Questions About Adding Fish

[Riso-chan]

I was wondering if it would be safe to add the rest of the fish I want altogether. First, I'm going to lower my nitrates by siphoning the gravel because they've been a bit high. Once that is done I'm home free. My tank specs are listed in my signature, so you won't have to ask. I want to add 5 more ottos and 4 swordtails (1m/3f). I was curious if it would be safe to add these together. I know the swortails will produce more waste than the other fish, but I'd like to know in advance how, if at all, I can add them together. Thanx.

 

[YoFishboy]

I would think that, if the tank is well established, it would be ok to add all at once. You might want to increase your filtration a bit. A 55g tank is pushing the limits for the size filter that you have, especially if you want to iincrease the stocking rate. Plenty of water changes too!

 

[ArkyLady]

The answer to that question really depends on how much work you're willing to put into maintenance. The more fish you add together, the bigger the resulting ammonia and nitrIte spikes will be and the more water changes you'll need to do to keep the levels down. Adding 1-2 fish in that tank, if it's fully established, shouldn't cause much of a spike and maybe only a few extra water changes.

 

[Karnaaj]

You should be OK but i would definitely look into getting a bigger filter or at least another the same size.

 

[Kasakato]

I agree on the filter. And to prevent a big spike in ammoina, and nitrates I like to add my fish 5 at a time, every week. But only to a cycled tank of course!

 

[Riso-chan]

Reply

I can't upgrade my filter right now, but eventually I plan to. In the meantime, I think adding the five ottos for now would be safe. I've kept measure of my nitrates, nitirite, and ammonia, and today I managed to reduce my nitrates by one color shade on the test strip. Got a little more to go though, because its my gravel that's so dirty. Other than that, my nitrite and ammonia have all recently read 0. Enen with the filter I have, I keep up regular weekly maintenance by changing 10-20& water, testing, and now only feeding one pinch every other day. I had previously fed a pinch twice a day, which may have added to my nitrates. Another thing I'm planning to do is to use plastc hair curlers as surface area for good bacteria. Any advice on that idea?

 

[YoFishboy]

Anything with a lot of surface area is good for bacteria - poreous lava lock will work well, and might look less like a beauty shop! You can probably do a little larger water changes - 30 or 40%. Have fun!