How long for shrimp?

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Alvarez

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
185
Location
Brownsburg, IN
I put the shimp in the tank to get the tank to go through the cycle... I have about 45lbs of LR in there and it didn't seem to cycle (perhaps because all the rock was cured) I have added a couple shrimp to get a cycle going, however my question is... How long should I let the shrimp decay in there? Is there a certain amount if time I let them decay and then pull them out? I left their tales on them also and I dunno if that is recommended.
 
If your LR was cured you may not see a cycle because the rock has benificial bacteria on it. How long have they been in the tank??
If its been a few weeks then i would say that the LR is cured and its doing its job and taking care of the ammonia, nitrites ect..
If you see any spike at all just leave them in till the cycle is over is there is any left take it out then.
I used cured LR in my 55 and it never showed a cycle, so its possible if you have good LR with no die off to have no cycle.
 
I agree with seaham about the cured rock and possibly no cycle. If you are going to add a fish I would make sure to have extra sw ready first in case there is a spike.
jmo
Mike
 
I won't be adding fish for at least a month or 2 no matter what. I want to make sure the tank is stable and all levels stay in check.. I am not going to risk a fish mortality so I can look at it for a few days.
 
I would add a clean up crew, some crabs and snails to get things going and to test the waters.
You can feed them once or twice a week some flake food. Taking things slow is good but you also want to keep the bacteria alive.
 
Astrea snails are great, as is scarlet or blue leg hermits. I agree with seaham, you want something in there to keep the bacteria going so be sure to feed the tank.
 
Alvarez said:
I won't be adding fish for at least a month or 2 no matter what. I want to make sure the tank is stable and all levels stay in check.. I am not going to risk a fish mortality so I can look at it for a few days.
(y)
 
The cycle never happened so I will add a crab and maybe snail. However after adding sand and waiting for the clouds to clear the rock is sandy... should I shake the sand off or should I just leave it be and wait for it to clear off itself?

Also the guy at the LFS said I would be smarter not to get a glass top for the aquarium. He said there was horrible salt build up on them and if I had to have a top I could go with a screen or something... Is this typical?

And last but not least... I did the first cycle with 1/2 tap water and 1/2 RO water as recommended here, should I do a water change with RO water before adding the crab?
 
I would blow the sand off with a turkey baster.

Yes, not only will the glass top collect salt creep but it also is bad for gas exchange and can effect your ph. Egg crate is a cheap top alternative. You can find it at Lowe's or Home Depot in the lighting department.

Yep, I'd do a water change with RO/DI water before adding any critters.
 
OK I now have 2 crabs in the tank and they have survived the night. I think while I was out I received the worst advice ever from a LFS. The guy at the LFS said that it was insane to cycle a tank with dead frozen shrimp. He said you could just drop the fish food in everyday with no live fish in it or drop some of your own urine in the tank. He said it is best to cycle with a live fish in the aquarium and he would recommend a Damsel or even a clown fish.

Nonetheless I left there and went to another LFS and got 2 couple crabs. I got some fish food for them but I want to make sure it will provide them with enough nutrition. What should I feed the crabs with?
 
just put a small amount in the tank and it will sink to the bottom , they will find it during the night or even the day if there out.
 
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