Recommendations ASAP

[mntventuraca]

Ok i'm having a problem,i'm cycling as some of you know,i'm using fish to cycle...not anymore,i have a huge parasite problem right now,a few have died as a result,the rest are going back to the LFS,i'm going to use cocktail shrimp to continue/finish my cycle,what i need to know is how many do i use for a 75 gallon tank that will equate to the 11 fish i was using to cycle,recommendations/suggestions are MUCH appreciated

 

[lauremf2002]

one raw peeled shrimp should do the trick, just take it out when you see your levels spike and the waiting game begins. PS I wouldnt try and put any fish back in until the tank has completely cycled or youll probably lose them all.

 

[locoyo386]

Hi there,
Originally Posted by MnTVenturaCa
http:///forum/post/2948693
Ok i'm having a problem,i'm cycling as some of you know,i'm using fish to cycle...not anymore,i have a huge parasite problem right now,a few have died as a result,the rest are going back to the LFS,i'm going to use cocktail shrimp to continue/finish my cycle,what i need to know is how many do i use for a 75 gallon tank that will equate to the 11 fish i was using to cycle,recommendations/suggestions are MUCH appreciated
Have you checked your ammonia level? You might not need to use the raw shrimp anymore. If your ammonia level is high, than my opinion would be to just let the tank do it's thing.
Also note that some people here say it's better to cycle with "live rock". Maybe they will see you thread and post their opinions on this.

 

[sickboy]

did you pull the dead fish out? If not, it would act the same as the shrimp...

 

[stdreb27]

Whoh,
lets start at the beginning.
Lets see if we got the steps right?
Filled a tank, with damsels, then they started dying?
Did you see the parasites?
If this is the case, I'd imagine, leaving the tank empty for 6 weeks is needed. (in order to let the ich starve out) At that point, I'd drop 1 or 2 fish in.
In the mean time I'd suggest you just leave your tank alone and let it cycle. You're probably having lots of die out right now. Just make sure to top it off, and do a couple of water changes in the mean time.

 

[spanko]

You were cycling a 75 gallon tank with 11 fish?
When you say parasite do you mean Ich?
Agree with Loco and Sickboy here. If you have elevated ammonia and especially if the dead fish is still in there then just wait out the cycle.
Also be aware that if your fish did have Ich your best course of action right now is to wait out the normal cycle and from the day that all fish are removed for the tank, I will say again "all fish are removed from the tank" you will need to wait for 6 weeks before putting any other fish in there. This will let the Ich parasite run it life cycle without anything to eat and it will die out.

 

[srfisher17]

But get any dead fish out and test ammonia. You may need to change some water. Its possible to kill off LR/good bacteria with extremely high ammonia.

 

[mntventuraca]

Thanx for the replies,let me be a bit more specific about my setup,i think some of the replies were based on having LR,this is a fish only setup...for now,no live rock,inverts etc,so were going thru the cycling process the "old fashioned"/long way" were currently in the Nitrite phase,the ammonia is currently at 0,but....its going to spike again because our original load was based on 11 1" fish,now were losing fish due to our parasite problem...and yes for those that replied to the previous post it definitely is Marine Ich...we've already made the decision to get rid of the fish,and yes i already pulled out the dead fish,i feel bad enough losing the ones i have,and i don't wanna lose anymore,so i'm trying to figure out how many shrimp i should use to equate the 11 i originally used for cycling.I know one of you replied that one would be enough but that may be based on having LR?,were going to in essence start cycling again with the shrimp,and wait 2 months from the day i take the fish back to the LFS for those parasites to be completely gone.thanx again for the replies and any more info would be appreciated

 

[locoyo386]

Hi there,
Originally Posted by MnTVenturaCa
http:///forum/post/2948956
Thanx for the replies,let me be a bit more specific about my setup,i think some of the replies were based on having LR,this is a fish only setup...for now,no live rock,inverts etc,so were going thru the cycling process the "old fashioned"/long way" were currently in the Nitrite phase,the ammonia is currently at 0,but....its going to spike again
Not sure why you think this will happen. If you took out all the fish including the dead ones, there should be no more ammonia spike. Since you are already seeing nitrites, than you have been cycling already. No more need to introduce additonal ammonia. Just wait till you have no nitrites.
because our original load was based on 11 1" fish,now were losing fish due to our parasite problem...and yes for those that replied to the previous post it definitely is Marine Ich...we've already made the decision to get rid of the fish,and yes i already pulled out the dead fish,i feel bad enough losing the ones i have,and i don't wanna lose anymore,
You are still going to have to wait till the life cycle of ich to complete(end actually) before you can think f adding fish. Like mentioned before by spanko, I would suggest you wait at least 6 weeks.
so i'm trying to figure out how many shrimp i should use to equate the 11 i originally used for cycling.I know one of you replied that one would be enough but that may be based on having LR?, were going to in essence start cycling again with the shrimp
In my honest opinion you no longer need to restart cycling, just let it finish. No more shrimp needed.
,and wait 2 months from the day i take the fish back to the LFS for those parasites to be completely gone.
This is a good idea, 2 months should be a good amount of time.
thanx again for the replies and any more info would be appreciated
What decorations or subtrate are you having in the tank?

