How long to wait before adding fish

[tel0004]

How long do I need to wait after adding fish to add new ones so the bacteria can built up for the new load. I just got 10 zebra danios today, but got rid of 2 convicts. In about 2 days, im going to get 5-6 white cloud minnos, but im getting rid of my two small irridesent sharks, so these additions shouldnt add too much to the bioload. How long should I wait until I get more fish after that.

 

[ChicoRaton]

at least a week, but monitor the ammonia and nitrITE levels to make sure they're at 0 and stay at zero for a week before adding more fish.

 

[beviking]

tel0004, are you swapping fish for fish? It sounds like you're taking fish out of the tank and then putting other fish in? If that's the case, you can do that right away. 10 zebra danio vs. 2 convicts may be a bit much (don't know the size of either), but swapping 6 white clouds for a couple Irr.sharks(unless they're tiny) shouldn't be a problem.

You definitly want to think of swapping in terms of waste output from each group of fish. 6 full grown white clouds produce about as much waste as a couple 2" Irr. sharks. So if you pull the sharks today, you could add the white clouds today. Of course, I would have had any new additions in a "quarantine tank" for a month first.

As for adding new fish, Chico answered that, unless you don't have any test kits. In that case, wait two weeks.

 

[tel0004]

Yes, I have test kits. My sharks are about 3 inches so pretty small. I realize that swapping isnt adding much to the bacteria load, my question was mainly asking about once I was done swapping, and just started adding more fish. Thanks for the response.