have a 25 gal tank which will be cycled soon. I have 3 yellow tetra's. and 1 black tetra. I know you should keep them in school's of 6 or more. So can i add 3 yellow tetra's at one time. and then 5 black tetra's after a week? or can i add them all at the same time. They are quite small. And can i add 6 neon tetra's at the same time?
Adding new fish, how many at once?
- Thread starter tetraboi
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I would wait until the tank is cycled but if you really need more fish I would get a max of 4 and then wait for a week. 2 Yellow and 2 Blacks would be ok. Hold off on the Neons until the tank is completely cycled and you've got the groups you want of the other fish.
Well your tank is pretty small, and you only have several fish in it.
Even though the fish are small, I would only put like two or three fish into it at one given time.
Even though the fish are small, I would only put like two or three fish into it at one given time.
I assume you are cycling with fish, the tetras you mentioned. That means once the tanks is established (cycled) it will be cycled for the amount of fish you have. Any new additions start a new cycle of bacterial growth. So avoid adding more than a couple of fish per week. And keep doing water changes and testing of the water during these cycling phases.
The thought here is that you don't want to overload the biofiltration of the tank by a large margin. For a 25g tank 2 or 3 fish should be ok to add. Personally I'd probably say only add 2 or 3 in a four week period.
I'd increase the fish mass by about 30 - 50% each time, AFTER the initial cycle was complete. Feed almost nothing for several days. Rearrange the tank to confuse any territory issues. Follow with daily testing to see if there is a spike of ammonia or nitrites. Change water as necessary to keep all measurements at zero.
When it is stable, do it again.
I'd try to complete a school as fast as possible, so 3 yellows first (I know that is more than 50% but they are tiny fish in a 25 gallon tank). Then, if the tank handled it well, on the next round I'd probably add the 5 black all at once. Rearrange again, feed lightly again.
You are adding all mid-level fish there and you may be dissappointed in the lack of schooling as they all collide into each other. I suggest skipping the neons and adding bottom fish, some sort of cory or kuhlie (Kuhlies seem to be in season now). I'd even add more to each of the tetras, going to 8 each. Plus a few otos maybe.
8 yellow, 8 black, 5 - 6 bottomfish, 3 otos = 25 fish of about 1 inch, assuming the cories were small and ignoring the fact that the kuhlies are long, and assuming you have good filtration sized at twice recommended and you keep the tank clean and don't overfeed.
When it is stable, do it again.
I'd try to complete a school as fast as possible, so 3 yellows first (I know that is more than 50% but they are tiny fish in a 25 gallon tank). Then, if the tank handled it well, on the next round I'd probably add the 5 black all at once. Rearrange again, feed lightly again.
You are adding all mid-level fish there and you may be dissappointed in the lack of schooling as they all collide into each other. I suggest skipping the neons and adding bottom fish, some sort of cory or kuhlie (Kuhlies seem to be in season now). I'd even add more to each of the tetras, going to 8 each. Plus a few otos maybe.
8 yellow, 8 black, 5 - 6 bottomfish, 3 otos = 25 fish of about 1 inch, assuming the cories were small and ignoring the fact that the kuhlies are long, and assuming you have good filtration sized at twice recommended and you keep the tank clean and don't overfeed.