[Andyandsue]

I say fishless if you don't have the time to really stay on top of it.

I say fish if you do have the time to dedicate to it.

I greatly understocked my tank with golden white cloud and danio, used biospira (which I am a huge fan of and have had nothing but success with, but I know you either love it or hate it) so there was never any ammonia issue and water tested/changed every day (sometimes I tested 2x a day) without fail. Never a septic tank. Not one fatality, and I still have those fish. It took a long time but it really got me into the hobby wanting to do it right.

 

[Andyandsue]

I used 5 zebra danios to cycle my tank....but it is a 100g tank, and I use Prime to neutralize the chloramine, so they don't even notice the minute amount of ammonia that they produced. It all depends on the size of your tank and what you're doing with the water, versus the number of fish you have.

I agree 100%. If you stock a 20 gallon with 20 1" fish, you're going to lose some. If you stock a 20 gallon with a few danios and keep on it, the fish and the tank will be fine.