How Long Until I Should Be Worried?

[Noahsfish]

My friend FINALLY took his dwarf puffer back, so I'm not doing daily water changes in the 2.5 anymore. The tank is fully cycled with a sponge filter, it currently is housing 1 red cherry shrimp. How much longer will it stay cycled? A few days, a week?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I wouldn't think more than a couple of days with no real "food" for the bacteria. 

 

[sputnick]

as long as there is a source of ammonia for the bacteria i would THINK that It should say cycled. But that may mean adding ammonia to the tank or add food and letting it decompose. Like I said THINK. So don't quote me on this.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Well, right, but there's that one RCS to consider. If you start dosing the tank with ammonia it won't be very happy. Or alive much longer. What about getting a few more RCS?

 

[Noahsfish]

I do have about 70 more in another tank, it's just not what I have in mind for the tank. It's going to be housing a different species of shrimp, and I don't want to have to try and capture a bunch of shrimp when the time comes to move them. Only 2 days, that is worrying...by tomorrow morning that will be the fourth day with only a shrimp in it, do you think all the bacteria is gone? Is it a good idea to turn off the filter? I thought that it could survive for a week, maybe that's without the filter on?

 

[This Old Spouse]

You could try overfeeding with fish flakes, which will help, I think. Or just take the RCS out entirely and dose with ammonia.

 

[Noahsfish]

I was thinking the flakes, just a small pinch right? When should I do a water change, don't want to accidentally kill the little guy.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Why don't you put him with the 70 others in the other tank?

 

[Noahsfish]

I will now that you say that, but it's just the shrimp that I ordered were supposed to arrive 2 days ago, so I don't want to start dosing ammonia and then have them show up tomorrow (which they should). I'll be removing the lonely shrimp when they get here, the only reason I had him in there was so there was something to look at while rearranging the scape.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

The tank may still be cycled to a point, it just runs the risk of going through a mini cycle so keep a watch on the parameters when the new shrimp arrive.

 

[Mamashack]

I'd keep the one shrimp in there and feed him small amount of crushed flake daily. He'll have some food and the ammonia from some of the food breaking down should keep the bacteria ticking over.

 

[the_lock_man]

BIt of a sticky one that - as TOS said, if you dose ammonia, it will kill the shrimp. If you don't dose ammonia, the bacteria will start to go dormant - current thinking is that the bacteria don't die, but the length of time they take to reinvigorate once they get fed ammonia again depends on how long they've been dormant.
 
I'd be inclined to pop one of your other fish in there temporarily to keep the bacteria active.