Adding Fish To A Newly Cycled Tank.

[Jcartwright]

What would you say is the correct procedure to add fish to a newly cycled tank?

 

[BornSurvivor]

Hi mate

When i usually add new fish to a newly cycled tank i do what i call mixing . This will only work if when you buy your fish they come in a bag . when purchased you must leave the ish in the bag but also have the bag in your tank water for 10-15 minuets this will help them get use to the water

hope i have answered your query

if so/not then please message me

BornSurvivor

 

[AndyOleszczuk]

This is how I do it but people have different ways. Turn the aquarium lights off. Roll the bag down a bit to create an air pocket so the bag floats. After 15-20 mins add a little of your tank water to the bag. Keep doing this for about another 15-20 mins every few minutes until the bag is full then turn the bag on it's side.It is sometimes helpful to feed your current fish at this time (if you had any of course) as to distract them a bit. Dont force the fish out of the bag just let them come out in there own time. I leave the lights out for about an hour afterwards, some people leave them off longer or not at all but it helps to keep the fish calm.

Hope this helps

 

[vinylman]

When you get new fish, ask for an extra bag of water. If you have any Protozin, take it with you and add a couple of drops to the bag before its tied up. When you get home (always as quickly as possible, of course) put the fish and the water from the two bags into the bucket you use for water changes. Put another couple of drops of Protozin in the bucket (if you don't have a Q tank, this is the next best thing you can do). Add a cup of tank water to the bucket every ten minutes or so, but do this for a good hour - the longer you can take to acclimatise the new fish to your tank water the better. When the bucket is getting towards being full, then you can pour the contents slowly into the tank. I started doing this around eighteen months ago and have never lost a new fish since. May just be coincidence, but the longer you take, the better.

 

[karmagl]

when I get the fish home I have to cut on time a little since I have a two hour drive but this is what I do. First place the bag in the water, I open the bag and close it in the lid so it doesn't sink, after 10 minutes I add some of my water another 10 and I add more then after another 10 they are ready to go.

 

[Jcartwright]

I bought my 1st lot of fish which were 10 black neon tetras and 3 corydoras and did the add tank water bit by bit.
They look a bit lost (but happly playing around). My tank is a jewel rio 180 should i or could i add some more?

 

[AndyOleszczuk]

I would leave it for a while now otherwise you could end up with an ammonia spike.

 

[ghostchoir]

I do pretty much the same as everyone else. I turn all the lights out and close my curtains, roll down the bag so that it can float on it's own and leave it there for half an hour. After about ten minutes of it first going I start slowly adding some of my tank water. After the half hour I net the new fish out and place it in, usually near a hiding space or if possible some of it's same species (putting new panda cories next to the other cories for example). Then I really just leave them alone for a while, usually turn the light back on after at least an hour if the fish doesn't look too scared.

You put quite a few fish in at once so I'd leave it at least a week - check your levels a week after you bought them and decide then if you could add any more.

 

[rdd1952]

I do roughly the same as everyone else. Float the bag in your tank to acclimate the temperature. Test the pH of the water in the bag and of the tank. If they are different by more than about .2, then you need to take the time to add the tank water to the bag every 10 to 15 minutes until the bag and tank are the same. If the bag fills up, simply pour some out into the tank to make room to add more. If the bag pH and tank ph are the same, simply float them long enough to acclimate the temperature and turn them out.

I simply turn the bag to the side and let the fish swim out. Some people don't want the fish store water in their tanks and actually pour the fish out of the bag into a net (over the sink or a bucket) and then put them in but I think that is too stresssful and really unnecessary. It also can be a problem with spined fish like corys. The only time I tried that, one of the corys got it's top spine caught in the net and I had to cut the net to get him free. Turning the lights off is also a good idea as it helps reduce stress.

If you have done a fishless cycle with about 4 ppm of ammonia from start to finish, you should be able to add your full stock of fish all at once. You will have more bacteria than what will be needed to handle their waste load.