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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In understand people use them as a food but they are not suffering bad water conditions for ages! They are not the best type of food anyway but HEY i best not get into that otherwise ill get penalised even more.

As i said DELETE THIS i really dont care for what any of you have to say anymore as im reading the same response over and over again.

Sorry but this site is about keeping axolotls and not moaning at a 19 year old girl so if you dont like it get someone to delete it or back off.
 
StewRat said:
And isn't it the case that guppies (and other fish) are more tolerant of nitrogen (and other levels) than axolotls as the latter are absorbing them through their whole surface area?
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I think this examplifies the original meaning of the post. Just because an animal can handle higher levels of ammonia/nitrite doesn't mean they should. Just because guppies are less sensitive shouldn't mean they have to deal with the cycling process. While I'm not accusing you personally of allowing the ammonia/nitrite levels to go beyond humane levels, I think it's a commonly held beleif that because hardy fish can handle poor water conditions, they should be used for cycling.
StewRat said:
Anyway, the reason I'm doing it this way is that I'm not sure when I'll actually get my axolotls. So there's no point in me putting in instant bacteria to establish a colony if there is no ongoing supply of nitrogen to feed them. They'll just die off won't they?
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The bacteria will die off without ammonia in the tank, you don't need something alive. You could use fish flakes, pure ammonia, anything that decomposes.
 
Ive never in my life used pure ammonia, is this a lot quicker than using other methods like guppies and food?

Im sure it is as you can just drop it in and watch the levels?

I did use the method lots use on here, when i was younger with some goldfish and it went disasterously wrong and i ended up taking them all back to the shop, so maybe the ammonia is a good idea to drop in with a bit of bacteria in the bottle (For me because everyone else hates it) to establish the filter because im sure it takes a lot longer to do it with rotting stuff? I know some bacterias once you have them and theres enough stuff for them to feed on multiply but others take absolutely ages to establish thats why i would want to use the bottle, and plus id be so tempted to scoop the messy food out, even though that would defeat the whole point:happy:
 
I cycle with fish and used media or substrate.

Bottle bacteria's are kinda placebo's in my eyes. I've never met a one that actually cycles a tank. Do they have bacteria in them? yes. Will it instantly cycle your tank? no.

I don't use guppies, which aren't really that hardy of a fish. People use them because they are cheap and they don't care if they die.
I usually use my gambusia holbrooki which I swear I could dip in pure ammonia and they would come out swimming and having babies lol.

I know people go on and on about cruelty, but same thing I brought up before. Certain species are capable of handling cycle parameters, it does not harm or kill them.
Now if someone was cycling with a sensative species because it was cheap and "disposable" that go ahead and take issue with.
 
Now just because an animal can handle cycling parameters does not mean it doesn't harm them. Ammonia is toxic regardless. Just because an animal may survive longer in poor water quality does not mean it is not in harm.
 
Some people cycle tanks with axies in some people use guppies.

HARDY is such a confusing word in my opinion , it means yeah they will survive but suffer, and it doesnt mean they should have to suffer because they are hardy, why not use a fish food or some other gunk to do it or bacteria bottled lol, rather than making an animal suffer for a while then hey the tanks cycled so you wont suffer now.

Its like saying to us we will give you 3 days without water because we are hardy and can survive and then saying oh yeah you can have some now, its just not very nice in my opinion.

Just because it can suffer doesnt mean it should suffer, if we started cycling with humans then people would see the point of this post.
 
If your fish are dying in the cycle, you are something VERY wrong. The idea of the cycle is to have the fish produce anough amonia to feed the filter, but not harm the actual fish. That is why frequent water testing and changes are required during a fish cycling process. Yes it is cruel to let the fish die in their own toxins, very cruel, but that does not mean fish cycling is cruel, most of the time it is carried out very well with no harm to the animals. It has to be done right, and most of the time it is.

I have used bottle bacteria once too and it failed. It didn't smell like anything, probably because it was all dead. Bacteria need an ammonia source to live more than a few days, so unless the manafacturers put some of this in the bottle i dont see any way they could be alive after a few months on a store shelf. Maybe this company does considering it smells bad.
 
its not about what species can handle the cycle peramiters, its about not letting the cycle peramiters spike in the first place. Test the water twice a day and do a water change if nececary. the water change will deplete the amonia in the tank for a day or so, and once the ammonia rises over 0.25 do another change. presto, no sick fish and a cycled tank in a few months.
 
I've never, in my entire history of keeping axolotls, pre-cycled a tank. In the hundreds that I've raised, I've never lost one to poor water quality. You just have to be diligent about your water changes. It's not cruel at all. The tank will cycle on its own naturally, as the bacteria seed in from nature/air/water/where-ever they come from.
 
