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Can I cycle a 70 gallon tank with one Betta fish in there?

7 November 2009 3 Comments

A none cycled tank is bad for fish as the ammonia will kill them. So what if its 70 gallons with one Betta....?

3 Comments »

  • XxLeannexX said:

    I know it wouldn’t make much mess, that’s why I was wondering if I could keep him in there while it cycles.

  • FishEpert said:

    The one betta will only produce enough ammonia to cycle the tank for that one fish. This is why fishless cycles are great, you can cycle your tank so it can hold as many fish as you should keep in there.

    There are instructions on how to do a fishless cycle on the source below.

  • catx said:

    One Betta in a 70g won’t make enough mess to trigger the cycle, and if it did it would die pretty quickly, they don’t do well in ammonia spikes. You’re better off going fishless if you don’t have a tank to clone your 70g from.

    Read these:
    http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Nitrogen_Cycle
    http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861
    http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5322

    That will probably be far quicker than trying to keep any fish alive through the cycle. Fishless means no water changes interrupting the process and you can let it be toxic without worrying.

    edit: the answer is still no, the tank will cycle and the properties in the water will reach toxic levels as that is part of the process, and that will kill the Betta.

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