank space.

I have successfully gotten a male betta to live peacefully with a male guppy this way. I guess you could say I have a way with fish, or that the betta I had at the time was a special betta.

I wouldn't do this with just any betta though. Halfmoons are your best bet for this sort of thing to work successfully. Crowntails and plakats are just to aggressive to even attempt anything remotely like that.

strawberrysmom · 02-17-2013, 07:23 AM

I will definitely take photos soon!! I just wish I had room for bigger. It's only a 28 gallon bow front so I am not going to put much in there. Maybe about 7 danios (heard odd is better than even) and about 7 tetras. A Pleco of the smallest species of them - I forgot what that one is called. And I would like a snail but I know they prefer a higher pH. So that may be a problem. I had an issue with pH recently. Apparently the pH of the water out of my bathroom tap is much lower than my kitchen so when I did a partial water change recently to keep my cycle from stalling ( and I noticed it sped it up!) I used from the wc tap and lowered my pH. I didn't realize until AFTER I did this of course. So I had to do another pwc so not to stall the cycle with a super low pH ( it was dropping below 6). When everything stabilizes after the last big pwc at the end before I get the fish I will test the pH and determine what the natural pH will rest at.

I know it's best to hAve consistent pH instead of high or low. But also to choose fish based on natural pH of the water. I did add some rinsed aragonite sand to help as a buffer though.

Excuse my babble. I just have no one else who wants to listen to all this nerdy fishy talk lol

I might chance the betta. I hear of mostly success and have heard of and would've added a betta last. It makes sense. They stay near the top and tetras I believe are middle level dwellers so hopefully all is well there as its a tall tank. But I know it could not be good possibly so to chance it I would need to seed another small tank. One I might keep in my bedroom.

strawberrysmom · 02-17-2013, 07:27 AM

Oh! And I plan to get one of those separation things.the plastic tanks that clip on to the inside side of the tank. That would help a betta in a pinch.

Kiki_3173 · 02-17-2013, 07:26 PM

I was reading above & I don't know what kind of snail you plan on getting, but they can get out of hand. They reproduce like crazy and I think (not sure), but most snails have female and male reproductive parts. If you still plan on getting them, you could get some loaches, which will eat them & keep them under control.

I have a small 5 gallon tank in my classroom. I have 2 Neon Tetras, 2 Flame Tetras & 2 loaches. I used to have 3 ghost shrimp, but my loaches ate them