Cycle? How long before it starts?

Damsels are nasty fish, hence why I always say 1. You feed it, it eats and poops. All you ever need.

 

This is the damsel problem though. Once the tank is cycled what do you do with the fish? I just don't have the heart to flush it, hence I like the shrimp method. And I would never keep a Damsel with other more docile fish.

To answer the original poster. You might not of peed enough to get it going. I would just try a shrimp.

 

You can also get a some pure ammonia (no scents or surfactants) and add some of that to your tank - boring compares to some of the other suggestions but it works, will cloud the water and nothing floating in the tanks (so to speak).

 

Just pretend you're feeding your fish that you don't have yet. Pinch of fish food a day & check your ammonia.

 

Why would you want to put a poor fish through all that pain? Pure ammonia or a shrimp do just fine

 

Like I said it's what I recommend and the way I do things. One yellow tailed damsel in a 180 gal tank with a 40 gal refug and a sump that is a 75 gal tank, I really don't think the fish is stressed. Yes that's my tank and over the years I had people do it with smaller tanks and still no problem.

The best part of this hobby is that you do it your way and I do it my way.

 

+1
I understand, I wasnt trying to sound like an @#$.

 

i think everyone in this hobby has cycled with damsels at one point, just too impatient to wait for a fish.

 

Minus me. I always waited for the tank to cycle before adding fish, even when I had one damsel LOL.

 

okay almost everyone.... i will admit i have done this as well. several times actually it doesnt hurt the damsels if we werent supposed to use them to cycle a tank why are they so hardy? haha