WHATT? Does everyone kill guppies or use bacteria to cycle the tank and to deal with unexpected peaks in ammonia and nitrite?

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sheena22

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:confused:I am really shocked, i have read numerous posts on how people use guppies to cycle their tank! 1.) how very cruel. And 2.) WHY when you can get natural bacteria already grown in a bottle and you add the same amount everyday for a certain amount of weeks until the bacteria is established in the filter and the tank has matured!

If you have a sudden crippling rise of ammonia or nitrite that is harming your axolotl, simply just doing a massive water change isnt going to help because the problem is the waste is not being broken down properly so theres not enough beneficial bacterium growing in the tank and the filter, so you need to do little change and add bacteria to help cope with the sudden changes.

I do this with both my fish and axolotls, one day the water in my big fish tank was high in nitrite to the point it was toxic relative to PH levels, and the fish could of died if i had left it which i wouldnt have done, did a little water change about 10-20 if that, and added the bacteria and BAM over night it had gone down considerably had not done much no effort required at all really.

I hate to sound like I am a snob or stuck up here, but its the way ive learnt to care for my fish/axolotls never had any problems with it. no harmful chemicals, so why is there not a thread on here for cycling a tank and how to cope with dips in ammonia and nitrite?

And I hate the idea of making fish suffer just to create a nice tank for an axolotl, when i can use a bottle of bacteria.

Its like me using an axolotl to cycle a tank for my guppies i just would not do it!

Also I hate to sound all like my advice is the best blah blah because i know everyone has different methods, but my partner is a specialist at an aquatics centre and if anyone needs any advice or anything I can give you their number even if its not for axolotls if its for any fishy matter it will be fine to give them a call.

I expect to get a lot of threads back saying opposite stuff to what i am saying , I will listen say what you say and i will not get offended.

Hope this hasnt offended anyone but i saw a gap in the site and thought it may be helpful to see what we can do to keep helping each other so that our axies live as long as possible and our fishies :)

Sheena xx
 
I have used fish to help cycle a tank....no fish where hurt. Its the ammonia that they produce that helps with the cycling of a tank. I have also cycled tanks with axolotl in it. You have to be very aware of your water parameters however when you do it. The purpose of cycling a tank with an animal in it is not for the animal to be killed, or to suffer.
The bacteria in a bottle however are generally not very effective, the bacteria tends to die off very quickly once bottled.
 
The bacteria in a bottle however are generally not very effective, the bacteria tends to die off very quickly once bottled.

Yes...that is why I never buy that stuff. I use dead things like raw table shrimp or fish foods of some kind OR I cycle with my animals in, monitor the parameters, and keep up with the water changes till stable. That doe not harm the animals. It harms animals when you do a cycle and let the toxins reach dangerous levels.
 
I understand that, i just see it as a very risky method of going about cycling a tank.

The bacteria i use is the best one on the market that i know of and contains a lot of bacteria they did tests on it and everything and emailed them to the shop in a leaflet type thing.

If anyone is interested it is called Niteout and its a very good method.

I cycle tanks myself for a week or more with fresh dechlorinated water filter turned on use some of this gloopy stuff which i have forgotten the name of ( i will find out if anyone is interested :) ) and it basically creates more of a surface area for the bacteria to live on, and i put in the required amount in my tank everyday for as long as it says, then once a week or whenever i decide to clean them out and i never have any problems, myself i have always found axies are very clean compared to my fish,

i have carps and goldfish the most messy creatures, but I just got this new gravel from pets at home because they kept getting bits stuck and still do with the smaller stuff and its amazing really great surface area for bacteria to grow on my tank has never been so clean!

Id hate to risk a life in order to cycle a tank, becase ammonia and nitrite can get out of hand very quickly so NITOUT FOR THE WIN FOR ME :D seriously its a life saver ;)
 
I have used bottled bacteria and it has literally done NOTHING to help cycle my tanks. I have used a couple of different brands as well and none of them have had any noticeable effects. In fact, I believe the more bottled things used in a new tank probably just messes with water quality even further which makes things worse...

I cycled my tank with my axolotls in it, I closely monitored my water parameters - and I mean closely, I checked the ammonia twice a day, at least - and my axolotls seemed fine and content the whole time, they never sat near the surface gasping for air and always ate their meals. When I did experience a spike in ammonia I immediately removed them from the tank into tubs and changed their water 100% everyday until the tank was at safe levels (it was fully cycled in about 3-4 days after this spike).

I never had any intention to harm my axolotls in any way whatsoever. I was a complete aquatic novice when I got my axolotls and did not know anything about the nitrogen cycle, which is the reason I cycled my tank this way and I believe the reason a lot of people end up having to cycle their tanks like this.
 
Im talking about a bacteria called Nite out lizzy until you have used it your faith will not be restored in bottled bacteria, yes i have used lots of rubbish ones but im not talking about them im talking about niteout. And I wasnt talking about people like you and bellaboo who monitor carefully i have heard of disasters on here where people keep putting the guppies in and keep killing them so i thought instead of a danger of harming fish/axolotls maybe start a thread about bacteria, but no-one seems to listen to my view or even try it.
 
Aquarium Bacteria Additives: Microbe-Lift Nite-Out II by Ecological Labs

This says a little bit about the types of bacteria that are in the bottle nitrobacter etc which will occur in your tank from cycling it the way you have done it .

I know you guys are saying yep this is the way for me, but i couldnt do it myself id be too scared of harming the poor things, and ive always used this bacteria and its relatively new and it really does work i promise Geez i sound like its my bacteria and im trying to sell it haha!

Just wanted to put this advice out there for others like me afraid of potentially harming their axolotls or fish, and its so easy this way no constant testing just glug of the bottle and done.
 
