Fish-in cycle

[Jaybfish]

Hello..everyone...im a newbie of course...and im wondering are danios good for fish in cycle?....my future plans are ti have 5 danios and 1 male gourami in a well planted 10 gallon

[Eric R]

@Jaybfish Is there a reason that you want to do a fish-in cycle instead of a fishless cycle?

[Patrick_G]

Aquarium Coop recommends one fish per ten gallons for a fish in cycle. Add a bunch of fast growing plants and you should be good to go, but make sure to test the water every day. 

[lefty o]

ill be the other view point, i personally dont care for the idea of putting ammonia in a fish tank on purpose. get yourself some fritzyme7 or fluval cycle, or a seeded filter from an established tank, and have at it. set the tank up, treat your tap water as needed, add bacteria , either from a bottle or seeded filter, or both. give the tank a few hours for the temp to stabilize, and add a couple of fish. something like a zebra danio is great. they are hardy fish. add a couple fish, give it a few days, add more, repeat as needed. over a few decades, and untold amount of aquariums ive set up for myself and others, i have never done a fishless cycle, and have rarely lost fish. imo fish in, with a bacteria starter is much easier than fishless.

[Ken]

3 hours ago, Jaybfish said:

Hello..everyone...im a newbie of course...and im wondering are danios good for fish in cycle?....my future plans are ti have 5 danios and 1 male gourami in a well planted 10 gallon

Get the planted tank part done first, give it a week or two, then put in the Danios. Once the plants are in and recovering from being transplanted the whole process is much easier.

[lefty o]

8 hours ago, BIG GREEN said:

@lefty oThe ammonia is the  fish pee, poop and other waste that breaks down in the tank that will start the cycle

Everyone has their ways of doing stuff ,I'm here to just say there is way of cycling your tank with out putting the fish at risk.

Good luck  with what way you chose to do it

 

yes i know, that is a natural product of the animals kept in the aquarium. its the ammonia from a bottle that does not come from the tanks own inhabitants i dont like. but for those who prefer the fishless cycle, its your tank, do with it as you want. i just offered another way of doing it mainly because you posted "just dont do a fish in cycle". if things work, either way can work out just fine, but i see more people struggle with the fishless cycle.

[laritheloud]

There are ways to safely cycle with fish, especially with a planted tank. Just do it smart, take it slow, and add only a few fish at a time along with bacteria starter. Dose prime as necessary and change the water as needed. I chose to cycle fishlessly, but all of that kind of went out the window when I set back my cycle with an antibiotic treatment and had to do a fish-in cycle anyway.

@Jaybfish lefty o and Ken both have great advice. Start with your plants. Get some bacteria bottles, have them ready. Keep Seachem Prime closeby for any emergency detoxifying for ammonia/nitrite. Monitor your water parameters as you go and don't add more than one or two fish every week or two. Establishing plants first will help the cycle tremendously. Good luck!

[Maximus297759]

Just use seachem prime everyday it’s safe your tank will cycle so buy your fish doesn’t matter. 1 dose every 24 hours or your fish die. 
or wait if you like add some fish food or ammonia and complete your cycle. 
Most fish places give 30 day return so whatever.  Just return ones die with some bottle water so samples perfect and get a new one. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Maximus297759