help? is this normal?

[rtgreeno]

recently put 2 yellowtail damsels and a "zebra" damsel in my new tank to get the cycle going... what im having an issue with is my 2 blue damsels keep changing color. they were originally bright blue w a slight purple hue and brilliant yellow tails... the first night i had them i seen that they were grayish purple with yellowy transparent tails... then a few hours later they were more purple than blue, but colorful again.... i thought maybe it was cuz i had the lights off but ive noticed theyve done it again... but whats really weird is their reflections in the glass from the water surface r brilliant blue and yellow but THEY are gryish and transparent... they seem fine otherwise eating fine and swimming very actively even playin games together....

 

[rtgreeno]

also the "zebra seems fine other than it just hangs out under the waterfall from the filter... heres a pic of the yellowtails.... phone doesnt take good moving pics sorry....

 

[bootz]

Everyone on this forum advocates fishless cycling because your are 100% putting the fish through a lot of stress and potentially killing them. there a few really awesome threads here to guide you on how to preform a fishless cycle i highly suggest you look at them. not to sure about the erratic color change could be a byproduct of stress

 

[rtgreeno]

nevermind.... i figured it out... the fish are fine.. its the fact that the tank does not yet have its own light source so the florescent lights in my kitchen light the tank.... well on the kitchen side of the tank (its on my bar) the fish are bright and beautiful.... but from the dinning room side they are darker pale and transparent... lol i cant believe it took me that long to figure that one out... not the sharpest tool in the shed i spose... was just worried that the fish were sick or somthing... and just to mention of ALL the stuff ive looked into and been told by SEVERAL lfs's is to use the damsels to cycle the tank.... never even heard of a fishless cycle before....

 

[victor.m]

nevermind.... i figured it out... the fish are fine.. its the fact that the tank does not yet have its own light source so the florescent lights in my kitchen light the tank.... well on the kitchen side of the tank (its on my bar) the fish are bright and beautiful.... but from the dinning room side they are darker pale and transparent... lol i cant believe it took me that long to figure that one out... not the sharpest tool in the shed i spose... was just worried that the fish were sick or somthing... and just to mention of ALL the stuff ive looked into and been told by SEVERAL lfs's is to use the damsels to cycle the tank.... never even heard of a fishless cycle before....

LFS's want to sell you the fish, many tell you this to persuade you to buy a fish from them. I would never go back to a LFS that told me to cycle with fish.

Cycling with fish is cruel and terrible to the fish. It is putting enormous strain on them and making them sick. They are essentially living in their own waste weeks and they will have a terrible existence and potentially die. Also damsels are near impossible to get out of your tank without tearing it apart and are also very aggressive, especially if they were the first fish introduced into the tank.

Fishless cycling involves introducing a non-living source of ammonia (typically a fresh shrimp from the seafood section of your favorite grocery store) and letting the necessary bacteria proliferate over the next 3-8 weeks.

Anyhow, whatever floats your boat. Just know that your putting that fish through ****.

- Vic

 

[AquaRick]

LFS's want to sell you the fish, many tell you this to persuade you to buy a fish from them. I would never go back to a LFS that told me to cycle with fish.

Cycling with fish is cruel and terrible to the fish. It is putting enormous strain on them and making them sick. They are essentially living in their own waste weeks and they will have a terrible existence and potentially die. Also damsels are near impossible to get out of your tank without tearing it apart and are also very aggressive, especially if they were the first fish introduced into the tank.

I definitely agree with Vic here. Any store that advocates cycling with fish is very misinformed but more likely trying to make a sale at your expense.

Take a look here for how to do fishless cycling. It tends to be much faster, and safer, than using fish.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[joy13]

There is a couple of LFS in my area that will sell damsels to cycle the tank take them back and then resell them if they live long enough to be repurchased. The store doesn't give any discount or exchange they just take them because the customer wants fish that won't live with a damsel. A lot of people don't realize they risk taking apart the aquascape to get unwanted fish out.