[MandyBlue]

After my fishless cycle is complete I plan to add some guppies or mollies to the tank and let them live there for a week just to be sure the water is safe before adding over $100 worth of peacocks and haps. But what do I do with these fish when I add the haps and peacocks? Will they eventually be eaten? What do you all recommend? :-?

 

[rgr4475]

Your water tests will tell you if its safe to add fish. Ammonia, nitrites at 0ppm with some nitrates registering, water change then add fish. But if you are dead set on buying guppies, then just see if the store will take them back even if they don't give you a store credit. My LFS takes them back but won't give you anything for them.

 

[MandyBlue]

I just want to be 100% sure its safe to add the haps/peacocks. What if the stone I bought was not cleaned good enough and there is some sort of toxic in the tank. I'm worried about things like this, and I fugure the better be safe them sorry! :lol:

 

[Lestango]

I would suggest swordtails over mollies. Swordtails tolerate a much broader spectrum of water paramaters very similar to cichlids from anywhere in the world. I have found mollies to be delicate when used in this way and I don't like tearing my cichlid tanks rock piles apart to find cadavers.

 

[MandyBlue]

Would it not be better to test the water with a more delicate fish?

 

[jrf]

I’d be more worried about the â€Å"testâ€Â

 

[rgr4475]

I just want to be 100% sure its safe to add the haps/peacocks. What if the stone I bought was not cleaned good enough and there is some sort of toxic in the tank. I'm worried about things like this, and I fugure the better be safe them sorry! :lol:

:lol: I hear you but the whole point of fishless cycling is to avoid the problems of what to do with the "throw away" fish. Unless the stone was stored in a 55 gallon drum of toxic nuclear waste, I think you will be fine.

 

[MandyBlue]

Good point! I was just figureing the fish would become food for the new ones. lol. But I hear what your saying. I also thought a fishless cycle was must faster since you dont have to do several water changes, and only one large on at the end.

 

[rgr4475]

I found the cycling process takes pretty much the same time, with or without fish. It's transfering established filter media, gravel etc... that speeds up the process. Also you don't want $100 worth of peacocks eating guppies etc that could possibly be diseased or sick themselves.

 

[MandyBlue]

I understand what your saying. But say if I were to buy the mollies from the same place I buy the peacocks (although I am looking at buying online now instead) wouldnt any illness the mollies have the peacocks would also have since at the LFS they use one huge super filter? Where would you recomend buying the haps and peackocks from? I was thinking of buying them at 2-3" so I could be sure I was getting males.

 

[rgr4475]

I understand what your saying. But say if I were to buy the mollies from the same place I buy the peacocks (although I am looking at buying online now instead) wouldnt any illness the mollies have the peacocks would also have since at the LFS they use one huge super filter? Where would you recomend buying the haps and peackocks from? I was thinking of buying them at 2-3" so I could be sure I was getting males.

If the filter system is set up correctly that wouldn't be the case. That is so one bad batch of diseased fish couldn't kill off the whole stores stock.

 

[Nina_b]

Agreed on the worries about diseased fish. If your water is fine, your water is fine. Why not in stead get some of the fish you plan on getting, and trying out your water with a peacock or two?

 

[Lestango]

I can't get too excited about the "canary in the mine shaft" approach to cycling in a tank. This references the old practice of puting a canary down in the shaft and if it dies the mine is not safe.

The last 3 tanks I set into operation I used the Stability system and introduced fish I intended as target fish before my cichlids. Target to me doesn't mean fish that will be killed, but distractors helping to minimize cichlid/cichlid aggression.

Why would anyone introduce fish with the idea they are sacrificial, when the cycling process is so simple. Just be patient, or use a product like Stability if you don't have time; as in my case where I had fry I had to move quickly.

Save the money spent on mollies and buy a good water test kit with it.

 

[namvet4]

Why would anyone introduce fish with the idea they are sacrificial, when the cycling process is so simple. Just be patient, or use a product like Stability if you don't have time; as in my case where I had fry I had to move quickly.

Save the money spent on mollies and buy a good water test kit with it.

Good advice! Patience and the proper additive and willingness to test, with the a GOOD test kit will give a completely cycled tank... Even though I haven't kept cichlids in over twenty five years, the rules are the same for community freshwater fish. There are a great many threads on how to fish-less cycle on this forum.. it's worth searching for them and reading...
just my 2 cents.