Cycling woes

David McDermott wrote:
I am surprised to hear that I have too many fish. I have cycled a tank with
one small fantail before and it went reasonably well. I have always lived
by the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule and I am certainly under that
limit now, probably in the 4-5 inch range for my 10 gallon tank. I have not
tested for nitrite yet - I didn't think there would be much point yet. My
reasoning is that continually rising ammonia levels should be evidence that
nitrite producing bacteria have not yet colonized the tank, is that correct?

Right. One small fantail is ideal for cycling a 10 gallon tank. You
have double that so the cycle will be much harder on you and your fish.

The one inch per gallon rule of thumb is for FULL stocking in a cycled,
biologically mature tank. You must gradually stock to that level, and
generally not for at least three months. Cycling works best with one
inch of fish or less per five gallons. The "inch per gallon" rule of
thumb really only applies to small, normally shaped fish like platies,
tetras, or barbs. Fat, fancy goldfish like fantails have much more bulk
per inch of length than tetras. They require a lot more oxygen and put
out a lot more waste and ammonia so you have to stock fewer inches per
gallon. The rule completely breaks down with large fish like oscars or
mature 8" goldfish.

Nitrite and ammonia always overlap some in a cycle. As soon as the
bacteria that break down ammonia start to get established, nitrite
appears. Once you see nitrite, ammonia usually falls pretty fast.

I have gotten several recommendations for BioSpira over Cycle, and I will
switch to that. Also I have been putting salt in the aquarium. Do I need
to do this repeatedly or just one initial dose, then replace with water
changes?

You have two choices. Right now, while your water changes are not very
consistent, it's easiest to add one initial dose and replace with water
changes. Once you're on a water change schedule, you can add 2 tsp of
salt with each water change. (Assuming you're changing 1/4 of the water
this will give you about 1 tsp/gallon in the tank.)

Assuming the fish die (let's hope not but I must prepare for the worst) will
the tank have enough organic material to finish the cycle itself or will I
immediately need to add more fish? If I could let the cycle finish on its
own I would not have to put anymore fish through the stress.

You still need an ammonia source for the bacteria. I'm not good with
fishless cycles, but I'm sure someone can tell you how much ordinary
ammonia to add to finish maturing your filter. Personally, I'd change
enough water to drop ammonia below 0.25 ppm and add ONE new goldfish and
ONE dose of BioSpira.

Thanks again for all the help!

You're welcome. Good luck with your fish.

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