Adding More Fish?

[Cantbesaved]

I have cycled the tank, I have nitrates reading and no ammonia or nitrite. Now I want to get more fish. How many can I add at a time, and how often can I add this many, to keep levels safe? I wanna go tomorrow or on the weekend to get some guppies, but I don't want to get too many at once. Thanks in advance!

 

[Jim Curtis]

If your tank is 250 gallons you can safely add 2 oscars and a full grown common pleco.

 

[Corleone]

You cycled with fish, right? (I think it was 4 neons?).

The tank will only be cycled for as many fish were there to start with. The bacteria will grow to the point that each one is just getting enough to survive, but right out of the cycle, they'll be gorging themselves, and there won't be enough to take excess. If you add guppies too soon, you might get a mini cycle. It's not the end of the world, but if it happens too much, it'll just prolong the stress from the original cycle. Make sure your readings stay where they are for a week, and you'll have a bit of comfort zone to add a couple guppies. Monitor readings for a couple days before and after any new fish, let a week go by between additions, and you should be ok.

 

[OldMan47]

Corleone is on the money with that advice. One of the disadvantages of fish-in cycling is that you cannot move forward very quickly with stocking. If you do, it is almost a fresh start at cycling because the bacteria population is so small.

 

[Cantbesaved]

Oh ok cool, thanks much!! I will do some more testing to see how it goes! thanks for the advice! so when I do add some, maybe 4 at a time would be OK?

 

[OldMan47]

With your current stocking, based on your signature, you might get away with 4 guppies a week after your tank is stable. After that you would wait at least another week to get any more fish and it would be not much more than 4 small ones again.

 

[Cantbesaved]

With your current stocking, based on your signature, you might get away with 4 guppies a week after your tank is stable. After that you would wait at least another week to get any more fish and it would be not much more than 4 small ones again.

Sweet! That is about all I plan on doing, while monitoring my chemical levels closely. Thanks for input!
BTW, Nice username! LOL

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah agree with the above, basically the longer you leave it between additions and the fewer fish you add at one time, the less chance you have of a mini cycle. I'd say minimum 1 week of 0 ammonia and nitrite between additions, preferably a couple of weeks if your patience will hold out!

particularly if you're getting guppies I'd suggest waiting, they're fairly weak fish and will not cope well with a mini cycle therefore you want to mitigate the chances of one happening by waiting as long as possible.