That's almost always true...but the exception would be in the case of a tank that is cycling in one of the "normal" ways. But...in this tank...?
OP, you added a bottle of goop that stunk...and also threw in some unfortunate fish...and also utilized established media. Anything else to mention?
The use of established media, all by itself, would have done the trick without incident. The somewhat-cruel idea of fish-in cycling is a proven technique as well, although cycling a raw tank with live shrimp makes zero sense unless you really hate those shrimp. The gallon jug of supposedly-beneficial but apparently stinky bacteria? No idea what good if any that accomplished.
All three together? Who knows?
