Bad to start a tank cycle with common goldfish?

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I just started on Tuesday night. I turned the filter (topfin 60 hang on) on at midnight that day. Yesterday I went to the LFS to pick up some cheap fish to get the cycle started and ended up getting "a dozen" (which apparently means 11) common goldfish.

I just talked to a buddy and he said that goldfish are bad to start a tank with, because they produce some toxin that most fish can't survive in. Is this true? If so, what should I do at this point? I want to get a prehistoric dragon goby, a pair of stripped raphael cats and maybe a few red phantom tetras.

When I filled the tank, I put in regular tap water, added dechloronizer and ran the filter on high for ~21 hrs. Since then, I have the water sitting around 77 degrees, filter on high and fed the fish 3 times a day.

The water turned a little cloudy sometime between 8am and noon today.

 

[ValRasbora]

the cloudy water is probably a bacteria bloom. And I've never heard of this goldfish toxin. Yes, they do poop A LOT, but I have never heard of such a toxin.

 

[paperdog9]

Also that might not be a great Idea to start with goldfish if you aren't going to keep them. You have to consider that if they might live, you might have no where to put them.

 

[Frogki]

I've always done a pretty much fishless cycling. IDK much about fish in tank cycling, but all I know about goldfish is that they produce a lot of ammonia in their poop, however, they aren't toxic, they just require a lot of water changes when living in communities.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

Well i went to another LFS that was very helpful. They took my goldfish. She took a sample of my water and sent me home with a spotted raphael catfish and 3 black skirt hi-fins.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

Oh and that's what I think my friend meant, is that goldfish crap a LOOOT. lol.

 

[beckyd]

Well, I'm not sure how helpful that was. She sold you some fish and now you are forced to do a fish-in cycle. This is the way I do it, although unpopular here on MFT. Did she also sell you some Stability? This is how I succeed at fish-in cycling. Stability is bacteria in a bottle. You follow the directions and check your water at least once a day. Keep checking it for at least a month. Stability says it will cycle the tank in 7 days, I think, but mine always do a mini-cycle about a week-10days later. I add bacteria every day for another week once I see the numbers getting out of whack, then I'm good. You also must be prepared to do partial water changes every day, if indicated by the water parameters, if you want to keep your fish alive.

Read all about cycling your tank on the stickies in the beginner section. Sooner, rather than later.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

I wanted to do a fish-in cycle. She told me that the fish i bought are hearty and shouldn't die easily. The way I'm gonna do it is test my tank everyday and if something starts to get out of control I'm gonna have her let me know what I need to do. I'm very confident in the lady.

Plus this morning when I woke up (well... about an hour ago) I found that the tank cleared up a lot and isn't so cloudy.

 

[ChakaRaka]

I wanted to do a fish-in cycle. She told me that the fish i bought are hearty and shouldn't die easily. The way I'm gonna do it is test my tank everyday and if something starts to get out of control I'm gonna have her let me know what I need to do. I'm very confident in the lady.

Plus this morning when I woke up (well... about an hour ago) I found that the tank cleared up a lot and isn't so cloudy.

*thumbsdow *crazysmil *thumbsdow

 

[ValRasbora]

*thumbsdow *crazysmil *thumbsdow

this stuff is annoying.
At least say something, please!

 

[RexyTexel]

I wanted to do a fish-in cycle. She told me that the fish i bought are hearty and shouldn't die easily. The way I'm gonna do it is test my tank everyday and if something starts to get out of control I'm gonna have her let me know what I need to do. I'm very confident in the lady.

Plus this morning when I woke up (well... about an hour ago) I found that the tank cleared up a lot and isn't so cloudy.

It's just sort of harsh on the fish. You're putting them through stressful situations when you could just do a fishless cycle and save the stress of the animal. I wouldn't use any "bacteria in a bottle" products. To me they're a waste of money.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

Well it's a good thing that this world isn't perfect, or else I'd feel bad about an animal feeling stress. Honestly, you don't think it's stressful for them to get shipped to the fish store and then to take a ride home in a car? Not to mention all the noise they hear from tvs, phones, talking, etc in a house. They wouldn't hear any of that in the wild. Bottom line is that any animal has to adjust to what they live with when they're a pet.

