Adding Fish...

[Becca]

ok. In my newbie days (I now know better...hopefully!) I bought quite a few fish that really thrive in schools. For example, I bought two zebras. One stressed the other out, and seems to continue to do that if I put one of any type of fish same size or smaller than him in the tank.

What I'm wondering is if he's trying to school with the other fish. Now that he's gotten bigger, I really haven't seen him nipping at any fins, just chasing other fish - they swim away and he appears to just give up and go somewhere else.

If he is tryign to school with others (I've been told these do better in groups) how many more danios should I get? I was thinking of stopping on the way home tomorrow night and getting about 4-5 to introduce to the tank.

Also, i've heard that you should add no more than 3 fish at a time - does that mean 3 individual fish at a time, or 3 different species? For example - I have a couple of tetras that do better in schools as well, and a single molly. What I'd like to do is get 3 mollies, 3 zebra danios and 3-5 assorted tetras.

Will I be pushing the limits of my tank if I introduce that many at one time?

 

[Sky042]

the three fish at a time thing greatly depends on the size of the tank and it's maturity. has your water completely stabilized yet??

for example adding 3 fish at a time to a 5G would be very bad but adding 3 fish to a 75G wouldn't be a big deal. Also depends on the fish adding 3 neons isn't as bad as adding 3 5" bala sharks.

You have to kinda thing smart about what you want to add. Depending on species and maturity of your tank you might be able to add a whole shoal of fish at once or you might have to do it one at a time.

 

[jams.alaskan]

It means 3 at a time. Your danio would love 5 buddies, do you have room in the tank? Glad to see you're still here. The saltwater project you are thinking of sounds great! Best of luck on it, 100 plus gals is the way to go

ALASKA

 

[Becca]

Tank has stablized. All with great test results. I have plenty of room in the tank, in fact I've been told that my tank is understocked. LOL. I'll probably just get a group of Zebras tonight to keep Gimpy happy. He's the oldest fish and I have noticed he's the one that seems to be chasing the others around lately. He'll probably be happy with a group of his own. Tonight's also the big night that I'm taking my Knife to the LFS (if I can see myself through it, lol) So, I'll definitely have room for some smaller fishes.

To be honest, I'm really unsure about the Zebras - I know the little guy I have now would be happier in a small group of them, but I'd like to add some thicker fish (about the size of Molly's and the Bleeding Heart Tetras) because they're so much easier to see from across the room. But I can't just leave the little guy singled out.