Can You Add Fish Gradually After A Fishless Cycle?

[Marisa_allen]

I am currently doing a fishless cycle but dont want to add all of the fish at once.

I will probably add a shoal at a time. I was worried whether doing this will not provide too little ammonia from the fish and thus lower the bacteria levels in the filter.

Any feedback will be appreciated!

 

[WILDER]

Add fish gradually that the way to do it, as if you added them all at once the tank wouldn't cope, and send you into a mini cycle.
Adding a shoal at time will be fine, but keep an eye on stats to make sure the the bacteria colony is coping, good luck.

 

[dthoffsett]

There will be some die back of the bacteria no matter how many or few you add, but you can certainly add a shoal at a time if you like. Just make sure you watch your levels when you add your 2nd shoal as there might be a mini cycle. The reason for that is that after you add your first shoal the bacteria level will die off some, there will only be enough bacteria left that can be supported by the amount of ammonia your fish produce. Hope that helps.

 

[Padfoot]

I have been advised that it is better to add near enough all of your desired stock as soon as possible at the end of a fishless cycle to prevent the die back of bacteria.

Must admit it seemed a little strange to me....but when you think about it...does make some sense.

Adding them piecemeal will mean a mini cycle each time.

 

[freddyk]

I have been advised that it is better to add near enough all of your desired stock as soon as possible at the end of a fishless cycle to prevent the die back of bacteria.

The amount of ammonia used in a fishless cycle is quite a bit more then a tankload of fish will contribute, and this is the reason why it's perfectly safe to fully stock the tank after it's finished and it's the beauty of the method. If you only add a few then it still won't do any harm, it just means all the bacteria will die off except enough to support the fish.

 

[Marisa_allen]

I have been advised that it is better to add near enough all of your desired stock as soon as possible at the end of a fishless cycle to prevent the die back of bacteria.

The amount of ammonia used in a fishless cycle is quite a bit more then a tankload of fish will contribute, and this is the reason why it's perfectly safe to fully stock the tank after it's finished and it's the beauty of the method. If you only add a few then it still won't do any harm, it just means all the bacteria will die off except enough to support the fish.

That's what i was suspecting. One of the main reasons i was going to add a few at a time was that it makes more of visiting the fish store and adding fish a few at a time with my 4 year old, rather than just adding them all and then being done with it!

Also at the moment I am potentially seriously overstocked with my wish list so by adding a few at a time I will hopefully see that I have enough in there and it will keep me in check!!!!

I guess even if I do add a few at a time and the bacteria does die back at least i am cycling the humane way.

 

[James007]

I was the same. I didn't want to go ahead and put all my fish in in one go. It is great fun to go to shopping around every few weeks for new fish. It also helps that you can then just take healthy specimens that you find rather than settling for what they have at the time in order to fill your quota.

If you want to go ahead and put some fish in every two weeks or so them why not drop back to a normal cycle. You won't have to start completely from stratch and this cycling method would seem to suit your 'recruitment strategy'.

 

[Squid]

I have recently done a fishless cycle, and added about 2 thirds of my stocking on one go.. The stats have been fine. The reason why i did not add it all is that some of the fish i will be putting in such as otos require a more mature tank. I would look at this requirement, and try to have some order to the addition of the fish to the tank. Perhaps adding things like angelfish nearer to the end, as they may be territorial, or holding off on rams because they are a little more fragile.

I made the mistake of thinking all cory's were pretty similar, and added panda cory's early on. I have since lost a couple of them and regret this immensley. So in summary, the tank/cycle can handle adding a lot of fish in one go, but there are other considerations for the welfare of the fish. I would perhaps add a reasonable number in one go though and not just 2-3, as this will reduce the size of the minicycle, as the % added in the second go would be smaller and more manageable.

Thats just my 2p, but im by no means an expert though. However, my experience with the fishless cycle will back up the stats part, and im not just talking about theory, and my experience of losing fish with perfect stats also makes me understand how important it is to add fish at the right time.

EDIT: btw.. james makes a good point. Adding all the fish in one go means that you will have to take what the LFS has..! good point made chap. i almost came unstuck when they had almost run out of one of the species i was after.. i cleared them out of that one.

Squid

 

[Marisa_allen]

Thats some good advice squid. I really want neons, so i can add them later when the tank is mature. As for Corys, I have in mind a shoal of 4-6 of the following (I am only going to choose one species):

Corydoras metae - Bandit Corydoras
Corydoras adolfoi - Adolfs cory
Corydoras panda - Panda Cory
Corydoras arcuatus - skunk cory
Brochis Splendens - Emerald Catfish

I think my fav has to be the Adolfoi though...ooh I meant to say which are the best ones to add straight away.

 

[James007]

Hi Marisa,

For some top advice on Corys I'd go to the Catfish/Corydoras section. The members there really know their stuff on Corys. I got loads of advice there

I've had Panda and Bronze/Albino Cory's. The Panda's not the hardiest of Corys but are also a lot small than many of the others.