It doesn't matter what it's called to me :p it's all in a bottle. I am fine with my free method of cycling :3 hasn't let me down in years.
 
I never had any intention to harm my axolotls in any way whatsoever.

Of course you didnt ! No-one on here sets out to harm their axolotls , lovely picture by the way so yellow and glowing:)

and i understand now that people are a bit confused at first about which method to use as their is so much conflicting information.

I was just told its not safe to do so, and with my initial tank with goldfish in i learnt the hard way, no fish died just extrememly cloudy water and conflicting advice.

Then i came across niteout bacteria and my life has never been so easy! Never experience any trouble any more :)

IT DOESNT MESS WITH WATER QUALITY!
Its basically exactly the same as taking your filter bacteria and putting it in a bottle. If you buy some and test it for ammonia/nitrite it comes back as 0.

Ive tested it myself and its a fool proof method for beginners and for experts.

It can be used for fresh water and marine its just the best stuff ive come across and I just want people to know its out there in case of a disaster with ammonia or nitrite because it really does help :D
 
It doesn't matter what it's called to me :p it's all in a bottle. I am fine with my free method of cycling :3 hasn't let me down in years.

Good for you , some of us arent that lucky and i am just noting the name so you can look it up if you can be bothered to see it contains more bacteria than you could ever wish for.
 
It's not luck that it has worked for me. It's just how nature works.
 
Wow you people really work at this stuff. Me I just took water and dirt from my tropical tank put it in my new tank and allowed the bacteria and water to cool off to 70 degrees and then dropped my Axolotl in just as I would any fish, slowly acclimate him to his new water over a half an hour slowly adding water to his bag and there you have it. Let him go and play in his new playground. Ya its that simple.
 
I generally cycle my tanks with axolotls and fish in them, i use water from a cycled tank, some old substrate and a filter with a matured filter medium. Daily water changes and regular testing will give a nicely cycled tank in a month or so with no risk to the animals involved. You may have found an effective method of cycling your tanks but other safe methods are available.
 
@lizzy It is how nature works, im not unaware of this LOL! but some people get confused over this if they are new to having axolotls, and the stuff i buy is nature in a bottle exactly the same as what is in your filter and water right now and growing in your sand.

And the point im trying to say is its a fool proof method because if you get spikes whilst fish are in there no waiting for it to go down and causing possible harm to the fish as the bacteria in the bottle reduces it rapidly rather than waiting for your animal to suffer, its another way and in my opinion a better way.

I understand that you are happy with your way which is fine. Im not telling you your way is wrong just saying i like my way it is less risky.
 
I generally cycle my tanks with axolotls and fish in them, i use water from a cycled tank, some old substrate and a filter with a matured filter medium. Daily water changes and regular testing will give a nicely cycled tank in a month or so with no risk to the animals involved. You may have found an effective method of cycling your tanks but other safe methods are available

Which is fine, i am aware there are other methods im saying that its good to use if you are scared of harm to an axolotl and you cant keep up with the spikes in ammonia /nitrite you are getting.

I have done the same as you ian, its basically the same as a bottle. I have transferred everything over and used no bacteria in the bottle because the water is already matured as well as the filters or sand or gravel.

Im saying starting up from fresh if you find it hard to get your ammonia /nitrites normal and if you have an ongoing tank which could possibly harm your axolotl :) x
 
I have heard of people using some brands of bottled bacteria with varying success - unfortunately most pet stores and even aquariums don't bother to do much research into whether the brands they stock actually work.
In my experience, those I've bought off the shelf in various pet stores have never worked for me and as such I believe that cycling a tank with some kind of non-live ammonia source and a bit patience are generally the way to go.
 
The "bacteria in a bottle" has had some pretty bad press, I and many others on this site have used it in the past with little success, the perceived problems being that the bacteria dies in the bottle over time, so if its left on the shelf too long or subjected to variations in temperature the product losses its effectiveness. You may have found a decent brand and I will check out some other forums for the general opinion of it. You are correct that cycling a tank from scratch is problematical, particularly for people who have never done it before, if this product lives up to your recommendation it will probably become widespread with people in this forum as cycling can be a pain.
 
I had trouble with a few kinds, as they hardly contained any bacteria when I actually thought lets research it :) But then the fish store i go to to buy supplies etc showed me the new stuff they got in and i tried some and it was really good, not many people have herd of the kind, its a shame pet stores dont really care, the one i go to is like a family run one so they decide what they want to buy in and try unlike the big stores who buy in cheap rubbish just to flog off like the stuff your talking about, in which case i would use your method too :)

They showed me it under the microscope photos they had from a leaflet, and it showed normal bottled stuff like API and then their stuff, there was so much more bacteria, glad i gave it a try and just wanted to shout out about it :)
 
@ Ian I understand the way you feel about bottled stuff, dont even start me on it:) ive used lots of brands found they dont work but this one does i swear i wish i could give you all some. Shall i try and find an official page that says all of the sciency stuff about nitrobacters and the microscopes showing the amounts of bacteria?

I know it can be a pain , which is why i use it for convienence and for safety as i couldnt trust myself to go through what i did with my first fish tank again in which i used API bacteria which was absolutely rubbish .

And with my axolotls i never really get any water problems but with my carp and golfish i do get an occasional problem where me and mum have both been feeding them and we didnt know both had fed them and the levels have gone sky high due to so much food and i put it in and over night it has been reduced to safe levels again :) xx
 
Ian heres the official website, its talking about pond niteout but they sell normal niteout as well :) hope this restores a bit of faith in you and every other bacteria in a bottle hater! :D

Microbe-Lift.com :: Nite-Out II

they do lots of other excellent products too, one thats particually good for cycling but smells like rotten eggs haha so dont smell it if you buy it you will be sick no doubt :D
 
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