Cycling

[betagirl]

My daughter got a 20 gallon tank for her birthday last week. She's determined to follow the proper "procedures" and methods. We've read several of the posts here and found them to be very helpful. It also leads me to a question.

Back when I was a child, you went to the store, bought your tank & fish, set it up, dumped in the "chlorine kill", "plopped" in your fish and they lived for years. There was no cycling, with or without the fish in the tank. The books available to us at the time didn't even discuss much more than PH levels. There was no internet. The filters, thermometers, etc. were not as "sophisticated" as now and we all believed we had to have an air pump to put air in the water. My question then is: Why did our fish live? And for a really long time? Is it because our water supply is more polluted now and there are more chemicals used to make it 'safe' for us to drink but more dangerous to fish? Is it because, as I've read, that fish have been engineered to be brighter colors, have longer fins, etc. and maybe aren't as hearty?

I don't know that anyone will have the answer, but I would love to hear some opinions as to why this is. We are cycling our tank and are waiting to buy fish until everything is right, but it does make me wonder.

Any thoughts?

 

[FroggyFox]

Everything you mentioned is a possibility. Many stocked fish nowadays are inbred and not as hearty as fish used to be. Also, many times people who had tanks 'a long time ago' just dont remember the fish who died when the tank was in its first few months...they just remember having the tank up for years with the same fish. Chemicals in tap water have also changed, although I'm no chemist and dont know how...I dont know how much tap water contained chloramine as opposed to just chlorine.

Kudos to your daughter for doing her homework and ensuring the health of her fish I'm sure you'll all learn a lot from her new project. I also hope she's taking the time while her tank is cycling to research the stock she's going to put in the tank. Welcome!

 

[Iggy]

I have a book printed in 1974, and it mentions the nitrite cycle quite well... I was surprised.

In the 'old' days, there were maybe 1 or 2 stores in major cities, and they usually carried only a small variety of hardy fish. These fish had to be tough just to make it to the store alive.

Also, goldfish were the most popular fish, and they are pretty much the toughest fish you can find, able to withstand temperature shock better than most tropicals.

I see the change in the way we approach fishkeeping is 2 parts:

1. We have more access to information, more stores, internet, more people & clubs. We are just better educated now.

2. We seem more morally concious about our pets as a society. Most of the people I run into take great care in doing the right thing for their pets once they know about it. There are always exceptions, but overall I think it's fair to say our current PC society movement has promoted better pet care.