Keeping tropical fish

The Fish or The Fishless way to Cycle

It is now assumed that you have your tank filled up with water that has a water conditioner in, this will remove the chlorine and other heavy metals within the water which is in the tap water. The filter/s, heater/s and lighting should be running for 2 weeks or so. The lighting should be on to start with for about 10 hours a day, this can be adjusted for more or less as the time goes by; the rest should be on constantly.

You can start off the cycle in 2 ways, by either the Fish Way or the Fishless Way. The Fish Way, is by placing 3 or 4 very hardy fish e.g., Platys or Bards, the amount of fish will depend on the size tank you have. Please remember that when adding your new fish to the tank, take about 20 minutes with the bag open so that your fish can still breath and add a small amount of tank water to the bag and then add some more over a period of 15 minutes so the fish can get use to the new water. Just remember that it is easier to add fish to a tank but it is harder to remove them and find a new home for them. Please don't over crowd your tank, as this will cause problems later on.

The Fishless Way

This article was written by a man who sent it to 'The Tropical Fish Centre', which I am a member of, and I have his permission to use this. It is a great site to use, for any problems that you may or will encounter.

Fishless Cycling

Fishless cycle diary - Just 10 days
Another fishless cycle diary - Just 14 days

When I wrote the article on fishless cycling in January 1999, I had no idea that it would gain popularity on the internet so quickly. What started as a very obscure idea has become a viable alternative for many newcomers and more experienced hobbyists alike, thanks mostly to promotional support from a few individuals who tried the idea out and then recommended it to others.

When I first wrote the article, I had tried this method out on two of my own tanks; since writing it, I've received feedback from literally dozens of individuals, and I now have a much better understanding of the process itself, and some potential pitfalls.

Advantages:
The advantages of this process over the traditional method of cycling a tank using a few small, hardy fish to get the bacterial colonies up and running all result from "front-end loading" the tank. The amount of ammonia added is far above that generated by a reasonable number of cycling fish, resulting in faster growth of the bacterial colonies, and larger colonies when you're finished. In practical terms, this means that your tank cycles faster (reports of anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the fish tank... compared to average of 4-6 weeks for traditionally cycled tanks), and that you can fully stock a tank when the cycle is complete. This latter point is of particular interest to keepers of african cichlids or other aggressive fish. If these fish are all added together as juveniles, they're much more tolerant of each other than if they're added in small groups after the first fish have established their territories. Of course, another big advantage is that no fish are subjected to high ammonia or nitrite concentrations, eliminating mortalities and ammonia/nitrite related illnesses which frequently occur in new tanks.

Alternative Recipe:
While the original recipe works quite well (4-5 drops NH3 / 10 gal / day until nitrite peaks, then reduce to 2-3 drops / 10 gal / day), it does NOT take into account varying concentrations of ammonia that are available. ACS grade ammonia, which I was using, is ~28% NH3, while most household cleaner grades vary from 4-10%, a fairly wide variation in concentration. Bottles that have been left open for long periods of time will be lower in concentration, as the NH3 gas escapes back into the atmosphere. With that in mind, I'd like to propose a different recipe, which was suggested by D_Man and others (thanks!): Add ammonia to the tank initially to obtain a reading on your ammonia kit of ~5 ppm. Record the amount of ammonia that this took, then add that amount daily until the nitrite spikes. Once the nitrite is visible, cut back the daily dose of ammonia to ½ the original volume. One advantage of this method is that the ammonia spike occurs immediately... when adding 4-5 drops/10 gal/day, it could take 4-5 days before the ammonia reaches the same levels. This should result in an acceleration of the entire process, though by how much (on average) remains to be seen.

Sources of Bacteria:
While it is probable that the bacteria required for the conversion of ammonia and nitrite to nitrate exist at very low levels in most uncycled tanks, it greatly accelerates the process to inoculate the tank with a large dose of healthy bacteria to get things started. Good sources of beneficial bacteria are ranked from best to least:
1) Filter material (floss, sponge, biowheel, etc.) from an established, disease free tank.
2) Live Plants (preferrably potted, leave the rockwool on until cycling is finished). Crypts or amazon swords are good choices, and not too demanding.
3) Gravel from an established, disease free tank. (Many lfs will give this away if asked nicely)
4) Other ornaments (driftwood, rocks, etc.) from an established tank.
5) Squeezings from a filter sponge (any lfs should be willing to do this...)
There are also a number of commercial bacterial supplements (Cycle, Stress-Zyme, etc.) available. IMHO, without getting on a soapbox, these have very little to no effect, and are best left on the shelf. If you want to try it, go ahead, but I believe that any of the above options will be more effective, and most if not all of them will be cheaper.

