Best Fish to Cycle With

[Lasse]

I left my post at "+1" because arguing opinions is really a waste of time.

Both methods work, as proven by several members.

'
That´s true but the first post was however

Looking for options other than Damsels.

Some have answer that question - some have answer another question

Sincerely Lasse

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

'
That´s true but the first post was however

Some have answer that question - some have answer another question

Sincerely Lasse

Correct, I read the first post and I'm aware what others have posted.

 

[DSC reef]

I think given the thread history, it’s pretty clear that using a fish to cycle a tank isn’t a good practice and shouldn’t be something that is recommended. There are far better ways to cycle a tank. Before you put a fish in the tank you should make sure it’s able to process ammonia. It’s not that hard.

Also, the claim that live rock and bottled bacteria will prevent ammonia spikes in all tanks is complete rubbish. There is a thread on R2R right now of someone that used live rock and bottled bacteria and he’s been battling high ammonia in his tank for months. Thank god he didn’t follow your advice and put a fish in his tank before he insured that ammonia was being processed correctly. That fish would be dead right now.

I recommend it and if done properly will not affect the fish negatively. Real live rock and bottled bacteria might not even be necessary. Again, many ways to run a tank, not just your way. If members choose to cycle with a fish or not you need to respect that as I think it's fine to do a fish less cycle. Happy reefing and agree to disagree :D

 

[Paul Sands]

I recommend it and if done properly will not affect the fish negatively. Real live rock and bottled bacteria might not even be necessary. Again, many ways to run a tank, not just your way. If members choose to cycle with a fish or not you need to respect that as I think it's fine to do a fish less cycle. Happy reefing and agree to disagree :D

Agree with that. People can potentially torture fish by putting them in uncycled tanks if they want to be that type of person. However, I’m going to continue to think that is both cruel and unnecessary, which it is.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Jeeze... all these posts on what i thought was a settled process. IMO, Ammonia source+ patience. No fish, no bacteria, no live rock, no anything else. There is one qualifier here though. I think that the process requires for dissolved organics. A little ghost feeding helps if the tank is sterile to start.

 

[bluprntguy]

Jeeze... all these posts on what i thought was a settled process. IMO, Ammonia source+ patience. No fish, no bacteria, no live rock, no anything else. There is one qualifier here though. I think that the process requires for dissolved organics. A little ghost feeding helps if the tank is sterile to start.

Agree with this. Could it be any simpler to insure that your tank is working and able to sustain life before you put a living animal inside it?

 

[DSC reef]

Agree with this. Could it be any simpler to insure that your tank is working and able to sustain life before you put a living animal inside it?

It's actually amazing what real live rock can do also. Mind blown.....

 

[MnFish1]

Jeeze... all these posts on what i thought was a settled process. IMO, Ammonia source+ patience. No fish, no bacteria, no live rock, no anything else. There is one qualifier here though. I think that the process requires for dissolved organics. A little ghost feeding helps if the tank is sterile to start.

Um - if it were a settled process (maybe to Dr. Tim it is - but then again he is making (hopefully) a bunch of money selling his product - which did not work that well in recent testing). The goal of gradually using a fish - plus a bacteria source - whether its in a bottle or a filter - is not speed - its not to jump start - its none of that - as much as it is to merely enjoy your tank and slowly adding fish. There is nothing cruel here, there is nothing mean here.

On the other side, though there are products that suggest that they work (though perhaps they dont) - while waiting weeks to enjoy your tank. I started becoming lost when someone on this site suggested that waiting 3-6 weeks is a good exercise in patience - and another said it could be accomplished in 24 hours.

 

[Gareth elliott]

It's actually amazing what real live rock can do also. Mind blown.....

I miss the availability of live rock.

. Keep meaning to put this in the lagoon behind my house [emoji23]

 

[bluprntguy]

It's actually amazing what real live rock can do also. Mind blown.....

I've used real live rock to set up aquariums. That's not a sure fire way to avoid a cycle.

 

[MnFish1]

I've used real live rock to set up aquariums. That's not a sure fire way to avoid a cycle.

1. define 'a cycle'. 2. define 'live rock'. three yecch

 

[MnFish1]

I've used real live rock to set up aquariums. That's not a sure fire way to avoid a cycle.

BTW I apologize for not defining what I meant..... Live rock - has several definitions.. 30 years ago it meant rock with mushrooms, calcerous algae, various other things on it. Now I think live rock means something completely different - depending on the company from which one is ordering..

 

[MnFish1]

I've used real live rock to set up aquariums. That's not a sure fire way to avoid a cycle.

So - your answer to the OP - is - assumedly - there is no safe fish with which to cycle a tank. Thats great - if you had just answered the OP's stations intiially we could have avoided a ton of debate.

 

[Paul Sands]

It's actually amazing what real live rock can do also. Mind blown.....

This dude used live rock and two months later his ammonia is still at 8.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/8-0-ammonia-for-almost-two-months.604736/page-10

Thank god he didn’t follow your advice and put a fish in there straight away. It would be dead.