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by MnTVenturaCa
http:///forum/post/2948956
Thanx for the replies,let me be a bit more specific about my setup,i think some of the replies were based on having LR,this is a fish only setup...for now,no live rock,inverts etc,so were going thru the cycling process the "old fashioned"/long way" were currently in the Nitrite phase,the ammonia is currently at 0,but....its going to spike again because our original load was based on 11 1" fish,now were losing fish due to our parasite problem...and yes for those that replied to the previous post it definitely is Marine Ich...we've already made the decision to get rid of the fish,and yes i already pulled out the dead fish,i feel bad enough losing the ones i have,and i don't wanna lose anymore,so i'm trying to figure out how many shrimp i should use to equate the 11 i originally used for cycling.I know one of you replied that one would be enough but that may be based on having LR?,were going to in essence start cycling again with the shrimp,and wait 2 months from the day i take the fish back to the LFS for those parasites to be completely gone.thanx again for the replies and any more info would be appreciated
With no LR, what are you using for filtration and media to hold the bacteria? You don't really cycle the water; you culture bacteria.(We are really bacteria farmers before we are fishkeepers.)The bacteria need something with good water flow where they can take hold and multiply. Like: bio-balls, ceramic rings, etc. Various materials used for this purpose come with most filters. One shrimp is plenty, regardless of the filter media used; all you need is something to decompose and produce ammonia. BTW, be sure no carbon is running in the filter if you are using copper, or one of the newer (but, IMO, unproven) new ich meds.)

 

[mntventuraca]

Howdy,
well locoyo the bacteria need something to feed on,with no fish in the tank they'll consume what decaying matter is already in there and with no more to consume they'll start to die off,so thats why i'm putting in the shrimp,the spike i'm guessing will occur because of the amount i put in,remember my goal is to roughly equate what i had in the tank with the fish.SRFisher i'm currently running twin canister filters and twin powerheads,my flow rate is about 900g per hour total,and the water movement in the tank is excellent,so i have no problem there,i have 100 lbs of inert rock,and 80 lbs of crushed coral substrate,i'm running both Bio and mechanical filtration at this point when i get fully established i'll run Chem filtration about 1 week a month,i plan on seeding the inert rock with LR eventually.Thanx for the advise guys,i'll have a ton more questions as they come along.

 

[locoyo386]

Hi there,
Originally Posted by MnTVenturaCa
http:///forum/post/2949849
Howdy,
well locoyo the bacteria need something to feed on,with no fish in the tank they'll consume what decaying matter is already in there and with no more to consume they'll start to die off,
Will this die off provide ammonia?
so thats why i'm putting in the shrimp,
If you really feel better by putting shrimp in there, than one should be just fine. Once again in my opinion you do not really need it anymore.
the spike i'm guessing will occur because of the amount i put in,
This is correct, if the bacteria can't convert the ammonia fast enough. If they can, than you will not see an ammonia spike anymore. If you are already seeing nitrites, than the ammonia spike already occured, or is in the process of acuring. Thus when you test for nitrites and it comes out zero. This means that the tank has established a nitrification cycle. Than you are ready to place live stock (the bioload will provide nurishment for the bacteria).
remember my goal is to roughly equate what i had in the tank with the fish.
It is difficult to calculate the bioload that the 11 fish where producing. Once the nitrification cycle is established you can add live stock. This live stock will produce additional ammonia, thus if the additional live stock produces too much bioload for your bacteria to convert quick enough, you will see ammonia and nitrites again. It is not how much bioload you have, but how much bacteria you have for the bioload present. Once gain in my opinion you do not need the shrimp anymore.
SRFisher i'm currently running twin canister filters and twin powerheads,my flow rate is about 900g per hour total,and the water movement in the tank is excellent,so i have no problem there,i have 100 lbs of inert rock,and 80 lbs of crushed coral substrate,i'm running both Bio and mechanical filtration at this point when i get fully established i'll run Chem filtration about 1 week a month,i plan on seeding the inert rock with LR eventually.Thanx for the advise guys,i'll have a ton more questions as they come along.