Sources of Ammonia:
The most difficult part of the fishless cycling procedure, according to many postings on the message boards, involves finding a good source of ammonia. Ammonia used should be free of surfactants, perfumes, and colourants. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to ACS grade ammonium hydroxide. Always read the ingredients on the bottle. The best sources for Pure or Clear Ammonia are discount grocery stores or hardware stores. Often, the no-name brand is the stuff you're looking for. Some other people have reported success with the following brand names of ammonia: Top Crest or Whirl Clear Ammonia. To paraphrase RTR: If it doesn't list the ingredients, or say Clear Ammonia (or Pure Ammonia or 100% Ammonia, or Pure Ammonium Hydroxide), then leave it on the shelf and look elsewhere. Shake the bottle if you're not sure about it... ammonia with surfactants will foam, while good ammonia will not.

Water Changes and Ammonia Removing Chemicals:
A large water change (50-70%) should be done before adding any fish to the tank to lower nitrate levels, which can be a pain to bring down later. When changing the water during a fishless cycle, do NOT use dechlorinators that also sequester ammonia, such as the very popular Amquel. I have heard from at least one individual who did everything right with regards to cycling her tank using this method... the tank cycled quickly, then she did a water change, then added a reasonable fishload the following day with more than adequate filtration, and observed both an ammonia and a nitrite spike. The only explanation that I could think of after questioning her extensively led back to the Amquel. In a normal, established fish tank, the ammonia is being generated nearly constantly... in a fishless cycle however, the ammonia is added as a daily dose... IMO, it's concievable (though not really provable unless a lot more people experienced identical problems) that the Amquel temporarily deprived the bacteria of its food source, causing a minor die-back in the colony at the worst possible time... right before adding her fish. To be on the safe side, use a simple chlorine/chloriamine remover which does not affect your ammonia levels.
By similar logic, any other ammonia removing chemicals (eg. Ammo-lock) or resins (Amrid) should also be avoided while cycling... they will affect the cycle, extending it's duration or otherwise adversely affecting the bacterial colonies.

Too Much Ammonia?:
It IS possible to add too much ammonia to the tank (generally several times the amounts suggested in either recipe), as some individuals discovered by mistake (thanks Boozap). What happens in this case is that the ammonia will spike very far off the chart then the nitrite will spike as well (also way off the chart), and it will continue to spike for a very long time. Why? There are a couple of possibilities... the first is that the filter media and surfaces in the tank or oxygen levels are simply insufficient to grow and maintain a bacterial colony massive enough to convert all of the ammonia and all of the nitrite to nitrates. Another likely possibility is that the ammonia levels are high enough to inhibit growth (through a biofeedback mechanism) of the bacteria rather than promoting it. The solution is quite simple, however. If you realize that you've added way too much ammonia simply do a water change, or if necessary a series of water changes to bring the ammonia and/or nitrite levels back into the readable range on your test kit. Then proceed as normal with daily additions of ammonia until the tank is cycled.

Other Uses:
Fishless cycling is also very applicable to hospital/quarantine or fry growout tanks... when not in use, a maintenance dose of ammonia (eg. 2-3 drops/10 gallons) can be added daily to keep the tank cycled and ready for new fish indefinitely. Simply stop the addition the day before you want to buy your fish, take ammonia and nitrite tests to be certain that the levels are still zero, and do a water change to reduce nitrates.

Future of Fishless Cycling:
The future of this method is up to those of you out there that have tried this and like the method. If you do, please continue to promote it, whether on the internet, at your lfs, or at fish club meetings. Feel free to print off this or the original article for education purposes; the more people that know about this method the better. I'd be very happy if lfs caught on to this idea as have fishkeepers on the internet, and recommended it to newbies as a safer, cheaper way to do things. IMO, the number of people that didn't get frustrated in the early stages and thus continued with fishkeeping would make it worth their while. Please continue to give me feedback on the method, or to ask any questions you may have about it.
Written by Chris Cow ccow@dclchem.com
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry

Back to the Tropical Fish Centre

So there it is, you can either do it the simple way, by adding the fish and run the risk of them dieing or you can go the harder way and you won't risk the fish's lives.
If you any need to contact me over the Fish or Fishless way do not hesitate to contact me and I will explain the procedure in more detain. I have done it both ways and there are good points and bad points in doing it either way.

By only adding a few fish at a time then you will not make the mistake that many people do. They add too many fish at one time and wonder why some or most of them die. The biological system in a tank is very fragile and, is needed to be, understood and respected. So putting in a lot of fish in one go will unbalance the system. Things also to remember are, that you buy a fish and it starts off a small size, then in a year or so it gets too big for the tank. This is no good for the fish or you as the fish will either become, ill and die, or aggressive and start on the other smaller fish. I am self, have 3 Bala Sharks (Silver Sharks) some call them. They started off really small, and in 2 years they are 7 inches long. It is a good job I have a large tank. I am looking for a 5-foot tank very soon to house them, as the tank that I have is not big enough really for them.

Walter will be pleased to answer readers fish keeping queries.

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