It might be stressful for a fish to be in "un-perfect" water, but every animal that, we as people keep, will be stressed in a new environment. I don't feel bad about it.

 

[Newman]

Is there any reason why you did not go with the faster and more humane fish-less cycling method?

 

[Doomhed]

Well it's a good thing that this world isn't perfect, or else I'd feel bad about an animal feeling stress. Honestly, you don't think it's stressful for them to get shipped to the fish store and then to take a ride home in a car? Not to mention all the noise they hear from tvs, phones, talking, etc in a house. They wouldn't hear any of that in the wild. Bottom line is that any animal has to adjust to what they live with when they're a pet.

It might be stressful for a fish to be in "un-perfect" water, but every animal that, we as people keep, will be stressed in a new environment. I don't feel bad about it.

wow. ok, so I can lock you in a confined space with poisonous air because

it's a good thing that this world isn't perfect

How about I make you wallow in your own waste products with no way to get rid of them because

I'd feel bad about an animal feeling stress

I bet you are one of those people that thinks fish will only grow to the size of the tank they are in, because obviously-

any animal has to adjust to what they live with

Seriously, you are not a beautiful unique snowflake. The rules of common decency that apply to the rest of society apply to you too. Seriously, I know they are " just fish" but just because you don't truly understand cycling, or why people do it without fish in the tank doesn't mean you can talk down to those of us that do.

I recommend you actually sit back and pay attention to what these people say, we aren't just trying to make you work harder at setting up your tank, we are just discouraging ignorant, irresponsible behavior, like the type you have been displaying from post 1.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

In no way do I claim to be an expert at fish keeping.

And I wouldn't quite say that fish in ammonia is the same as me rolling around in turds. Ammonia is the biproduct (from what I have researched) of waste. Which would be the equivalent of me sitting in a house that was full of farts. I might not like it, but I'm not gonna die.

And I understand that fish will grow to whatever size they're gonna grow to. If I stuck a kid in a 1:2 scale house and made him grow up there, I wouldn't expect him to be a midget.

And as far as me not being "a beautiful unique snowflake," I actually am. As is everyone else in the world. Even your doppelganger probably isn't as pretentious as you are, Mr. King-of-all-that-is-aquatic.

By the way, am I getting lectured about animal cruelty from the guy who threatened an over zealous cichlid with an oscar? :

Me-Hmmmm.....that little green cichlid keeps attacking anything that moves...
Ex G/F- He's Just playing..
Me- Maybe my oscars wanna play too.....

 

[OrangeCones]

Ammonia is the biproduct (from what I have researched) of waste. Which would be the equivalent of me sitting in a house that was full of farts. I might not like it, but I'm not gonna die.

Not quite the same as sitting in a house full of farts. The fish can and do die from ammonia and nitrite poisoning.

How often are you testing the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? What are the levels now?

Good luck with your aquarium. I hope they make it through the cycle.

 

[JoeKnowsBaseball]

Yesterday I tested twice. The water has cleared up a lot and everything is still in a healthy balance. I added zeolite when I put the black skirts and raphael cat in the tank. Nothing is out of control or even scoring very high yet. It's starting to smell like a city aquarium without all the dead fish smell.

 

[OrangeCones]

Yesterday I tested twice. The water has cleared up a lot and everything is still in a healthy balance. I added zeolite when I put the black skirts and raphael cat in the tank. Nothing is out of control or even scoring very high yet. It's starting to smell like a city aquarium without all the dead fish smell.

What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Not 'scoring very high yet' isn't really an answer.

By the way, using zeolite will prolong/delay your nitrogen cycle as it absorbs ammonia, making it unavailable to the bacteria.

 

[beckyd]

At the risk of a bruising your somewhat fragile ego, do you know that 'clear' water is nearly meaningless?

 

[Newman]

sooo...dont use zeolite. just use regular water conditioner. thats all you need to use anyway.