Fishless Cycle (shrimp)

[pat8you]

So i started working at a LFS by my house. Only like the third day i have worked there and i'm trying to learn all about freshwater since i have always been salt. My manager was talking to me about the fish that he normally recommends for cycling tanks. At this point in the conversation i asked him why he didn't use a fishless cycle with raw unseasoned shrimp and i thought he was going to *deficate* a brick. He went off about how dangerous that is because there were bacteria and i think he said parasite and protazoan eggs that could be on the shrimp that once they get in your tank would just do all of these terrible things. I've always cycled my tanks with shrimp and i know many of you here have as well. So the question is, have any of you had problems with this method and do any of you know if any of what he said it true?

I personally don't belive that for a second. If there were that many bad things in the shrimp that are ment for human consumption it seems that someone would be getting sick or bad things would be happening. I also didn't see how even if that was true that it would be any worse then all the possible things that could travel into a tank on the fish that he was going to use to cycle with. These are just my thoughts though i don't have anything to back them up with.

Any proof of either side of the issue?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Ahhh... the "it'll poison your tank" argument. I've heard that one too.

I suppose theoretically he's right - there can be some nasties on the shrimp that would normally be killed when it's cooked for food. But I don't see that as being any different that the nasties that fish/corals/inverts/live rock will bring in. Same ocean, same nasties.

But to answer your question, I've never had a problem with it, and have not had any disease in my main tank... knock on wood.

 

[buddha_red]

things change slowly in aquarium world. Accepted practices take a while to spread but luckily we are seeing more and more convert to a fishless cycle. I don't buy for a second that there is anything wrong with a raw shrimp used as an ammonia source. yes something could be on the shrimp, but its unlikely.

I have read hundreds of posts and not once have i heard of any infections taking place because of it. I cannot say the same for ICH and velvet.

I do not have any fancy facts or figures but i do know that during a nitrogen cycle, toxic chemicals are produced then converted into less toxic chemicals. There is no escaping that. I personally do not want my fish breathing that and if i can avoid it, that's exactly what i will do. good for you standing up for the updated practices of our hobby..

 

[pat8you]

I'm doing what i can but i can't really argue with him much because i have only been working there a couple of days.

 

[buddha_red]

as the saying goes

Nothing in aquariums is fast, that includes information.

 

[neilanh]

What's he say about using a pure ammonia source? I've cycled all my tanks in this manner.

 

[pat8you]

Yeah i asked about that two and he seemed to think that it was an ok idea but insisted that as soon as the tank finishes cycling you have to add your fish. his quote was "add your fish like that day or it was all for nothing". which is silly because the bacteria won't die in one day. But he also mentioned that he just wasn't interested in fishless cycling as much because he thought that his customers wouldn't be patient enough to do it. That may be true but it seems like we could at least try to convince people to do it the right way. He seems very stuck in his ways from what i can tell.

 

[buddha_red]

It's true that most want a tank NOW, all you can do is try. We help who we can

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

...He seems very stuck in his ways from what i can tell.

Probably so, but just remember who runs/manages the shop if you need the job.

 

[roka64]

Well, for one, if you are using a SW shrimp, I highly doubt any type of SW parasites and protazoan eggs would even survive in a FW tank, not to mention the ammonia levels.

 

[pat8you]

Probably so, but just remember who runs/manages the shop if you need the job.

Haha. this is why i do my complaining and agruing here and not to him. I have not been working there long enough to disagree with the way he is doing things. I just think its silly how stuborn and somewhat uninformed he is. I asked him if i could recommend people to this site to people for additional help with their tanks and he didn't like that either. He claimed that all forums end up with people arguing over which way is right and that there is lots of bad information. He also though that forums bashed local fish stores.

I'm sure there are disagreements but there is rarly advice given here that i think is flat out wrong. Just the whole more then one way to skin a cat thing. And i wanted to tell him that this forum usually encourages supporting the LFS as long as it's a good one. I didn't want to say that though incase i had to specify what i thought was a "good one" and this place may be on the borderline.

 

[SparKy697]

He also though that forums bashed local fish stores.

Not the local fish stores, just the bad advice given.

 

[betta4me]

I agree, the staff can be testing at times. I personally have had bad experiences at a LFS (chain stores not included, different rant) when asking questions. I can tell some of them really know what they're talking about but it's like this BIG secret and I only get bits and pieces of information with a look like I'm a total idiot for even asking. Some of them really don't know what they're talking about and instead of finding out, they just make something up. It can be frustrating which is why I came here to begin with.
I'm sure you will not be that way.

 

[sooju]

I asked him if i could recommend people to this site to people for additional help with their tanks and he didn't like that either.

I'm wondering if you could try something sneaky, like get your boss to agree to allow you to hand out a copy of the article on this forum regarding fishless cycling only to those customers who express an interest. If you created a version of the article that included a small footnote with this forum as a source the customers who are observant or who are committed to doing their research may find their way here...? Just a thought. Good for you for trying to educate him!