Adding Fish After Cycling

[kathleen]

Me again. I am now the proud owner of a cycled 10g which took exactly 28 days to complete (fishless).
I also have my planted 50g fishless cycling and it's about a week from being finished.

My question is in regards to how many fish to put in the tank as soon as the cycle is complete? I have added 6 small (3/4") cherry barbs and a small snail who hitched a ride to the 10g. I wanted to add 6-8 harlequin rasboras as well but they were in quarantine when I went to purchase them. These were all going into the 50g when it's ready. Are the 6 small barbs enough to keep my 10g from uncycling? And when I do add fish to my 50g how many should I add to avoid it from uncycling and going into a mini cycle?

The fish I am looking at eventually having are the cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras, several corys, otos (if I can find them), a couple of honey gouramis, 1 red tailed black shark, some rainbowfish and probably an anglefish or 2. I'm not saying I want all these fish, these are just the ones I am considering. Which of these and how many would you add to a newly cycled planted 50g? I'd appreciate any suggestions or corrections. Thanks!

 

[rdd1952]

The 6 barbs should be fine to keep the 10 gallon cycled. Technically, a tank is only cycled for the fish load (bioload) that you have in it. When your tank finished cycling, it was probably cycled for a much heavier load than the 6 barbs. That means that some bacteria will die off as there isn't enough waste to feed on. The 10 gallon should stay fully cycled as 6 barbs is pretty much a full stock.

As for the 50 gallon, when it is ready, you should add at least 75% of your fish. You probably would be fine to add the full stock. If you only add a few, the bacteria will die off causing a mini cycle later when you add fish.

 

[kathleen]

Thanks rdd!
That's good to hear about my 10g. My only concern about adding so many fish to my 50g in the beginning is issues with diseases. All of the fish I will be getting come from the same place and the fish all seem healthy and the tanks are clean and well maintained.
Are there any of the fish on my list that I should not add to a newly cycled tank? I remember reading something about adding otos later on which is fine as there are none to be had here at the moment.
Honestly, one other concern I have is buying all or most of my fish at once. I know I am going to get some strange looks from the lfs employees and I really don't want to get into a big explanation with them about fishless cycling. Anyone ever had to deal with this?
Thanks again.

 

[rdd1952]

Angelfish can be delicate at times but I didn't have any problems out of mine. I got them 2 weeks after the tank cycled and they have grown like weeds. No problems with them at all. I don't really see any compatibility problems with the list, maybe heavy on stock if you get them all.

As for the otos, they are all wild caught so they have a pretty high die off rate. If and when you do find them, I would advise you to wait until the LFS has had them for a couple weeks to allow for the die off rate to take it's toll. If they offer a money back guarantee, you may be ok to go ahead and buy them but they could die and get eaten by the other fish and you won't have a body to take back for a refund. I guess you could quarantine them so they are alone and not have to worry about the dead ones getting eaten.

If you get all your fish from the same place (one that you trust), you shouldn't have to worry about disease so much. Getting them from several places raises the possibility of disease. Just look the fish over closely before you buy them. As for them questioning why you are getting so many at once, they will probably just be happy for the sale. I bought 20 (10 tetras, 5 SAEs and 5 corys) at once when I stocked my 75 gallon and they didn't even mention it.

 

[kathleen]

Thanks so much for the advice. I still have a good week left so I'll spend that time finalizing my list and hopefully it will go smoothly.
I will definately hold off on the otos for now as well as the angelfish. They are a bit hard to come by here as well. Seems they are popular so when a few come in they are bought quickly.
For now I am looking at the 1 rtbs, 3 corys, a pair of honey gouramis, a few bosemani rainbowfish and then the 6 small cherry barbs that are currently in my 10g. All of these individuals are quite small so I think that should stock my 50g enough for now.
Wish me luck!