Re: New tank and fish
#10
Quote:
Now I have to "cycle" it. What happened to putting fish in water and just watching them swim around.
I think the shop meant maybe some hardy species to speed up the cycleing i did this with some excess platys i had but it is cruel and means the gills etc maybe damaged due to the high nitrites, some fish can survive the process esp if like me you do water change daily to minimize the damage, that way along with old sponges, food, prawns and old water from the other tank, the filter matures much faster, by the way i still have the platys, i think i lost one about a month ago, but the best way is to just set it up and basically leave it alone,( oh i added cycle as well, which is live bacteria and also speeds things up, ) add cycle, if u have another tank or a friend does then plants and gravel from that tank, replace a sponge in that filter and stick the old one in the tank, or your filter if it fits, add live bacteria and a pinch of fish food, some frozen prawns as well (make sure to take them out after a few days)
after a week or two you can add a very hardy fish, or a friends, some shops let u borrow a couple of fish, and then replace them with what u really want, and it should be ready in a couple of weeks, di