Help on cycling

I would only add fish you want. Many people don't like the aggressiveness of Damsels, so there is no need to start with them if you don't want then in your tank long term. (you will never get them out alive). Once your cycle is complete I would go full boor on a clean up crew. Snails and crabs. I would think 10-15 snails of different types and 7-12 Crabs

J

 

So it's best to start with a clean up crew and then get some fish at a later date? What non agressive fish would you recommend that is hardy enough for a new tank?

 

When I started off my tank, I added a few turbos and 1 hermit. Hermit died after a month in my tank because it ran out of food. So did the turbos. They kept dying and my params were ok. The reason they died is lack of food. You will notice they are not getting sufficient amounts when they become real sluggish or "sleep" too much. Hermits will also stay in one spot for a long time, then suddenly croak. Right now, I have one turbo and my tank is about 6 months old. Boy, that guy is getting his grub on, no competition but little tinee tiny snail babies but they are no competition for my big turbo.

I can't think of any other fish that would put up with an uncycled tank other than damsel fish. Flame hawks are pretty hardy if you want to go with a cooler and more permanent fish. There are hardy fish that you can start the cycle, but they are more expensive and will be pretty crappy to start out tanks in the cycling process. Damselfish are inexpensive and extremely hardy. Especially the yellow-tail damsel.

How big is the tank? If you dont want aggressive damselfish like the convict damsels or domino's or even chromis, you can go with yellow-tail damsels.

IMHO, I would add nothing but LR, add NitroMax by Tropical Science and monitor the amm/nitrite with a test running a wet/dry or fuge. I'm not talking about cured rock, I'm talking about premium LR with lots of corraline, boy that's gonna cost you by the pound. Once the tests reveal 0 on ammonia and nitrite, I would start adding fish you want. Nothing extremely delicate that would require an established tank or an ample tank.

 

I second Rickzter's comment above. I want to re-emphasize that you should GO SLOW!!! Add one creature at a time, wait a couple of weeks, and then add another.
For my 45 gal, I set it up, let the filters run for a week with nothing in it, and then I added a yellowtail damsel. After a week, I added a second one, but he died after a week. So, I just kept the one damsel in the tank. After 6 weeks, and after ammonia/nitrites/nitrates reached 0/0/10 ppm, I started adding other creatures. 7 months later, I still have the original yellowtail damsel -- my daughter named him "Meaple" because he's a "mean people."
By the way, the tank will cycle even if you have no damsel or dead shrimp. But, it will take longer and you may get spikes in ammonia and nitrites each time you add an inhabitant.

 

Hey, are you the one who empasizes to "Go slow, let it grow"? that's so true. I must have spent about 30 bucks on cleaners till I learned my lesson.

 

Thanks for the compliment. "Go slow, let it grow" is the Kingfish's (Matt Roger's) tagline.

 

I assumed you meant after you tank was finished cycling. Meaning 0 Nitrite, 0 Ammonia.
I see no reason not to add a full force of clean up crew. There will be enough algae to feed them. You can also add a little flake to the tank to add to the food. You will go through a couple of algae cycles after. that could last upto a month. If you want a fish and the cycle is 100% finished I say go for it. One nice fish. In a 55G I would suggest a baselett or clowns even a blenny or Gobie would be a good start.

But stick to one fish for now and wait a few weeks. Just the waste and food you use for the fish will keep the snails and hermits alive.

J