Cycling with a Percula Clown

[Genix]

hey, i'm new here. it's been a few years since i've had a saltwater tank. i'm enjoying the forum so far and i hope you guys can help me out.

i just set up a 15 gallon tank and decided (foolishly) to cycle it with a small percula clown instead of a damsel or fishless. anyways, he's been in there for 3 full days now. i've added a bunch of Cycle and right now i have an ammonia removing resin in the filter. my ammonia reads .25ppm and the nitrite is at zero so far. i don't wanna lose this cute little guy so i'm willing to do partial water changes to keep the ammonia down.

also, i just added some Prime to detoxify the ammonia. does it actually detoxify it?? should i remove the ammonia absorber from my filter? how much ammonia can this guy tolerate and for how long?? help!

thanks guys

 

[Hara]

you are shooting yourself in the foot. when you do things to remove the ammonia, you are lengthening the time it will take your tank to cycle and possbly make the cycle not as thorough as it could be. I understand you are doing this to keep the clown alive, but is it possible for you to return the fish to the store ? This would be better for your fish and your tank.

 

[Genix]

yeah i realize the ammonia absorber isn't going to help with cycling. the Prime, on the other hand, says that it simply "converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank's biofilter. Prime may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity." and nope, i can't return the fish to the store.

 

[Hara]

How about moving the fish to a smaller container and keep that fresh with water changes while your tank does a good cycle?

 

[Genix]

i might be able to do that. but what will be my source of ammonia for cycling? is 0.25ppm really that toxic to the little guy?

 

[noteworthy]

Go buy a piece of raw shrimp for 20 cents... Throw it in the tank. Wait a week and take results.

 

[Fluff]

Yep, raw shrimp works well. Here is an article on fishless cycling. HTH

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

And yes, even small amounts of ammonia can effect your little fish.

 

[Genix]

so i've been reading reviews on seachem's Prime and how it detoxifies ammonia, but still leaves non-toxic ammonia to cycle the bio-filter. i'm gonna get a test kit to measure free ammonia (the toxic form), rather than total ammonia. thanks for all the advice, guys. it's much appreciated.