Will my tanks cycle with 1 fish?

[Katy]

I was not able to do fishless tank cycles. I have several 5 and 10gal tanks, all with 1 or 2 (divided) bettas, some live plants (about 1 plant per gallon in each tank), and no other fish or snails or anything. I do water changes rather constantly in all my 10 tanks to keep levels down. (About 10-50% 1-2 times per week depending on the tank and situation).

My question is, is there a way to cycle my tanks? I don't really ever let the ammonia get high enough to promote bacterial growth. But now that there are some live plants it's quite difficult to do water changes. Any suggestions?

[thekoimaiden]

That should cycle your tanks. It will take a while (probably 2-3 months), but a stable cycle will develop. You could just try adding more fast-growing plant so you eliminate the need for a cycle.

[Katy]

Thanks! Any advice on what kind of plant load I might need to serve as an ammonia sink if the tanks are not cycled? And what plants are the fastest growers? I currently use Anubias and have a few java moss floating. My conditions are low-moderate light. Thanks!

[thekoimaiden]

Neither of those plants are fast-growing at all. Both fall into the slow category. Unfortunately most of the fast-growing plants also need med-high lighting. They might be able work in your lighting but the growth won't be as fast. You could just try adding more low-med light plants like java fern. Or if you wanted to try fast-growing plants you should look at anarcharis/elodea. I have them in my med-low light setups, and they do okay there for the most part. Floating plants like water sprite and duckweed also work.