first off, its not good for the fish, even if people say they are hardy
. 2nd of all, what are you going to do when you're done cycling? you gonna catch all 4 fish and take them back (and if you already have your rock set up in caves and such you may have to tear it down anyway to get to them)? damsels are very territorial and those 4 will probably bully just about anything you put in the tank after them since they will already have their ish established
There's other ways to cycle your tank if you don't want to use LR. Maybe get some Live Sand to help kick start it. the other thing about adding LR later is that if it isn't fully cured when you put it in your tank you will most likely have another cycling which will hurt anything not "hardy". I suggest you read all the pinned topics to figure out what you're getting into...good luck
hmm am i the one confused or is it everyone from the US. I have no intention of returning the damzels, why would i? and where was it mentioned you could use LR for cycling? i didnt read that.
every reply seems to steer away from what im trying to ask. but ty anyway, admn plz close this thread
Damsels are IMO one of the worst fish to add to a tank early on, yes they are hardy but they are also very very territorial & any fish you add later will be harrassed/attacked (regardless of size)
You have confussed me with the sentence regarding the Live Rock cycling , can you explain what you mean
as cycling with Live Rock is the best/easiest & quickest way to do it
ok it turns out im the one confused
LR! i was thinking it was Lava Rock! sorry.
Anyway, with regards to that, its too expensive such early on, things like this i will purchase over time! - so my initial thought and as i was advised at my lfs, was to get a couple of hardy fish to cycle my water, OK this is cruel? but in an ideal world, you would not have to do anything with the water, just add the fish. But unfortunately its not an ideal world.
so first of all, my water parameters are going to be the best i can get them before i even consider adding any fish to cycle the tank, and secondly i was advised of these fish because of there hardyness and was advised they would survive if looked after. I mean no harm to anyone, or cruelty to any fish, thats not my intention, and i dont intend getting rid of the fish once the tank is ready to add more.
so these fish are nasty, i understand that, i cant afford to pay £12 a lb for live rock, so what other option do i have? rather than everyone just saying "cruel" in every post, please tell me other ways i can cycle the tank without LR or Fish! then maybe ill start calming down and stop thinking everyone is always finding fault with everything i type!
i come from tropical tanks, and ill be honest! ive used barbs for the same thing, and still have them, they are very happy. So please dont shoot me down and think ill have no care in the world about these fish, if i see any problems i will ask on here, and see what the best form of action is.