I think the issue is directed at those who do not do waterchanges while using an animal to cycle a tank in order to cycle quickly.
 
Not doing water changes while cycling isn't that great of any idea, no matter what you use to cycle. The tank will stink if you don't do water changes, even if you're using dead matter.

Regardless, this thread still blows my mind. Why start railing on people for something that no one here does?
 
I'm cycling with my axolotls in,I did use bacteria in a bottle which seems to have helped but wouldn't say it cycled my tank for me since it's still cycling,I check the water morning and evening(I get up earlier now especially for it)and do daily water changes(for some reason I always have 0.25 ammonia,0 nitrite and 10 nitrate,except the nitrite spike I had a week ago).id be willing to try this new bacteria stuff if I was setting up another tank but wouldn't count on it cycling the tank,more aid the process.
I think the most important thing to know about keeping anything aquatic is that you MUST cycle,whatever way you choose,an aquarium I went to were shocked that I knew about it when I went to quiz them on how to set up a tank as I was scared to death of killing anything,up until I decided to get axolotls I'd never even heard of cycling,I thought you just bought "fish" and put them in a tank with treated water (I'm the first aquatic keeper in my family,we're all canine keepers).
 
kiathepooch said:
I'm cycling with my axolotls in,I did use bacteria in a bottle which seems to have helped but wouldn't say it cycled my tank for me since it's still cycling,I check the water morning and evening(I get up earlier now especially for it)and do daily water changes(for some reason I always have 0.25 ammonia,0 nitrite and 10 nitrate,except the nitrite spike I had a week ago).id be willing to try this new bacteria stuff if I was setting up another tank but wouldn't count on it cycling the tank,more aid the process.
I think the most important thing to know about keeping anything aquatic is that you MUST cycle,whatever way you choose,an aquarium I went to were shocked that I knew about it when I went to quiz them on how to set up a tank as I was scared to death of killing anything,up until I decided to get axolotls I'd never even heard of cycling,I thought you just bought "fish" and put them in a tank with treated water (I'm the first aquatic keeper in my family,we're all canine keepers).
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A cycle happens in a tank with animals no matter what. It's not a matter of it MUST cycle as it WILL cycle. You as the owner just need to be watchful of the parameters and your animals while this happens if you do have something living in the tank :)
 
I always assumed you were supposed to do water changes while cycling a tank.
I have never heard anyone say they put fish in and leave them without water changes to die. Is this really a common thing?
I tried bottled bacteria the first time i was setting up my tank and didnt find it very useful. But the one you have suggested might do the job a lot better if you have had success with it.
I set my tank up again not long after as i decided to ditch the sand and go bare bottom for ease of cleaning and ended up having to cycle it again which i did with my axolotl in and found it personally to be an easier process. As long as you keep on top of water changes and testing the water.
 
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I actually never do waterchanges when I fishless cycle. One of the upsides of fishless cycling is that you can keep the ammonia at high levels which speed up the cycling process.
 
Kaysie said:
Not doing water changes while cycling isn't that great of any idea, no matter what you use to cycle. The tank will stink if you don't do water changes, even if you're using dead matter.

Regardless, this thread still blows my mind. Why start railing on people for something that no one here does?
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That's exactly what I was trying to say. I agree 100%
 
carsona246 said:
I actually never do waterchanges when I fishless cycle. One of the upsides of fishless cycling is that you can keep the ammonia at high levels which speed up the cycling process.
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Yep that's how I do it. That's how I got my salt water tank done in a week. Though...salt water cycles are much harsh to animals than fresh water cycles so you wanna do fishless anyway.

The tank will stink if you don't do water changes, even if you're using dead matter.

But yeah...this did happen with the saltwater tank :X hehe but only if you stood over it and it wasn't strong nor did it last long.
 
I was always told it took around 6 weeks to mature a salt water tank properly, but ive never done it nor wish to do it because of the stuff you have to add for certain corals and fish and it would all blow my mind !

And i never do water changes when cycling, isnt that the whole point to not wash away bacteria down the sink even if its not from a bottle unless you are cycling with an animal then you do because of the parameters.
 
and @ Ems, i would like to keep my axies on bare glass too, but ive heard about stress it can cause, have you seen this in any of your axies? And i understand a lot of important bacteria grow in the gravel did you notice any changes in water quality because when i changed my goldfishes gravel i notice some ammonia and nitrite x


And why rail at people because youve never seen anyone on here with that in a thread.

Well i have and thats why i was asking so now you know why, some people unlike you guys dont seem to care about the guppies welfare or whatever animal they use to cycle the tank thats why i brought it up, ive seen it a lot on here and i dont think its nice even if they dont die to have to suffer bad water conditions.

That is all lol.
 
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