Dead to Live

[Tang~Cop]

Well I go to get some dead rock and sand soon, but I am still having problems trying to locate some source to seed my tank with. I was wandering would a small Damsel start the cycle, I know that these fish are used to cycle marine tanks alot and they are also VERY hardy.

[sir_dudeguy]

no do NOT use the damsel. Bad for the fish no matter how "hardy" they are and it can still die.

Why not just use a dead shrimp from the supermarket? Just throw it in and keep testing the water for a few days till you get a reading in amonia. Then take the shrimp out and let the tank go thru its cycle.

[Dubbin1]

Better yet, buy a chunk of LR to start the cycle and help seed the dead sand and rock.

[vr697getta]

yeah i used Damsels for my tank it worked they didn't die but getting them out of the tank was not fun
if i would of know of the shrimp method i would of used that

[Tang~Cop]

ok, that sounds better. Thanks. Will any shrimp do?

[AllenFord_SC]

Yeah. The kind you eat. Just don't fry it first. lol

[Tang~Cop]

Do I have to test through out the cycle? Could I test mayby once a week or so? or even once at the start then one 6 weeks later?

[sir_dudeguy]

I wouldnt test untill like day 3 of the shrimp being in. And it likely wont take 6 weeks...so dont wait that long for sure.

I say test every couple days, maybe every 3 days.