Good fish to jump start a cycle?

g8er_h8er

g8er_h8er

Member
Would two damsels be sufficient to help get the cycle going in a 36 gall. tank?
I have heard they are agressive, so they would go back for credit once the cycle is complete.
Or, is there another species that would suffice for cycling duties that I could keep rather than return when I planned on getting a couple more fish?
 
rossim

rossim

Member
From what I've read on these boards, throwing a uncooked raw frozen shrimp in the tank is the best way to get the cycle started.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
g8er_h8er

g8er_h8er

Member
The reason I wanted to put the damsels in or some other type of fish, is that it's just a little more exciting watching a few fish swim around rather than watching a dead shrimp for a few weeks.
Am I taking an impatient approach to this?
I realize the damsels are aggressive so they would go back for store credit after the cycle was complete. With a big enough net, I don't think I will have much trouble catching them since the tank is devoid of anything but sand + water.
 
greatfullreefer

greatfullreefer

Active Member
The reason you should NOT use Damsels is because it is CRUEL, you are subjecting then to toxic water conditions. Sure it is true that 90% of the time they will survive but imagine being put in a place for 2 months where every breath you took was painfull. Go with the raw coctail shrimp and don't subject fish to unessesary cruelty, youll be glad you did.
Welcome and Good Luck
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
well i just started my fish tank. it seems to be going well so far. been 2 weeks, i just keep checking my PH, ammonia, and nitrites levels. All seems stable. I got 2 damsels, 2 nemos, yellow tang and a hermit crab. all seem to be happy, swimming around minding their own busness and eat each time i feed em.. i was told that for a 55gal tank, atleast 4-5 1-2inch fish are needed to start the cycle, or it will just prolong for even 2 months. im an animal lover, so i dont want to abuse animals. but i think if u put 2 damsels and check ur water chemicals every 3days, u shud be fine. dont worry, damsels are very hardy.
even if you see here:
http://www.galaxyhit.com/search/sear...=damsels+hardy
you will see how many people agree how hardy they are.
goodluck
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
so your telling me that within a week or so my fish will start dying? and now theres nothing i can do about it?
dont fish die when the nitrites go high? so i plan on change 25% of the water to maintain it. wont that help?
yes my store told me you need fish to start the cycle. also, no where did i read of adding dead shrimp to start it. my first time to read it was here.
why does all these results say to start with damsels:
http://www.galaxyhit.com/search/sear...+beginner+fish
why are you scaring me? what did i do to u? you should be tellin me what i can do NOW to save the fish. ofcourse im a animal lover, i got a cat too, had a dog.
thanks
 
belothsurf

belothsurf

Member
I agree, there is absolutely no reason to start a cycle with a fish, wether they are hardy or not. You can start a cycle with a piece of shrimp, some live rock, fish food, or a cup of sand from an established tank. I certainly understand the excitement and anticipation of having some fish in the tank, but it will only take a month or so to cycle the tank, so try to hold off. If you can afford to go ahead and get a lot of live rock, it will cycle even quicker, and you can have fun re-arranging the rocks for a few weeks. I think I moved mine around about 20 times in the 3 or 4 weeks it took my tank to cycle. By the way, I initially "did" take the advice of my LFS, and 3 days after setting my tank up, put 2 damsels in it. I also started with about 15lbs of lr, and 40lbs of live sand. The damsels didn't make it 24 hours, but I did get a good lesson in what a stressed out, hard breathing fish looks like. Sounds like mujtba is veeeerrrry lucky.
 
A

autopilot

Guest

Originally posted by mujtba
what does LFS stand for?
local fish store
 
lilredcmc

lilredcmc

Member
i agree on not using the damsels. but what i did to jump start my tank was acclimated 4 mollies(wanted live bearers to feed a seahorse later) and as much lr as i could afford. in no time the tank cycled and all the mollies were fine. in fact 2 of the 3 females just gave birth. we no longer are looking into getting a seahorse so i left the babies for whatever fish wanted to eat them. the tank is still new been up for 5-6 months now and everything is doing good. check the levels and everything is fine. knock on wood.
 
lilredcmc

lilredcmc

Member
the 'drip thing'. :D when i brought them home from the lfs i put them in about a 5gal bucket. got the airline tubing and tied a knot in the end, started a very slow drip. let it drip all night and by the time i got up the next morning the bucket was almost full. so i stopped the drip and just let them hang out for about another 30-45 min then added to the tank. the reason we used the mollies instead of the damsels(besides for breeding) they are alot hardier and ALOT less :yes:
 
agent 14

agent 14

Member
i put a 2 damsels and a clown a day after i set up my tank
the two damsels died but i still got my clown,and i put him in a day after my tank was setup last year
 
coxy101

coxy101

Member
Guppies will not work in saltwater ---
The reason that Mollies work is because they are brackish fish (meaning between salt and freshwater). They can be slowly acclimated to saltwater. Guppies are freshwater fish. They will die in saltwater.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
i have a bio-filter which hangs on the outside. is that enough or do i need a canister or wet/dry filter? im not rich now. i already spent $600 on so much. so will my filter be sufficient if i change water 25% monthly? plz advise...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top