Cyling with live rock....can I add a hermit crab?

[talloulou]

I am cycling with live rock, but I only have about 16lbs in my 29 gallon at this point. Is that enough to cycle with? Also the live rock was already cured supposedly....will it still cycle my tank? And I saw some aquatic hermit crabs at petco. Can I add one of those to the tank while it's cycling? All that's in there now is a clam, starfish, and a shrimp that all came with the live rock.

 

[buvaren]

You can cycle with any amount of live rock. The problem comes in if you want to add more live rock. If you add "uncured" rock after your cycle, you will start a new cycle.

So if you plan on adding more rock, I'd probably go ahead and do it now, and do your aquascaping at the same time.

Not sure about the hermit crabs.

 

[Nels22]

you need to wait until your water parameters are all stable and set up before adding anything but lr to your tank, it will only stress it out and best case scenario it struggles through it, wait until it can be happy in there.

 

[Fluff]

16lbs is a good start. Be sure to test your water and keep an eye on parameters. If your rock was indeed precured, you may not see much of a cycle at all. I agree that you need to be careful when adding new rock that isn't cured. You'll want to test you water regularly. Having water ready for a water change is a good idea as a precaution.
Skip adding anything, even a hermit til your sure the tank is finished cycling. Also, keep in mind, not all hermits are created equal. I'd steer away from any of the large varieties. Blue leg, zebras and scarlets are a safe bet.