# Beneficial Bacteria Feeding



## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

I have a question for you all:

Does anyone here have any ideas on how long the beneficial bacteria created in the tank by cycling will live without food? If you can, an explanation of why you think/know that is how long would be great.

Thanks


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not sure how anyone would have that info unless they read an article where someone tested it. 

I have a 20g qt tank that was fully cycled about 4 months ago. I started out adding a few drops of ammonia a week afterwards to keep it going, but stopped it after 2-3 weeks. Haven't done anything to it since. Almost two weeks ago I added 9 fish to it that I wanted to do some concentrated parasite treatments to and never saw a single bit of ammonia. These fish would have pushed the stock limit of the tank and consisted of 1 Platy, 1 Guppy, 1 Molly and 6 Swordtails. Swordtails were all about 3" each. I tested for ammonia everyday because I was sure I'd be fighting ammonia issues, but never saw any sign. Kept them in there for 10 days.

The tank hasn't had more than 1 fish in it for over two months when I brought home about 8 fish and had them in the tank for about 10 days. Not sure if that equates to any kind of test, but it made me feel that there was still some beneficial bacteria in the tank or I should have seen ammonia in the 2-4 range (a guess) since I added all in one day.


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

Any real plants in the tank?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Amie said:


> Any real plants in the tank?


No real plants in my qt tank. All fake stuff.


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Not sure how anyone would have that info unless they read an article where someone tested it.
> 
> I have a 20g qt tank that was fully cycled about 4 months ago. I started out adding a few drops of ammonia a week afterwards to keep it going, but stopped it after 2-3 weeks. Haven't done anything to it since. Almost two weeks ago I added 9 fish to it that I wanted to do some concentrated parasite treatments to and never saw a single bit of ammonia. These fish would have pushed the stock limit of the tank and consisted of 1 Platy, 1 Guppy, 1 Molly and 6 Swordtails. Swordtails were all about 3" each. I tested for ammonia everyday because I was sure I'd be fighting ammonia issues, but never saw any sign. Kept them in there for 10 days.
> 
> The tank hasn't had more than 1 fish in it for over two months when I brought home about 8 fish and had them in the tank for about 10 days. Not sure if that equates to any kind of test, but it made me feel that there was still some beneficial bacteria in the tank or I should have seen ammonia in the 2-4 range (a guess) since I added all in one day.



Walk me through this a little slower:
4 months ago you got the tank and added ammonia for about three weeks to establish the cycle. Then you mentioned about 8 fish that you had.

Then about 2 weeks ago you added 9 fish to the tank and have not seen an ammonia spike 

Tell me more about what the tank has been doing since you established the cycle up to 2 weeks ago when you added the 9 fish? Also, what is the Ph of your tank and did you add anything from your established tank when you put the 9 in?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

About 4 months ago it was already fully cycled (around mid-SEP). I was cycling a 125 at the same time, both fishless. After that I would add 5-6 drops of ammonia a week to keep it that way, but just started forgetting and eventually stopped maybe 3 wks after the cycle was complete. 

Between that point and the 8 there has never been more than 3 fish in there and very sporadic and in there maybe 2-4 days. It usually goes weeks without anything in it. 

About 2 months ago (8-10wks really) I had about 8 fish in it that I had just bought and left them in there about 1 week - quarantine. Nothing had been in the tank after those 8 until I added the 9.

I never do anything to the tank other than water changes if fish are in it - weekly. I even changed the sponge in the AC50 that is on it to a brand new one when I put the 9 in because the other had never been pulled to be cleaned and was blue-green in color from meds. I fed them twice a day and overfed because they were looking so thin (reason I thought they had parasites).

I don't treat the tank as a full up round tank unless there are fish in it. I keep the filter running and the heater on. Only use the light if fish are in it. Maybe I was just lucky when those 9 fish were in there and maybe the ammonia showed a day or two after I pulled them out, but that doesn't sound right with that many fish.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Of course a tank that has had fish in it in the past may well be occupied by all sorts of little critters like snails and bugs we can't even see so that might help keep the cycle going as well as the bacteria themselves that will die and produce ammonia. There won't be as much ammonia as when you have the tank full of fish but it might be enough to keep the bacteria going.

I have wondered about this too.


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