Should I add a 2nd shrimp to Cycling Tank?

[DarkHorseMBA]

Hi I have had my tank up since the 18th, and added a whole shrimp to the system to begin the cycle. The cycle started and what was shrimp has all but disintegrated, all that was left was the shell. I have removed the shell, and took water parameters. Looking at my log I don't think that Ive cycled or even peaked yet. I've attached a copy of my tank log.

Date Temp Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate PH Spec G Top Off Gal
17-Oct 80.0 8.0 1.025
18-Oct 80.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 8.0 1.025
20-Oct 80.0 0.0 0.00 0.0 8.0 1.026 1
22-Oct 80.0 1.0 0.00 0.0 8.2 1.025 0
24-Oct 80.0 1.0 0.25 15.0 7.8 1.024 1
27-Oct 80.0 0.5 1.00 10.0 7.8 1.025 0

I've read that you should not remove the shrimp used for cycling until you are ready to add fish. I do not plan on adding fish, if the tank is ready, until after thanks giving.

My question is, should I add another shrimp to create more ammonia and continue the cycle, or will or continue on its own?

DarkHorseMBA

[Big_Pun]

i dont like the rotten shrimp method, as you add live stock slowly, your biological stuff will grow on its own. buy some establish live rock from someone or a store and that will get stuff going, if you need some good live rock pm me

[Europhyllia]

I agree. If it was me I'd say no more shrimp. I think the shrimp method can introduce some kind of fungal problem. Works for lots of people (or maybe they just don't back track to where their fungal problem might have originated)

[hobogato]

another vote for no from me - should progress fine without it.

[Regric25]

If you keep adding raw fish to your tank it will ALWAYS cycle. If the shrimp you have is rotten and dissolved and your parms are good then the cycle is done for that shrimp. When there is nothing rotting in the tank for the bacteria to feed on then the bacteria will start to die off little by little.

It's only been 2 weeks since start of cycle and to be safe I would give it another 2 weeks before adding any livestock Judging by yoour parms for Oct 27th. Personally I recommend adding 1 fish about 4 weeks after setup as long as parms are good.

The bio load 1 fish creates will allow enough bacteria to thrive for that one fish. Once enough bacteria is in for that 1 fish you can add another. You never want to add too many fish at one time because if you go from having 1 fish to 5 fish the bio load will be to great for the small amount of bacteria that is in there to keep up.

When you add a raw shrimp, it will allow bacteria to cultivate and thrive until that shrimp is consumed/dissolved but once its gone there is no bio load to feed the bacteria and they will slowly start to die off.

In short, LOL... No more raw shrimp. If parms are all good in 2 weeks you should add your first fish or CUC.

[DarkHorseMBA]

If you keep adding raw fish to your tank it will ALWAYS cycle. If the shrimp you have is rotten and dissolved and your parms are good then the cycle is done for that shrimp. When there is nothing rotting in the tank for the bacteria to feed on then the bacteria will start to die off little by little.

It's only been 2 weeks since start of cycle and to be safe I would give it another 2 weeks before adding any livestock Judging by yoour parms for Oct 27th. Personally I recommend adding 1 fish about 4 weeks after setup as long as parms are good.

The bio load 1 fish creates will allow enough bacteria to thrive for that one fish. Once enough bacteria is in for that 1 fish you can add another. You never want to add too many fish at one time because if you go from having 1 fish to 5 fish the bio load will be to great for the small amount of bacteria that is in there to keep up.

When you add a raw shrimp, it will allow bacteria to cultivate and thrive until that shrimp is consumed/dissolved but once its gone there is no bio load to feed the bacteria and they will slowly start to die off.

In short, LOL... No more raw shrimp. If parms are all good in 2 weeks you should add your first fish or CUC.

If I'm not ready to add a CUC or fish until late Nov, will the bacteria nee sone source of food?


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[Regric25]

If I'm not ready to add a CUC or fish until late Nov, will the bacteria nee sone source of food?


The main reason for cycling a tank is because the bagged live sand and live rock you buy will have die off which creates bio load and thats what cycles in the beginning. You dont want to add any livestock to that because the tank will be going through the cycle from the die off. You won't have to worry about "feeding" the bacteria anything because then you will have constant amounts of Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrates. The idea is to keep it all 0. You don't have to put a source of food. Bacteria dies off and some will remain to feed on the bio load that comes along. Adding a fish to the tank it will create a small bio load and bacteria will grow to consume the waste. Enough bacteria will remain to consume that fishes waste. When you add another fish more bacteria will grow to consume that addl bioload. In a tank with enough water the effects of waste from one addition of a fish wont taint the water. Now add 10 fish to it at one time and then you will have some issues with bio load because the tank is suddenly hit with a large bio load vs a little at a time.

My aunt has a Reef tank and she only has 2 cromis in a 75 gallon tank. I tested parms and EVERYTHING was 0. If I added a fish or 2 to that tank and tested the water in a few days I might see ammonia rise a little then that will go to 0 and then Nitrites will rise then go to 0 then Nitrates will rise a little and then thats exported through water changes and other methods .

I hope this helps! :) This is just what I have learned in my time of being in the aquarium hobby. I am no expert.

[tiger_eyed1]

I agree with no more shrimp. What would I do next? I'm glad you asked. I'd visit a couple fish stores, go to their live rock section and get a hand full of their grunge/rubble from the bottom of the tank. Then ask a few people close to you if they can donate/sell you some rubble. That way you'll get some bio diversity and some free pods. Over the next few weeks report back on the number of pods you see on the glass.

