Are invertebrates like shrimp allowed in a tank before its done cycling?
- Thread starter saltfan
- Start date
Sure, infact to help my first tank cycle, I threw in a huge batch of ghost shrimp. They were fun to watch too. Some will die, but the other's will eat them. In fact, I think that adding shrimp will help speed up your cycle. But I wouldn't risk putting in your expensive invertebrates like your cleaner shrimp or coral banded shrimp. Feel free to add ghost shrimp, hermit crabs, and snails. Monitor your levels, you'll see a ammonia spike, then a nitrate spike, then everything should go back down. Don't add fish until everything is well cycled. After setting up my tank, I added the inverts after about a week (there was already live rock in the tank), then I waited about a month and a half before adding a fish. I'm always slow to do things in my tank, but I've never experienced a crash. I figure that by doing things slowly, you'll always be able to pinpoint causes of problems in your tank. And besides many here have told me, "Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank."
Rockitmakr
New member
For the sake of the animal, please be patient.
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