Start up with raw shrimp

Question
Hi and thanks for you time. I have had tanks in the past. Now starting a new
50 gal tank. I read about using raw shrimp to start the cycle. I placed 6
shrimp in the bottom of the tank yesterday. This morning the tank is
smelling pretty bad. How long am I to leave them in?

Kind regards
al Valinoti

Answer
Hi Al,
The best thing to do is have test kits that way you can monitor the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels and be able to determine when your tank has started cycling and where it is in the cycle. Maybe do a partial water change and cut back to just half of the shrimp you added previous.

The remaining shrimp will have to be left in to continue their decay/produce ammonia process.

But really, only test kits will give you an answer on how well the tank cycling is going.

Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Karen~