bacteria cycle...shrimp

[dougdakesian]

Devante said to buy some dead grocery shrimp instead of buying the little fish from a pet store. Where do I get them (probably grocery store, duh), how much does this cost, how many would i need for a 29g tank, and does this work?
thank you.

 

[jastim]

This will work. Really any type of decay will start producing ammonia and start cycling the tank. Ammonia is just the byproduct of normal decay. Some have even put ammonia in the tank directly. For a 29 gallon tank I wouldn't use a lot. Maybe only one or two pieces of shrimp. Monitor your water frequently. Too much ammonia too fast could be toxic to the beneficial bacteria. If you do this, make sure it is done without fish and that you remove the decaying shrimp before you put fish in. Any raw grocery store shrimp should work fine.

 

[bbreaux1]

ive been using shrimp to cycle my tank im almost done with itim in the 3rd week i have high nitrites and my nitrates are on the rise.ive got a 55 and i put in 5 pieces

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Hey,
You have pieces of shrimp in your tank for 5 weeks YUCK! Remove those things, your biofilter probably can't handle the decaying process if you haven't added any critters to eat that stuff.
Remove those things and get some LR. Wait a week after the LR is added and get some fish.

 

[ebeckels]

bbreaux said 3 weeks?????

 

[thewolfman777]

1 or 2 nice size raw shrimp will do the trick