[thussain93]

i heard that diatoms that you can get in the beinning of a cycle can become harmful to your fish, is this true and should i do anything about it, will it disappear and is it harmful and will it hurt my one damsels in there? any suggestions i need any help i can get

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I doubt they will harm the fish.They will go away when there food source is gone,which is silicates.If you are not using silicate free water you will keep feeding them.Are you using ro/di water?

[dhboyd1]

It's actually the beginning of the cycle that can be harmful to your fish, there are all kinds of nasty chemicals in the tank. The diatoms are just a product of the cycle and an indication of where the tank is in the cycle. Damsels are just very hardy fish and can take the nasty environment better than most other fish. The damsel provides the ammonia to help the cycle along and the diatoms will die off as the tank continues the cycle.

[dhboyd1]

Just as a note to others, a dead shrimp in your tank will accomplish the same thing the damsel does without the later problems that damsels present. Unless you have a chromis which is in the damsel family but a very peaceful fish you are going to have a very nasty fish when you start adding other fish to your tank. Considering what they go through during the cycling period, I would be pretty nasty too. Your lfs doesn't tell you that the damsel used in this way to help cycle a tank is actually a sacrificial fish because you most likely will no longer want to keep it once you see how it reacts to other fish in your tank. Just an FYI.