Can I add more fish?

[colinsk]

I have an overstocked 29 gallon aquarium. It is also full of plants. The system is nitrogen limited. After 5 weeks with no water changes (I wanted to see what the water chemistry would do) my ammonia was 0, my nitrites were 0 and my nitrates were 0. I can't see why I would buy nitrates to fertilize my plants. Can I add fish instead?

Right now I have:

3 Platies
7 Lemon Tetras
8 Zebra Danios
6 Spotted Cories
10 Amano Shrimp
2 Zebra Nerites
1 Brigsii

I would like to add some or all of the following:

10 more Amano Shrimp
2 more Zebra Nerites
6 Serpae tetra

They all would come from seperate suppliers so they would get added in stages and I could stop if I start to see nitrates at any point. This sounds like a huge bioload but why would I add Nitrates instead of fish?

:hang:

 

[ChrisK]

Looks like your stocked to me. You could probably get away with adding the shrimp and snails just would seem pretty crowded to me. The nitrate level on my planted tanks stays less than 5 at all times. I definately would not add just to increase nitrate levels.

 

[Rbishop]

I would leave it as is.

 

[OldMan47]

I think I would add some KNO3 instead of fish if you are nitrogen limited as you said.

 

[cellodaisy]

...why would I add Nitrates instead of fish?

I have wondered this, too. As long as aggression, territory, and swimming space issues are taken into consideration, why not? There must be an excellent reason, but I haven't heard it yet. I hope someone in the know will chime in.

 

[bitbot]

I have wondered this, too. As long as aggression, territory, and swimming space issues are taken into consideration, why not? There must be an excellent reason, but I haven't heard it yet. I hope someone in the know will chime in.

Agree.

 

[colinsk]

I have wondered this, too. As long as aggression, territory, and swimming space issues are taken into consideration, why not? There must be an excellent reason, but I haven't heard it yet. I hope someone in the know will chime in.

That is why I considered more shrimp and snails. They peacefully coexist so well.

But OldMan and RBishop have never steered me wrong so far. Hmm...

 

[cellodaisy]

bump?

 

[Arturo]

That's good, I would not add any more.

 

[ChrisK]

I have wondered this, too. As long as aggression, territory, and swimming space issues are taken into consideration, why not? There must be an excellent reason, but I haven't heard it yet. I hope someone in the know will chime in.

Without turning this into a chemistry lesson I'll try and explain. Nitrate is the final stage of cycling and the most common way of measuring water quality. In planted aquariums nitrate is used as a source of nitrogen for the plants, so if you use nitrate as your only measure of water quality you will be steered wrong. There is lots of other unmeasurable products of fish wastes, such as any number of organic compounds including sulfur, they also secrete harmones that need to be removed with water changes. None of these are good for fish or invertebrates. If you need nitrogen add some flourish nitrogen or something similar. Hope this post makes since and doesn't run together lol.