[stoneroller]

...and get a hand full of their grunge/rubble as long as it does not have Bryopsis, Aiptasia and all their ilk....

If I wanted to promote a little cycling, in addition to live rock and the above, I would add a hermit and a little flake food or quality pellet ---- get some "animal nutrient cycling" going! He'd be a good canary for your tank too (easier to get out than a damsel to boot).


1000!

[cbianco]

As you make small/slow additions to your tank, your tank will naturally adjust it's filtering abilities (biological activity). This is one of the reasons people always say, "be patient." It is my opinion that the shrimp is more of a hassle, albeit small, than a benefit.

Maybe a hermit crab or two as mentioned above? They're typically hardy and you would have something to watch for the time being.

Good luck and let us know your decision.

Christopher :)

[DarkHorseMBA]

Ok I don't think my tank is ready for CUC yet. The tank is either SLOWLY cycling or did a mini cycle of sorts.
I don't have live rock and the live sand's life was questionable to me, so the shrimp might have been the only source of ammonia. I've posted my tank log again with updated numbers from today.

9971

Ammonia "peaked" at 1.0 and is slowly dropping, today it's .25.
Nitrite is 1.00 has been there for 6 days.
Nitrate is 15, the color looked between 10 & 20.

Unless 1.0 is a good peak for ammonia I'm leaning toward adding some source of ammonia. I can't seem to find the bottled stuff so it might be another shrimp or a small CUC if this would be okay after looking at my water parameters.

Any one know what might be going on with my cycle? Any additional advice?

Thanks for all your help.

DarkHorseMBA

[DarkHorseMBA]

I did not think that 1.0 ammonia was enough. Added shrimp to the Refugium, I'll leave it there until I see a real spike.


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[jroescher]

My opinion:

DO NOT ADD ANYTHING!!!


Hint: Everyone's telling you not to.
It's going to cycle on it's own. Anything you add is only going to extend or increase the cycle. The object is for the cycle to end. Since you've added more shrimp, expect another cycle to come again.

And after you think the cycle is finished, expect to see various algae blooms. It has to go through it's own process, and if you try to speed it up, your going to cause problems later on.

[DarkHorseMBA]

Well I added another shrimp because the ammonia only peaked at 1, and that did not seem like a complete cycle. Maybe the shrimp was too small, a truly shrimpy shrimp :-)? I also figure the bacteria need something to feed on.

To be honest I was getting mixed advice, so adding an ammonia source made the most sense.

What would be considered a peak level for ammonia?


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[ballardjr2000]

IMO DON'T ADD anything else. MY tank is cycling on its own and i added othing to "start" the cycle i have a 90g that i had to break down and now its cycling back on its own again. I diddn't have to add anything my amonia is spiking at 1 1.25 tops and doing fine.

[DarkHorseMBA]

IMO DON'T ADD anything else. MY tank is cycling on its own and i added othing to "start" the cycle i have a 90g that i had to break down and now its cycling back on its own again. I diddn't have to add anything my amonia is spiking at 1 1.25 tops and doing fine.

What would cause a sterile tank to cycle? Would a ammonia reading of 1.0 be considered peak?


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[Regric25]

[QUOTE=]To be honest I was getting mixed advice, so adding an ammonia source made the most sense.[QUOTE]

I don't mean to come off frustrated but everyone on this thread including me has said NOT to add anymore shrimp.

Yea like I said before DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO YOUR TANK. Let it cycle on its own. There is no "peak" for ammonia. Sometimes if there is little die off your cycle wont be that big and if there is alot then it will be bigger. All you are doing to your tank is causing your tank to cycle over again by adding another shrimp. Just leave your tank alone for 3 or 4 weeks and let it do its thing. I know its hard and you are really excited but the worst thing you can do in this hobby is rush things. Take your time this hobby demands patience for success. Trust me after it cycles and you take your time the reward will be very good. DO NOT ADD ANYTHING ELSE!

[DarkHorseMBA]

At the behest of the group, I'll pull the shrimp" and just let tank sit. "Pull the shrimp", that sounds weird :-).

I'ts not that I'm in hurry, as I said there will be not live stock added until after Thanksgiving weekend any way.
I just want to make sure that when I do add live stock, that the tank is ready.

Thank you everyone for your help and patience.

DarkHorseMBA

[Regric25]

okay sounds good. By taking the shrimp out you might have saved your tank from another cycle. Remember each time you add something dead likt that in your tank to rot you are basically setting your cycle progress back. In turn it causes your livestock target date back. You might be okay with adding your first livestock to your tank after thanksgiving but i would keep your eye on parms. Ammonia should be 0, Nitrites should be 0 and you might have LOW readings on Nitrates you can rid that or keep it down with small 10% water changes weach week AFTER you add livestock. You don't have to feed the bacteria...

The main purpose of a new tank cycle is when you add liverock and livesand the die off from that will cause a cycle and that could harm your livestock. The amount of die off your sand and rock has makes the size of your cycle. There is no way to measure that though except testing water. small amonia "peaks" does not mean its cycling but that it could be a small cycle. Adding shrimp to help it cycle is like saying "you want the fire to burn out on its own but im going to help it burn out faster by adding gas to it".

So my advice is let it ride. Take out the shrimp and let it just do its thing. In 3 weeks if your parms are in check then add a fish and CUC.