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Anonymous
So I'm going to be setting up my new aquarium soon and I'm looking at cycling options. Has anyone had any luck with bottle cultures or know any reliable brands? Or should I stick with the ammonia drops/fish food methods?
Thanks!

Pic Semi Related, my favorite fish
>> Anonymous
http://www.plantedtank.net/

Probably an article in here that can help you out with cycling.
>> Anonymous
The only product I've heard that kinda works is Biospira, and that takes about a week to cycle, is expensive, and can expire if not kept in the fridge. If you're familiar with the ammonia/food method, then I'd say just go ahead and do that.
>> Anonymous
1) it is best to just use a natural cycle of 1-2 months before fully stocking your tank. those additives will throw off the tanks natural cycle time making it cloudy/overloading once you start adding fish

2) you can get 2-3 feeder fish or guppies/platties to speed up the bacteria growth time and you wont care if they die. once you start adding fish, do only a few at a time and start with your hardiest selection.

3) make sure to use plenty of aeration

4) you are obviously an idiot and know nothing about fish since betas are your favorite. just keep your betas in the 8oz cup with the blue "ick" water they came in or return them to Petsmart/Petco from where you got them.
>> Anonymous
>>336743
Don't really see how me liking betas makes me an idiot. And I havent bought any fish yet seeing as how I havent even started to cycle my tank. Thanks for the helpful advice, though.
>> Anonymous
>>336753

1) only little girls and old women like betas.

2) you can only keep betas solitary. their long fins get chewed by other fish. setting up a 5-10 gallon tank (or whatever size you have) will be pointless and a waste for just one fish

3) there are much prettier fish than betas
>> Anonymous
>>336761
1) Conjecture
2) So by that logic you can only keep Angelfish, Swordtails and Guppies solo
3) Personal preference

Still don't see how I'm an idiot just because you prefer something different.
>> Anonymous
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>>336765
yes on the guppies/platties/swordtails however they are SCHOOLING FISH meaning you can keep more than one in a tank without them killing eachother.

angelfish/discus are also SCHOOLING FISH and big enough to defend themselves against aggressive fin biters

>>1) Conjecture
PROVE ME WRONG

>>Still don't see how I'm an idiot
setting up a 5-10 gallon tank (or whatever size you have) will be pointless and a waste for just one fish

PS: Is this your tank?
>> Anonymous
>>336769
Nope, setting up a 20 gallon long tank.

And if I do put a betta in a tank, why would I then stock it with nipping fish?

Oh, I forgot this was the internet and everyone is assumed to be an idiot when they ask a question.
>> ????????????
>>336761
Depending on how large your tank is, cichlids might be a good choice. They're hardy little bastards and have some beautiful colorations. You have to be careful with them, though, they are VERY aggressive. Only house them with fish of similar size.

Tetras and other fish are also nice, if you want boring little pretty boys.
>> Anonymous
>>336773
I was thinking about doing some Serpae tetras, a butterfly dwarf cichlid (like a bolivian ram), and a school of panda cory's. Maybe a bristle nose cat for cleaning.
>> Anonymous
>>336771
good luck, buddy. even catfish and other bottom dwellers love to chew dangling fins and betas have the floppiest ones ive seen.

have you tried looking at killifish? (pobably not because you shop at petco/petsmart) They are just as colorful but not as helpless and slow
>> Anonymous
>>336769
Lol @ misinformed troll. You can keep bettas with a lot of different fish. They are no different than any other species. They just have special needs. Angelfish will still pick on eachother, and if you mix the wrong kind of fish with them, someone is going to get hurt. Also, if you have fin-nippers in a discus tank, you're doing it wrong--a discus tank must be designed AROUND the discus, much like a betta tank, just on a smaller scale. Platties also must be kept in a 2:1 ratio of females to males, otherwise the males harass the females into sickness.

Also OP, just to stir more useful discussion, are you putting a betta in your tank? Do you know what other fishies you're going to put in it as well? I have a 20L tank with a couple bettas in it (a female free-roaming the tank, as well as a male in a breeder net who I don't want to freeze to death) and a school of corydoras catfish. My bristlenose pleco is also growing out in the tank.
>> Anonymous
>>336786

