Cycling Question

srsmith24

I have started a 6G QT and am cycling with 3 guppies. Once the Ammonia level spikes and begins to break down / convert into Nitrites, do fish still need to be present to complete the process? Or will I just continue to have mini cycle as I use the tank to quarantine fish before adding to my 55g?

FDStation152

Without a continuing source of ammonia (ie the fish) to feed the bacteria the cycling process will most likely cease. I keep a few small guppies in all of my tanks for that purpose alone with exception to my main tank which has plenty of fish in it already!

Andyandsue

Although I am new at fishkeeping, I do know that if you remove the fish and continue with a "fishless cycle" you will need to add pure ammonia to keep the levels up, as the bacteria still need to be "fed" for the cycle to continue.

I cycled with danios, all made it through a-ok. I would personally keep a few small fish in the tank to keep it going if you're going to use it as a quarantine tank instead of messing with ammonia.

srsmith24

Once the QT is cycled and I'm ready to use it, should I move the guppies to my main tank while new fish are quarantined? Otherwise, wouldn't I be subjecting the guppies to possible infection?

FDStation152

assuming that the other tank can handle the additional fish load yes id move the guppies assuming they are the variety you intend to keep. personally I keep a small population of very plain guppies for breeding (with the purpose of feeding the fry to other fish) and thus its not particularly important if I was to lose a few here and there. The plus side to keeping them in the qt tank would be to observe if they got any disease from the new inhabitant if it wasnt showing symptoms itself.