My most trying week

[burnsie2005]

I'm feeling incredibly stressed after the week that I've had with my tank. I've had the tank up and running since thanksgiving, and things have been running pretty smooth. I've only had one issue when I added the LR. Since then I've been good, almost waiting for it to hit the fan. Well on Sunday, I was doing my maintenance. It was the 1st time that I was changing the filter media and I didn't turn off the valves to the canister filter before opening it up. So water ran everywhere, all over my pergo flooring.

So to try to clean up the water, my husband and I had to move the tank to make sure no water was under the stand. And while moving the tank, water ran out of the top

It was incredibly difficult to move the tank back into place. Thankfully we saved the flooring.
So today was the day to go to the LFS and pick up more of our clean up crew. We have 42lbs of LR in the tank with 4 damsels that we cycled the tank with. So we went to the LFS and picked up my 1st cleaner shrimp, an emerald crab, and 7 more hermit crabs. Also picked up a beautiful piece of LR. So we acclimated the inverts, and they seemed to enjoy all the rockwork. After we turned the lights back on, one of the damsels started nipping at my cleaner shrimp. I was keeping my eye on him because I wasn't sure how aggressive he was going to be. So we had to make a quick decision on what we were going to do with the damsels. We knew we weren't going to keep them for good, but we didn't think we'd have to get rid of them today. So we attempted to catch the damsels in the tank to protect my cleaner shrimp. Well, in order to catch them, we had to remove every piece of LR in the tank and stress out all the new animals we added. We finally got them out and had an absolute disaster. I know most people don't like damsels, but after having them for 2 months, we became attached to them. I feel like the most inhumane person for just turning them over to the LFS. It just seems like such a terrible life for the fish. I really just wish that I had cycled my tank in a different way. So, anyway, we made it, but I still feel incredibly guilty. I guess the moral of the story is never cycle your tank with damsels. That has been my trying week with my tank. I hope everyone else has had a better week.

 

[julie853]

Sounds like a pretty bad week.good news is usually after aweek like that the next week will be better.
I cycled my tank with damsels too although I was planning on keeping them they didn't survive the cycle it was horrable experience and I also will never use the poor little guys to cycle a tank again.

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by burnsie2005
I'm feeling incredibly stressed after the week that I've had with my tank. I've had the tank up and running since thanksgiving, and things have been running pretty smooth. I've only had one issue when I added the LR. Since then I've been good, almost waiting for it to hit the fan. Well on Sunday, I was doing my maintenance. It was the 1st time that I was changing the filter media and I didn't turn off the valves to the canister filter before opening it up. So water ran everywhere, all over my pergo flooring.

So to try to clean up the water, my husband and I had to move the tank to make sure no water was under the stand. And while moving the tank, water ran out of the top

It was incredibly difficult to move the tank back into place. Thankfully we saved the flooring.
So today was the day to go to the LFS and pick up more of our clean up crew. We have 42lbs of LR in the tank with 4 damsels that we cycled the tank with. So we went to the LFS and picked up my 1st cleaner shrimp, an emerald crab, and 7 more hermit crabs. Also picked up a beautiful piece of LR. So we acclimated the inverts, and they seemed to enjoy all the rockwork. After we turned the lights back on, one of the damsels started nipping at my cleaner shrimp. I was keeping my eye on him because I wasn't sure how aggressive he was going to be. So we had to make a quick decision on what we were going to do with the damsels. We knew we weren't going to keep them for good, but we didn't think we'd have to get rid of them today. So we attempted to catch the damsels in the tank to protect my cleaner shrimp. Well, in order to catch them, we had to remove every piece of LR in the tank and stress out all the new animals we added. We finally got them out and had an absolute disaster. I know most people don't like damsels, but after having them for 2 months, we became attached to them. I feel like the most inhumane person for just turning them over to the LFS. It just seems like such a terrible life for the fish. I really just wish that I had cycled my tank in a different way. So, anyway, we made it, but I still feel incredibly guilty. I guess the moral of the story is never cycle your tank with damsels. That has been my trying week with my tank. I hope everyone else has had a better week.
It is almost like a right of passage in this hobby unless you are one of the few, the smart, the patient that actually found this site prior to buying the american dream. I had a gold striped damsel of some sort that was born of satan and his little heart beat black as night. I finally fish trapped him out and put him in a 54 corner thinking the mean Huma Huma would rock his world. Two days later, I had to fish the 3/4 inch gold demon out again after he tortured the 3+ inch Huma with in an inch of his life.
Atleast it is a lesson learned only once.
The last poster is right. Your tank will come together and be pleasurable soon, but you will always eye those LFS damsel with ill intent.
Mc

 

[burnsie2005]

Thanks you guys for the posts. I'm really glad I'm not alone. You both made me feel much better!

 

[hot883]

You are not inhumane for turning them back to the LFS, YOU are inhumane for using fish to cycle with. Those fish if they live will have burned gills from the nitrogen cycle, and those fouls will sell them to someone else to burn their gills again.

If it was the LFS that sold you on that old, outdated and cruel method of cycling, then Honestly I would find another LFS to deal with.
Besides being a nasty mean fish anyway, they can be extremely hard to catch as you have found out. If you did leave them in there, they would have gotten super mean and picked on everything else you put in there.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by burnsie2005
Thanks you guys for the posts. I'm really glad I'm not alone. You both made me feel much better!
It is not your fault, you went by what your LFS told you. You didn't know any better. Now you can join us in teling people NOT to cycle with damsels. A cycle is easily done by buying uncured rock or just adding a piece of raw coctail shrimp. That is actually more effecient than fish waste and it just sits on the bottom, easy to scoop out. Rock is the best way though being you have to buy it anyway at some point in this hobby. Don't beat yourself up. MANY MANY people have cycled their tank with damsls. LFS's STILL recomend it because they are looking for the sale, and usually the fish die so they don't have to give credit. This is completely NOT your fault!!!!!!

 

[cjml]

Agree with all above--guilty here too of cycling the wrong way.. Very very bad thing. So hopefully we can keep others from making the same mistake! And as its been said patience is the key. The longer it takes to get your cycle correct the better off your tank will be. :happyfish :happyfish

 

[saltynoob]

I hear ya!!!

But keep your chin up it will be ok!!
I got lucky and had a really good LFS person give me the low down on damsels before I got started. She told me that there would be almost no way to get them out of the tank after setting it up. I THANK HER EVERYTIME I SEE HER!

 

[marine fanatic]

Keep your spirits up, things will get better. We have ALL made mistakes in the past especially when we first started and I was guilty as well with cycling my first tank with damsels. Uncured live rock in my opinion is the absolute BEST way to go and as stated above, now you can join us in the "don't use damsels to cycle with" campaign.