damsels for cycling

[fireblade]

Hi everyone, just found this site the other day and I reaaly like what I've seen so far. Really helpful.
I wanted to share this experience with anyone who is thinking about doing this.
It seems that many of the books that I have read say to use a damsel to help your initial tank cycle. They are really hardy fish and can live through the amonia, nitrite spikes that you will encounter. My problem is that they are really agressive fish and once they have been in a tank by themselves they really don't really appreciate other tank mates. I lost a royal gramma because after a couple of peices of his tail and fins were bit off, he was too scared to come out and feed.

 

[shawnz28]

Using a Damsel to cycle a tank can be said to be a older way of thinking. Honestly if you set up your tank with liverock and a protein skimmer the tank will cycle on it's own or if you wanted you could just add a small amount of food to the tank every few days which will decay to simulate the the damsel in the tank. Once your tank has gone thru it's cycle (which depending on the rocks condition and if it was cured or not) your tank should be ready to add your first fish within 1-4 weeks on average. Uncured rock for instance will fall on the longer end of the scale.

 

[fireblade]

I agree 100% shawnz28. I just wanted to help inform others who are new to marine aquariums that this isn't really a good way to start. I guess you have to consider the year the books you are reading were published.

 

[buoymarker28]

You can catch the damsels but i agree it can become more of a pain. I just caught two in my tank. If I had to do it over again I would NOT add the damsels to the tank for cycling.

 

[J.Howard]

The other thing to consider is the fact that damsels aren't bulletproof. If things get nasty during the cycle, they will die just like any other fish. The "newer" ideas like shawnz28 mentioned are considered much more responsible, and easier on the wallet. If the tank has finished the cycle, it's not bad to add reef-friendly damsels like green or blue chromis. Thay are generally hardy and make a nice addition to any tank IMO, esp. if you have enough space to get 5 or so to watch their natural shoaling behavior.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to Reefs.org Using a dead shrimp to cause an ammonia spike and start a cycle is also an acceptable method.