Are cycle quick-starters safe for axolotls?

[LSuzuki]

Some people swear by cycle accelerators like Nutrafin Cycle, API Quick Start, Seachem Stability, many (most?) people say they don't work. I don't use them and don't plan to.

However, for educational purposes, are they safe to use when an axolotl is in the tank? If not, why not? Are their any products that are particularly bad for axolotls, and if so, what ingredient is the culprit?

I figure, even if I don't plan to use them, if someone can explain why some products are unsafe, I will be better educated and be less likely to make other mistakes in the future. :happy:

 

[auntiejude]

Its not that they are chemically unsafe for axies, its that people use them and think its a substitute for proper water quality management. Cycling is a long and complex process, and some people think they can bypass the whole thing by using 'magic cycling in a bottle '. They then don't think they have to worry about anything, they get an ammonia spike and their axies get sick.

And theres the problem that they work slower at coldwater temps than tropical. And some that have been in on a shelf in a LFS may be less effective (or completely ineffective) due to age.

 

[keiko]

I've heard that some of those products contain chemicals to keep the bacteria alive and axies react badly to them. But I can't remember which product it was anymore since it was so long ago. Problem is that a lot of aquarium stuff don't list all the ingredients on the bottle so you don't really know what you get.
Haven't used them myself though so no personal experience.

 

[Cacique]

I've used a couple on a few of my tanks, only MicrobeLift Special Blend on my axolotl tank. The other one was Tetra safe start for my other tanks. My tanks seemed to take the average cycling time, and I noticed that the bacteria starters are really just a waste of time.

You do a water change and add it in. Since you're doing a fish-in cycling, you have to change the water whenever the ammonia builds up, because you don't just dump the started in and it's done. You have to use it for a while, so if you're doing the cycling right and changing the water when needed, you'd be pouring in some of that starter with every water change. It seemed incredibly cost-ineffective considering how many water changes you'd be doing. I quickly stopped using what I had; maybe it kick started the cycle or maybe not. Still took several weeks, and I also used a sponge from my axolotl's old tank to seed it as well.

 

[Se]

I was curious on this too since my local pet store uses them in their aquarium tanks. I never thought they were magic in a bottle or anything, but at least when I used it it it seemed to make stabilizing my tank during it's cycling process easier. I forget how much exactly but I was struggling for a while with regular water primer, and then the bacteria helped. But then when I brought it up with someone else here who was asking about tank cycling, and said that it might help but it might not, my post got flagged as a bad one.

I've been super worried ever since about it because of course I don't want to harm my little guys but I also don't want to give bad advice.

So it sounds like it's still fairly up in the air?

 

[Cacique]

I think it's an unknown. Since we don't really know 100% what's in the bottle of bacteria, we don't know if there's anything that could hurt them. Since axies are amphibians, they would be more susceptible to whatever is in it. Then there's the expense, the fact that you don't know if the bacteria is alive or dead in the bottle, and the expense.

IMO, it's just easier to do a fish-less cycle or a proper fish-in cycling. I feel you're wasting too much of that bacteria with so many water changes and having to use so much of it.