Dose with ammonia or food while fish are in QT?

[Jon0807]

Hello!

I'm still in the process of cycling my DT and I have a QT set up now. But it looks like the DT will be completely cycled before my first fish comes out of QT. I know I have to make sure there's ammonia in the cycled DT, and I've been cycling with pure ammonia. Should I keep dosing with ammonia until the fish is out of QT or should I use the food that I'll be feeding the fish so the bacteria can get used to it?

 

[MondoBongo]

the bacteria won't need to get used to it, for them ammonia is ammonia, regardless of where it comes from.

either way will be just fine, but if it were me, i would probably keep up with the ammonia dosing. it's easier to get accurate levels of ammonia when you're dosing known amounts, as opposed to trying to adjust your feeding to mimic the level you need.

 

[Sk8r]

I never use ammonia, just food, and usually I just watch the tank to see if the food is getting taken care of, chemically. My usual dose is a flake a day per 10 gallons.

 

[nitratepetra1]

I'd say ammonia. simply because it's easier to regulate and know how much you need.

 

[SaltySully]

I use dead shrimp and add more when it is gone.