Suggestions on cycling my new 20 gal aquarium

On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 00:14:21 -0500, Osteole wrote:

The goldfish are VERY small, less than one inch. I got them at
Wal-Mart over a year ago for my son who fell in love with them. I'll
have to get some pictures.

A comment about the combo, my goldfish are not aggresive, they are very
peaceful and DO NOT fight with the betta (and vice versa). They have
lived in the tank together for over 4 weeks now and both kinds of fish
have wonderful healthy looking fins. I have never heated my water and
really don't intend on buying a heater. Most of the fish I intend on
getting for this tank will be those who like temps in the 68-75
range...normal house temperature.

I have read ALOT about tank conditions on the internet and many
people/sites have commented about the ability for betta's to
comfortably live in temperature of water the range I suggested above.

Thanks for your comments Tynk, I knew there would be people (as I
already made that disclaimer) who would complain about my initial fish
combination. I do not intend on keeping the goldfish in there, that's
just all I had to work with at the time.

Can anyone make any suggestions concerning the Nitrogen numbers?

Planted or Artificial? The goldies are hearty and will adapte to many
water conditions (within reasonable limits). Bettas do well in waters
above 75*F, with their pH levels hovering around 7.0 (neutral).

As Tynk mentioned...the waste from the goldies will come into play with
your community selection. They produce vast amounts and, as such, you can
witness ammonia spikes and nitrite levels rise as a result. You'll need
to perform the water changes religiously on a weekly basis.
HTH


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