Reptile & Amphibian Forums

've just set up a tank, and I'm wondering if it's safe to cycle a 16-gallon tank using a pair of dwarf gouramis. My water is fairly hard and has a pH of 7.6 at the moment. My ammonia is about .025 ppm straight out of the tap... a little high for my liking, and I'm wondering if this would be lethal or not. Should I throw in an ammonia reducer? I hear those are bad b/c they get rid of the ammonia the bacteria need to eat and therefore colonize. I'd really hate to kill any fish in this process of cycling, but I also don't want to do the 1-2 month "fishless cycling". Any recommendations on if gouramis will work to cycle my tank, i.e. won't die on me! Other fish I plan to have in my tank are some species of tetra or small rasboras, and corys. Maybe it'd be better to cycle with one of them? Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Congrats on your new tank. Dwarf gouramis are not hardy fish. I would suggest a different community fish (like harlequin rasboras - I like them) that is hardier than gouramis, and then you can certainly add the gouramis after your tank cycles.
pH is fine. Ammonia is high - should be 0, anything more than that will stress fish out (more as you increase it). Ammonia reducers do nothing but hide the problem. Frequent water changes are a must in cycling.
I might mention that you can fishless cycle, but I have absolutely no experience with this. I can recommend a link to it if you are interested. Cycling will take 1-3 months regardless of how you go about doing it. It is up to you on how you choose to do it, but it will take the same amount of time.
Also, tetras aren't good to cycle with (do best in established aquariums) - so out of your choices, I'd go with the rasboras. They are hardier, not to say they won't die, just can resist more stress. If that makes any sense?!
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."