Shrimp used to cycle?
- Thread starter mattpg36
- Start date
firedad720
Member
go to any store that sells fresh uncooked seafood. get 1 to 3 frozen uncooked shrimp. drop into your tank, and as it decomposes(sp?) it lets off amon. and your cycle starts. some people take it out after amon. rises, and some just leave it in the tank. anyway will work.
rick
rick
firedad720
Member
no a cleaner shrimp would never live through a cycle. i have used the DEAD shrimp method to cycle my tank. some people do use damsels to cycle, but it is very hard on them. some die during the cycle.
rick
rick
salty cheese
Active Member
Originally posted by ams153
hey i think there talkin bout the cleaner shrimp not the food shrimp
Andrew
No, they're talking about using a raw dead shrimp.
Matt, you can also use uncurred lr or even a few pinches of flake fish food to kick start the cycle.
squidd
Active Member
It's the Bacteria that convert fish waste (Ammonia) to Nitrite and then to NitrAte...
You need to "feed" them to get them to "multiply" to levels that will "consume/convert" all the waste produced by your fish...
There are alot of ways to do this..one of them being to throw a fish in there to produce waste and feed the bacteria..But this is HARD on the fish (as levels are "imbalanced") and NOT recommended...
Another way that has gained alot of popularity is to add a "dead" grocery store shrimp to the tank ...allow it to "decay" and this feeds the bacteria and allows them to "multiply"... Many followers of this method...
A third way is to buy "uncured" Live Rock and allow the "die off" from that to "feed" the tank...But it can get pretty "stinky"...
Another way that "Bang Guy" has been promoting (I tried and liked) is to "feed" your empty tank fish food Just as if you had fish in there...
This low level of organic decomposition feeds the bacteria and allows them to grow at a rate equal to the food supply and is less "drastic" than a dead shrimp or LR "die off"...
Which ever method you choose you will need an Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte test kit to "follow" the growth rates (and resultant conversion levels) of the bacteria as Food is processed from organics to Ammonia to NitrIte to NitrAte...
When Ammonia levels are "back" to 0 and NitrIte levels are "back" to 0 this shows bacteria levels have risen to a level that can support your "first" fish...
You need to "feed" them to get them to "multiply" to levels that will "consume/convert" all the waste produced by your fish...
There are alot of ways to do this..one of them being to throw a fish in there to produce waste and feed the bacteria..But this is HARD on the fish (as levels are "imbalanced") and NOT recommended...
Another way that has gained alot of popularity is to add a "dead" grocery store shrimp to the tank ...allow it to "decay" and this feeds the bacteria and allows them to "multiply"... Many followers of this method...
A third way is to buy "uncured" Live Rock and allow the "die off" from that to "feed" the tank...But it can get pretty "stinky"...
Another way that "Bang Guy" has been promoting (I tried and liked) is to "feed" your empty tank fish food Just as if you had fish in there...
This low level of organic decomposition feeds the bacteria and allows them to grow at a rate equal to the food supply and is less "drastic" than a dead shrimp or LR "die off"...
Which ever method you choose you will need an Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte test kit to "follow" the growth rates (and resultant conversion levels) of the bacteria as Food is processed from organics to Ammonia to NitrIte to NitrAte...
When Ammonia levels are "back" to 0 and NitrIte levels are "back" to 0 this shows bacteria levels have risen to a level that can support your "first" fish...