Fish Tank Fishless And Cycling - Shrimp Can Live In This Environment?

[BubblesLotsOfBubbles]

...because I'm cycling by adding 2 ppm Ammonia a day, my nitrite is normally zero but hit 0.25 ppm last week for some reason, and my nitrates seem disinclined to relate to my ammonia input and climb more rapidly, but I can waterchange to limit that. Temp is also at 26 C.
 
I have looked for hard and fast 'limits' for generic shrimp but find things like 'even if there is a trace of N-whatever' to which I think 'Yeah but what test kit is that based on?'

. If I could resolve 0.0000001ppm N-whatever itsstill a trace right! You get my point.
 
There is plenty of algae, plants and mosses. Cycling finished over a couple of months ago so I also expect a biofilm. I actually want shrimp as a clean up for my moss, wood, etc having brown and green algae. Once I have my fish I would want then as indicator spp (for water quality) as well as cleaning up the tank - I'd be keeping them for being of use to me rather than liking them (runs for cover).
 
Also the smaller the species the better. They register in my brain as creepy crawlies. And big creepy crawlies freak me out!

 
 

 

[ShinySideUp]

That is a very confusing post. At first you are talking about cycling your tank by adding ammonia but in paragraph 3 you say cycling finished over a couple of months ago. Are you asking 'can shrimp live in ammonia (no they can't)? Or something else?

 

[BubblesLotsOfBubbles]

Err OK I figured I was still cycling by keeping the cycle going? 

  ?
 
It's all there:  0 ppm ammonia and nitrite after 24 hours. It got this this state a few months ago.
 
I haven't chosen fish yet so I'm just continuing to add ammonia to keep the cycle going ( = cycling?) but don't know if adding to the conc of 2ppm would kill them or make them very ill.