I bought a 10 gallon tank the other day for the purpose of keeping dwarf puffers. Along with the tank I also bought some live plants to fill out the tank. Now I understand that plants will use nitrogen as fertilizer which can make the process of cycling short or almost non-existent. Since I have read that dwarf puffers are quite sensitive, I am reluctant to put them through even a short cycle. I was just wondering on putting a fair ammount of ghost shrimp in the tank at first to at least help with the cycling process and help keep my plants fertilized so they can absorb even more nutrients from the water. I was thinking I could just move some of the ghost shrimp out when I get the puffers. I have a 29 gallon tank where they can find a nice home, well at least until some of my fish decide to make lunch out of them. Now I know that my plan isn't well thought out, but right now I'm mostly worried about my plants not having a form of nitrogen to consume. I just want to slowly ease my way into having the puffers in the tank. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cycling With Ghost Shrimp
- Thread starter gq4you43
- Start date
Ghost shrimp and freshwater inverts produce very small amounts of waste and will not be that helpful in cycling your tank. If you already have a 29 gallon setup then why not take some filter media from it and add it to your 10 gallon filter. If right now you have no removable media then I suggest adding some filter floss to the 29 gallon, waiting a week and then moving that to your 10 gallon filter. Then you can add 2 dwarf puffers right away as there will be plenty of bacteria. Just keep your eyes out for any ammonia or nitrite spikes which could happen and be ready to do water changes to combat it.
Also if you are planning on keeping dwarf puffers then I suggest you get a snail tank started as well or you will never be able to keep up with the feeding demands of these guys.
Also if you are planning on keeping dwarf puffers then I suggest you get a snail tank started as well or you will never be able to keep up with the feeding demands of these guys.