Are Mollies Good for Cycling

Last Updated on June 28, 2022 by cmoarz

There are two schools of thought regarding using mollies for cycling. Some people believe that mollies can help jump-start the cycling process, while others believe it’s cruel to use live fish in this way. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to use mollies for cycling is a personal one.

As a practical answer, yes mollies can be used for cycling and they do a pretty good job of it.

Why it’s cruel

Cycling a tank with fish is often thought of as cruel because the fish are essentially being used as guinea pigs.

Most fish will assuredly die during the cycle process (which often helps to fuel the ammonia levels needed), and even those that don’t may experience a great deal of stress.

So just dropping a mollie or any fish into a tank to start cycling it is generally not considered the best way to go about things, and it’s frowned upon by many in the hobby.

The good news is, You can cycle a tank with live fish without causing undue pain and suffering but it requires more work on your part.

When is it not cruel?

While cycling with live fish is often considered cruel, there are ways to do it that are much less so.

First, You should monitor the ammonia levels multiple times a day. When ammonia levels start spiking too high, do a large water change.

An aquarium will still cycle even when you are removing a large amount of ammonia-rich water, it will just take a little longer to do.

The next thing you want to do is shorten that lengthened cycle as much as possible for the fish’s comfort.

You can do this by adding copious amounts of bottled bacteria.

Adding bacteria will help to speed up the cycle and make it more comfortable for your fish.

Remember, you should still be monitoring ammonia levels closely even with the addition of bacteria, as things can still go wrong and ammonia can spike very quickly in an uncycled tank.

Another step you can make is putting a piece of filter media from a cycled tank into your new tank.

This will help to jump-start the cycling process as there will already be bacteria present on the filter media.

A true cycle can take years

A fully cycled tank can take years to develop. The bacteria that cycle a tank live in the filter, on decorations, and in the substrate.

It takes time for these bacteria to grow and multiply to the point where they can effectively cycle a tank on their own.

Adding mollies (or any fish) to a new tank will not cycle it instantly. It may help to jump-start the process, but it will still take time for the bacteria to fully develop.

But by following the steps in this article, You can shorten the time it takes to get a soft cycle which will make it so much better for your fish.

Cycling a tank with mollies can be considered cruel, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these simple steps to live cycle a tank without losing and fish are causing undue stress.