adding fish

[christine]

My 1st nitrogen cycle isn't quite over yet... I've had the tank for about 1 mo. When everyhing cycles through, should I wait at least another 4 weeks before adding fish? I have 2platies, I molly now (in 10gal) so I was thinking of a friend for the molly, an' a couple guppies... I don't think I'm in for an algae eater as my water is slightly brackish an' I read mollies eat algae.... Should I get the same type o'molly? I have a silver molly, and I was thinkin' about getting a black lyretail ... do these go well... my molly is a little agressive ... also, are all these guys compatible... an' after I do add them will the tank go into another cycle or does that only happen once ???...

 

[platypus]

Hiya Christine

When everyhing cycles through, should I wait at least another 4 weeks before adding fish?

Once your ammonia and nitrite are at 0, then your tank is 'cycled' and you can start adding in fish. If your nitrates are really high though, you might want to add some live plants (if you don't already have them), and carry out lots of regular water changes to manage the levels.

I don't think I'm in for an algae eater as my water is slightly brackish an' I read mollies eat algae...

If you mean a chinese algae eater (also known as a sucking loach) then NO you are right, definitely don't get one, they grow huge and they are proper brutes!

also, are all these guys compatible...

I think platies, mollies and guppies will all mix but bear in mind that they are all livebearers so if you have a mix of different sexes you are going to have a whole heap of babies soon! There's a really good article here about sexing livebearers which you may find useful - if you wanted to avoid having babies you could try having all males or females - the problem with this is that all males can be aggressive, but females can be a bit dull (especially guppies).

will the tank go into another cycle or does that only happen once ???...

Nope should just be once - provided you don't do anything to wipe out your good bacteria, like replacing all your filters in one go, or cleaning the gravel a bit too zealously, then your tank shouldn't have to start cycling again.