who the fuck would design a tank around a beta? one beta.
>> Anonymous
>>336783
Havent seen any at my local dealers (not petco) that live more than a year. Id rather not spend the cash on them.
>> Anonymous
>>336786
Never said I was gonna put one in the tank, just said that I liked the fish. Right now I'm looking at a school of serpae tetra, panda or bandit cory's, and I'm still on the fench about a center piece fish. Leaning toward a Ram or a small school of lyretail swordtails.
>> Anonymous
>>336788
Why would you design a tank around ANY fish? Personal taste. You can also do a lot more with bettas than you seem to realize. Although, I like females better, for that reason, they are a lot more compatible...
>> Anonymous
>>336791lyretail swordtails.
plattys....i told you. you are a fucking idiot/noob
i bet you think olive garden makes quality food too.
>> Anonymous
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>>336791
Oh, sorry. What kind of ram are you thinking of? Bolivians are my favorite, and they're more hardy than the german rams... but strangely I see less of them available.
>> Anonymous
>>336799
Yeah, bolivian was my first choice. Not seeing a whole lot around. They seem to stay smaller in size, too.
>> Anonymous
>>336802
Have you looked into any other of the dwarf cichlids? I guess most of them are even rarer, but apistogrammas are all very timid, 2-4 inch fish, who are surprisingly colorful.

Pictured is another of my favorites, the cockatoo cichlid (apistogramma cacatuoides).
>> Anonymous
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>>336804
lol I fail, here's the pic.
>> Anonymous
hey everyone- just a quick question. I enjoy doing freshwater fish and was wonderng how to keep my fish from fighting. I usually try and get the same sized fish and it works out. but recently I got thre mollies and a tiger barb and they pick on this fish that I just gor. do I need to put new fish in a different tank so they buddy up or how do I go about adding new fish to the tank.
>> Anonymous
>>336821
>and a tiger barb

That is your problem, I'm assuming "a tiger barb" means ONE barb, although correct me if I'm wrong. Also, need more info on your tank, what fish is being picked on, how big is it, etc. and what are all the fish in there?
>> Anonymous
>>336797
dude, the breadsticks are awesome. And the soup/salad combo is just like italy.
>> Anonymous
>>336797
whats wrong with swordtails in your masterful and all knowing opinion of tropical fish?
>> Anonymous
ITT idiots that don't know shit about Bettas.
>> Anonymous
>>336821

I don't think i''ve ever seen mollies gang up on another fish. must be one weak ass fish if mollies can boss it around.
>> Anonymous
>>336841

ITT faggots who keep tiny fish that I feed to my monsters.
>> Anonymous
>>336871

beta meet my gar

NOM NOM NOM NOM
>> Anonymous
>>336821

change your tank decor around. it confuses the established fishes' territory.
>> Anonymous
>>336841
i thought it was only little girls and old women and in general people who dont know anything about fish but want them and dont know how to take care of them that like betas
>> Anonymous
Just shit in your tank to shorten the cycling time... wait

>>>1) it is best to just use a natural cycle of 1-2 months before fully stocking your tank. those additives will throw off the tanks natural cycle time making it cloudy/overloading once you start adding fish

2) you can get 2-3 feeder fish or guppies/platties to speed up the bacteria growth time and you wont care if they die. once you start adding fish, do only a few at a time and start with your hardiest selection.


^^^^^

There is nothing wrong with betas. I had one for a long time and loved him. They are an active fish and in my experience are a fairly friendly fish if you know how to stock around them. You could consider a beta to shorten the cycling span but I usually just leave the tank alone. The first time I did it I used a plant and it did work but the plant ended up blooming and dying off and was more of a pain in the ass then was worth. Bad walmart plants ftl.


Aquahobby.com was an amazing information database for me when I started my tank.
>> Anonymous
>>337064
Aquahobby is great! Thanks for the tip.
>> Anonymous
>>337064

Not that I think the OP -wants- a betta tank... but I'm just throwing this out here... It's really not a good idea to cycle with a Betta, espically if it's something like a halfmoon (those fins are hideously delicate to water conditions.) Any long-finned variety of betta is suspectiable to having their fins get ravaged by high levels of ammonia.

I suppose if you wanted to females or plakats could be used but it just seems like a waste to me.

On the subject of cycling though, I've never noticed any difference with products like Cycle or Bio-zyme... I personally prefer taking some filter media from one of my other established tanks or a friend's and just going for the ammonia drops. Cheap and effective.
>> Anonymous
>>336884
>>336875
>>336871
The only real fish are huge messy monsters? Give me a fucking break. Again, you don't know anything about Bettas or you'd know that's just a fucking fish like any other fish. I guess anyone that keeps a tropical community tank is a faggot, too? GTFO.
>> Anonymous
>>337188
i dont care to know anything about them, and yes monster fish are where true beauty lies, I just love seeing 500+gallon tanks with cichla and red tail cats mmmmmm its just gorgeous.
>> Anonymous
>>337260
Your opinion matters in this thread.