Would it b ok to put more fish in now?

[nirvanarama]

i was wondering if i could put more fish into my 8 gallon? or should i leave it a while?

ammonia: 0 mg/l
nitrite: 0.2 mg/l

i just wondered if the nitrite wasa still too high to put more fish in as im going to my lfs tonight.

 

[Crookster]

How long has it been since you set it up?

 

[nirvanarama]

about 3 weeks

 

[Crookster]

I wouldn't just yet.

I found out the hard way. I only waited about 2 and a half weeks after I got mine b4 I started adding fish and a lot of them died. You have to let your filter mature properley first and that can take 4-5 weeks.

Sorry but it will be worth waiting.

 

[Crookster]

It's not really the water paranetres that are important. It's whether or not the filter is ready to take extra fish yet and it probabbly isn't yet.

I think the gravel you get with it also acts as part of the filter, like an under gravel filter would. It's this that needs to be mature.

Give it another week or so, the add 2-3 small fish and you should be ok.

 

[nirvanarama]

ok, thanks for the advice!

 

[sinistral]

It's not really the water paranetres that are important. It's whether or not the filter is ready to take extra fish yet and it probabbly isn't yet.

I agree with Crookster about the importance of patience while cycling. I tend to wait until parameters are zero (both ammonia and nitrites) before adding fish. Patience is your friend with tropical fish. Personally, I do tend to rely on water parameters quite heavily, as they are a total measure of how well the nitrogenous wastes are being metabolized by all the bacteria in the tank (including the filter, substrate, other surfaces).

 

[Crookster]

I hope you didn't misunderstand me when I said water parameters aren't important, they are of course. I meant that when cycling it doesn't matter if your readings are zero because if your filter isn't ready as soon as you put more fish in it will overload.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I wouldn't add fish while you still have NitrIte present in the tank and until it is fully cycled.