kinda interrasting idea.

[Kengaroo131]

this goes to all you guys out there that live by the bay or sea. i setup a small 5.5 gallon nano about 1 month ago with LR and LS. i thought of a new idea to cycle the tank. everyone knows how algae can kinda get outa control when cycleing a tank so i though of trying to cycle the tank with saltwater minows. sure enough they did a killer job they cleaned ALL the algae(when i say ALL i mean it) the tank was cycleing and was completly spotless. then when your done cycleing and want to get some real fish or coral ect. just put the minows back in the bay ha it worked so well im going to do it to all my future tank (if there will be any more haha no more room or money!) i used about 3 minows you dont need alot cause they feast on the algae and there extreamly heardy so they probably wont die,they can handle the extream fluctuations of the nitrates nitrites and amonia levels. i just though maby this would be a neat little thing to "try and tell" and it did work so if you live by the bay or sea give it a try and watch the little guys clean the heck outa your tank. just though it would be neat to tell everyone the results.

 

[Gettin'Tanked]

Wish I woulda known that before. I am on the last week of my cycle. I put a few hermits and snail in. They did a fair job but it was not "ALL" cleaned. I will have to use this in the future though. Thanks for your post.

 

[Kengaroo131]

no problem they do a pretty dam good job.and if they die(which is unlikly) there free! haha

 

[CarmieJo]

If there is anything else in your tank that came from anywhere else you should not put the minnows back in the ocean. They could carry diseases or parasites that the critters in your part of the ocean have no resistance to.

 

[Kengaroo131]

there was nothing else nothing store bought or nothing from the ocean the only thing that was is in the tank are the minows some live rock and live sand.

 

[CarmieJo]

Where did your LR & LS come from?

 

[Kengaroo131]

my LFS.

 

[fishyvet]

LR (and LS?) comes from other parts of the world and has the potential to contain organisms not indigenous to your part of the world and can cause environmental imbalances. Releasing those minnows back where they came from is against the law unless you have a permit. You don't need live animals to cycle your tank anymore but if you insist on using them, please don't put them back in the wild. Your risking possibly destroying an ecosystem (not to mention fines if you get caught).

You can refer to New Jersey Permanent Statute Title 23:4-63.3.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/

 

[supertech3]

Agree with carmiejo do not put them back in the ocean

 

[z3gsr]

Im just curious What do saltwater minnows look like? Anyone have a pic?

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

i agree with all the posts do not release them back into the ocean. i have read a story about a salmon that was placed back into a river that carried a desiese that the fish wern't used to and killed 1000's of salmon. also just because fish can survive the nitrites ammonia and such and even if you don't plan on keeping them it is just mean to put them through that. they are a living animal.

 

[rhino509]

live animals shouldnt be used for cycling a tank.its part of responsible reef keeping.

 

[Kengaroo131]

wow i never woulda known that well ok then if you guys say so i deffinatly wont put them back

 

[coyoteseven]

Originally posted by z3gsr
I'm just curious What do saltwater minnows look like? Anyone have a pic?

There are literally hundreds of small fish that are commonly called "minnows".

Some examples are silversides, pinfish, ladyfish, greenbacks, small mullets, fry of larger fish, etc. To post a pic of all the fish that fit this category would use up way too much bandwidth.

Basically, a minnow is any small fish that you would use for bait to catch larger fish.

HTH