 

[Paul Sands]

On the other side, though there are products that suggest that they work (though perhaps they dont) - while waiting weeks to enjoy your tank. I started becoming lost when someone on this site suggested that waiting 3-6 weeks is a good exercise in patience - and another said it could be accomplished in 24 hours.

If you don’t know how well or how fast the products work to control ammonia, perhaps you shouldn’t be recommending that people use them and then plop a fish in the same day.

 

[MnFish1]

This dude used live rock and two months later his ammonia is still at 8.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/8-0-ammonia-for-almost-two-months.604736/page-10

Thank god he didn’t follow your advice and put a fish in there straight away. It would be dead.

Lets report the whole story....

1. An ammonia of 8 ppm is extremly unlikely unless there is a dead thing somewhere
2. see # 1
3. This is the most ridiculous rebuttal - he used sands from muliple sources. second - he had live rock that might have had dying things.

This post alone suggest you have an agenda - and good luck with it

 

[Gareth elliott]

This dude used live rock and two months later his ammonia is still at 8.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/8-0-ammonia-for-almost-two-months.604736/page-10

Thank god he didn’t follow your advice and put a fish in there straight away. It would be dead.

This build is far from typical.

-Used tap water
-how do you keep live sand live with 1000 nautical miles between collection sites with shipping options open to a hobbyist?
-used pieces not pounds to describe rock.
-he is using test strips?

Personally i have used collected fiji rock when collection was still legal and never had ammonia in my tank.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Why do I still see these types of comments in the hobby?

Surely adding a measured ammonia source instead of live animals is just so, so, easy and it works. The science is simple. Ammonia source is cheap and readily available.

Why take the risk? or more precisely why risk the animals welfare? One of the consequences of using live animals is, if it goes wrong or you make a mistake, the animal could be put through extreme stress and even die.

What are the benefits of using a live animal compared to a measured ammonia source? I can not think of any.

What is so difficult about adding ammonia that would make one even consider using a live sample?

We need to get beyond this voodoo concept that all fish based cycling is cruel.

Nothing Voodoo about it, the concept of fishless cycling is just common sense and IMO shows a proper regard for the care of the animals in your charge. If you have animals you have a duty of care. It's just so easy to use an ammonia source , preferably a measured amount. The problem with using live animals to cycle your aquarium is when things go wrong. If you don't have any animals in your tank then there is no problem, just work it out or take your time. Also comparing ammonia to carbon dioxide seems rather bizarre. Why not compare ammonia exposure of your animals to ammonia exposure in your home. That would be a little more accurate. Ammonia is considerably more toxic to both Humans and Fish.

 

[Gareth elliott]

If you don’t know how well or how fast the products work to control ammonia, perhaps you shouldn’t be recommending that people use them and then plop a fish in the same day.

These are biological products; there is no way to guarantee a time frame. As a metaphors this is like saying on the best buy date on your milk is the day its going to spoil. Shopper a leaves on the counter shopper b puts in the fridge. They will not have the same results. Reminds me i have a container of phyto in my fridge i need to throw away before someone else finds it [emoji23]

 

[Gareth elliott]

Why do I still see these types of comments in the hobby?

Surely adding a measured ammonia source instead of live animals is just so, so, easy and it works. The science is simple. Ammonia source is cheap and readily available.

Why take the risk? or more precisely why risk the animals welfare? One of the consequences of using live animals is, if it goes wrong or you make a mistake, the animal could be put through extreme stress and even die.

What are the benefits of using a live animal compared to a measured ammonia source? I can not think of any.

What is so difficult about adding ammonia that would make one even consider using a live sample?



Nothing Voodoo about it, the concept of fishless cycling is just common sense and IMO shows a proper regard for the care of the animals in your charge. If you have animals you have a duty of care. It's just so easy to use an ammonia source , preferably a measured amount. The problem with using live animals to cycle your aquarium is when things go wrong. If you don't have any animals in your tank then there is no problem, just work it out or take your time. Also comparing ammonia to carbon dioxide seems rather bizarre. Why not compare ammonia exposure of your animals to ammonia exposure in your home. That would be a little more accurate. Ammonia is considerably more toxic to both Humans and Fish.

Posts like these help the hobby grow.

We all had that enthusiasm the first time we bought a tank. Mine was when i was in elementary school, bought this tank, put it on my bike handle bars and brought home. There wasnt really internet, sorta but nothing useful was on it lol. I filled with water from my pond added some logs and caught tadpoles, they became frogs. The frogs ended up baking to death since i put the tank outside. But the OP asking the questions, helps themselves and others avoid mistakes like the one i made.

In another handle bar story. Around the same time Found a turtle in the road that was hit by a car and part of its shell was cracked picked up the turtle road it home on my handle bars and had my parents drive it to a rehabilitation zoo that was nearby. To learn i put a snapping turtle on my bike never bit me and they did save it at the zoo lol.