Never had luck with fish food can I do this?

[SwimmingBlueberry]

So I’ve never had a nice smooth cycle with fish food but I have had success with fish. Such as danios. I use prime etc etc and they’ve always survived. I want platys for my 20 gallon will maybe like 3 females be ok in my 20 gallon getting through the cycle? I’m on day 3.

i have some experience with fish in cycles as I said before you basically just need to do some water changes and use seachem prime imo 

[daggaz]

well as long as you are getting roughly the same amount of ammonia produced, its not going to make any real difference.  the trick is going to be knowing how much food to use, which is why if you are going that route, most people end up dosing with controlled amounts of chemical salts.  

[Tony s]

On 6/21/2024 at 6:49 AM, SwimmingBlueberry said:

So I’ve never had a nice smooth cycle with fish food but I have had success with fish

They also make ammonia that you can add directly to the tank. Fritz fuel, and Dr Tim’s also has one. They are more consistent than ghost feeding. Fish in is fine also, but takes a lot of water changes to be safe. You have to keep your parameters in the safe zones. Otherwise you’re affecting the health and longevity of your animals. If you can be consistent with testing and changes, they’ll be fine. 
 

one of the easiest ways to cycle multiple tanks is to keep a spare sponge filter running in another tank. That way you can transfer it to your new tank when you need it. You’re then transferring the cycle with it. I’ve done this twice in the last month. And instantly cycled both new tanks. Also works great for quarantine tanks.

[Whitecloud09]

A fishless cycle is my way to go IMO. It is so much more simple, add ammonia, no water changes pretty much, and just patience. And when i did my first fishless cycle, i was so happy i did. My fish are very healthy! And the tank is doing good as well. Fish in is basically constant water changes. But either one is fine. But a boost for the cycle is a plus.  A sponge filter from a fully established tank is a great way for a boost in your cycle. I like a ammonia in bottle product, so you know relatively how much you are dosing. Dr tims ammonia is my personal fav. But there is others as well. Like fritz fuel like @Tony s mentioned. And agree with @daggaz. 

 

Edited June 21 by Whitecloud09

[lefty o]

imo, do what works for you.

[Tony s]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:16 AM, lefty o said:

imo, do what works for you

Absolutely agree. As long as the animals stay safe. 

[sumplkrum]

Depends on if you're ok with snails, but I've done a couple 'fish-less' cycles by dropping a handful of Ramshorn snails in a new tank and feeding them.
Never had any problems with it and I don't have to worry about fish getting stressed/sick.

[Lennie]

You exactly said it. They survived

It is obvious that ammonia and nitrite is a problem for fish health. You can do it without any harm by going for fishless cycle.

The only reason why you would go for fish in cycle right now is rushing things and risking lives or even if the fish survive, they will be exposed to ammonia and nitrite.

 

I think noone should do fish in cycle except in emergency situations with the current availability of sooo many products

 

The fishkeeping hobby is all about patience. If one is not patient enough to doa fishless cycle, I see the chances of being a long term success is low. Even simply healing a disease, having an established tank, fish breeding, growing, plant care, searching info nonstop, all fish related activities require some degree of patience IMO.

[Whitecloud09]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:16 AM, lefty o said:

imo, do what works for you.

Perfectly said. And like @Tony s said, 

 

On 6/21/2024 at 8:28 AM, Tony s said:

As long as the animals stay safe. 

So important. It is the #1 rule in fishkeeping imo, keep the fish ALIVE, but not just that, healthy. 

[SwimmingBlueberry]

I just read most of the comments and I unfortunately bought 3 platys before I read these comments. I will do everything in my power to keep these girls healthy and happy 

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 6/21/2024 at 6:15 PM, SwimmingBlueberry said:

I just read most of the comments and I unfortunately bought 3 platys before I read these comments. I will do everything in my power to keep these girls healthy and happy 

As long as you keep monitoring ammonia and nitrite, and change water accordingly, you should be alright. You just have a smaller margin of error; you can't slack off on either of those things.  You've got this!

[lefty o]

On 6/21/2024 at 5:15 PM, SwimmingBlueberry said:

I just read most of the comments and I unfortunately bought 3 platys before I read these comments. I will do everything in my power to keep these girls healthy and happy 

you've done it before, it'll be fine this time too!