How mature should a tank be before....
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Charity that's a very "vague" #. Here is how I look at tank maturity (Take it for what it's worth).
When speaking of tanks and maturity I've seen tanks that were biologically mature and stable at 6 months that could support just about anything the owner wanted to add. On the flip side I've seen tanks that are 2 years old that I'd worry about putting Green Star Polyps or Xenia (both super hardy and easy to grow.. almost like Salt Water Dandelions) into. This is because some people either can't or wont "Get it" in regards to water chemistry. They don't follow standard "safe husbandry" practices and insist on breaking all the rules.
With all the above being said I don't think you can even start to consider a tank in the "region" of being mature until it's been wet for 6+ months and that's when you should start "counting the days". Most tanks (if good safe husbandry practices are developed) will start to stabilize around 6 months and the tank needs to demonstrate long term stability before adding an animal so tender and sensitive as a SH.
So by this I mean (and this is just my thoughts) that a tank being wet for 6 months really doesn't mean a thing at all. Really what matters is:
a) How stable and consistent is the tank?
b) How long has it been stable?
Those are the real questions at hand.
When speaking of tanks and maturity I've seen tanks that were biologically mature and stable at 6 months that could support just about anything the owner wanted to add. On the flip side I've seen tanks that are 2 years old that I'd worry about putting Green Star Polyps or Xenia (both super hardy and easy to grow.. almost like Salt Water Dandelions) into. This is because some people either can't or wont "Get it" in regards to water chemistry. They don't follow standard "safe husbandry" practices and insist on breaking all the rules.
With all the above being said I don't think you can even start to consider a tank in the "region" of being mature until it's been wet for 6+ months and that's when you should start "counting the days". Most tanks (if good safe husbandry practices are developed) will start to stabilize around 6 months and the tank needs to demonstrate long term stability before adding an animal so tender and sensitive as a SH.
So by this I mean (and this is just my thoughts) that a tank being wet for 6 months really doesn't mean a thing at all. Really what matters is:
a) How stable and consistent is the tank?
b) How long has it been stable?
Those are the real questions at hand.