CRS reject most shrimp food...

[torque6]

Doesnt seem catcho has any casualties is a good sign.

[Fuzzy]

Easiest way I've found to get a tank cycled is go to your LFS and nicely ask for a piece of used filter media from a healthy tank.

Most are friendly enough to oblige, the traditional LFS might look at you funny, but I got my tank cycled in 2 weeks this way.

I put a Windelov fern on driftwood and threw in some fish food into the empty tank full of aged water also initially, just to be sure a little ammonia was generated.

[silane]

I will not ask any medium or any soil from a LFS tank, even teh tank looks healthy. This media may contains worms, parasites eggs and pathogens.

Those tanks which has housed wild caught shrimps are fearful, wildcaught shrimps are known to carry parasites. I won't want to have these in my tank.

Anyway, soil based gravel has ammonia, there is no need to throw in fish food to create ammonia. And a tank with canister filter can be cycled in 14 days even without seedings, at most is 21 days. Just be patience, you will take months to get those parasites out, not worth it just to save a few days of cycling time.