TERRIFIED of getting actual fish....

[mirasmom]

So....long story short (and in another thread) my first fish died. So we are in our fishless cycle now....it's begun and seems to be going just fine. I assume I still have a couple of weeks before it's complete. I'm looking at and researching fish I want to get, but when it comes down to it....I'm terrified of adding them. EVER! I'm so afraid to kill more fish. Can you ease my fears?? After the tank is fully cycled how many fish should I actually add at once? I was thinking 3 a week, but since it's cycled, can I do more SAFELY?? The last time they were fine when I went to bed and dead when I woke up the next day....I don't think I'll be able to sleep for days! Help!!!

Right now I'm leaning toward guppies- they're supposed to be forgiving but really fun to watch and pretty, right?? It's a 26 gal bowfront.

 

[jpappy789]

The more research you do, the better. AC is a great resource to use and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Most, if not all of us, have made exactly the same mistakes you have already made so you are not alone. Even when everything is going well you still can lose fish. It's just part of the hobby.

Fishless cycling will take some time. Just keep testing and looking for ammonia and nitrite to disappear and to start getting a nitrate buildup.

 

[Jspigs]

When the fishless cycle is finished you can add all of your fish at once since a fishless cycle builds up an extremely large bacteria colony (close to if not the maximum possible size bacteria colony). Therefore the bacteria colony will be large enough to handle an entire stocking of fish right when the tank finishes cycling. Adding a few fish then waiting a week can actually cause some of the bacteria to die off in a fishless cycle because the bacteria will not have as much food as they did during the fishless cycle. This means that if enough bacteria die off this way the tank could potentially have a mini cycle when you add more fish overtime.

So bottom line is I would add the fish all at once when the cycle is complete.

 

[jackiomy]

I have just discovered Platys. They are great. Beautiful, flashy and they recognize you when you come in the room. They also seem pretty forgiving when it comes to water parameters and they don't seem to have near as many babies!

 

[Reeyia]

I know it's un-nerving to lose fish but it sounds like you have good thought processes. I agree you should only add 4 maybe 6 small fish at a time; too many all at once in smaller tanks can cause an ammonia spike, wait a week then add the next few. Don't forget the water changes.
Unless you want to have zillion guppies, just get males !

 

[Fyurae]

Don't be freaked out. Everyone kills from time to time. When I look back on what I've done, and what I know other people did to fish before they knew better, it's really horrifying. My first betta, who lived in a JAR, used to get his whole tank run under the faucet once a week WITH HIM IN IT. He still managed to make it three years like that, the poor little dude.

Check out AQADVISOR for stocking levels and guidelines. That is, how many fish in total you could have. It also tells you if you have selected fish that don't get along or have special needs (like a lid to keep them from jumping out.)

I've been told to add one or two fish at a time, and give them a few days to adjust, as well as for the bacteria to catch up. If you seeded your tank with established bacteria the cycle takes two weeks or so, from what I understand. If you didn't (and you'd know if you did) a month is safe, I think.

Get a test kit if you can. The liquid test kits are more reliable, but even strips are better than nothing. Strips go bad if they're unsealed, but I get the 5-in-1 kits that have a separate ammonia strip, and the strips are individually wrapped.

Feed your bacteria. Add some fish food once in a while to create waste that will become ammonia to feed your cycling bacteria. Add plenty of things for the bacteria to grow on as well. Your substrate (rocks and sand), plants, deco, logs, and plenty of filter media. The bacteria don't live in the water, for the most part.

And maybe add your fish when you will be able to observe them for a good amount of time. You might even think of quarantine (even in a bucket) for a few days when you buy your fish to make sure you haven't gotten one that is incubating a disease. Wait a few days or a week in between additions to make sure everyone is getting along, and no one is sick (if a fish is getting sick at the store, the stress of the move can cause them to start showing symptoms).

I think guppies are a great choice to start out with, they are even easy to breed, and you can find all kinds of different varieties.

Also, if you are buying fish from a chain store like PetCo or PetSmart, don't go by the information on the price tag. This is a good guideline, but inaccurate (for example, Mollies do best in brackish water, I found out the hard way). I would suggest you go window shopping, write down the fish breeds you like, and research them.

I'm just beginning myself, but this is what I've learned so far.

 

[Jspigs]

I know it's un-nerving to lose fish but it sounds like you have good thought processes. I agree you should only add 4 maybe 6 small fish at a time; too many all at once in smaller tanks can cause an ammonia spike, wait a week then add the next few. Don't forget the water changes.
Unless you want to have zillion guppies, just get males !

A fishless cycle builds up enough bacteria to add the fish all at once with no risk of an ammonia spike.

 

[Rbishop]

A fishless cycle builds up enough bacteria to add the fish all at once with no risk of an ammonia spike.

yep!


The only real down side to all at once is if one fish has a disease, you risk spreading it to others.

 

[mirasmom]

When the fishless cycle is finished you can add all of your fish at once since a fishless cycle builds up an extremely large bacteria colony (close to if not the maximum possible size bacteria colony). Therefore the bacteria colony will be large enough to handle an entire stocking of fish right when the tank finishes cycling. Adding a few fish then waiting a week can actually cause some of the bacteria to die off in a fishless cycle because the bacteria will not have as much food as they did during the fishless cycle. This means that if enough bacteria die off this way the tank could potentially have a mini cycle when you add more fish overtime.

So bottom line is I would add the fish all at once when the cycle is complete.

that makes perfect sense. Makes me feel better Thanks!

 

[wrek]

Also Biozyme helps with fishless cycling in my experience. And get some Seachem Prime in case somehow your parameters get out of whack once you have fish in play.