adding large quantity of tetras

[Southern Fist]

I believe i'll be finishing my cycle shortly, and the first fish im going to add are 50 rummynose tetras. if my bio filter is processing 4 ppm of ammonia in 24 hours, will that be enough to transition this many fish into my aquarium at once?

I'm planning to have seachem Prime on hand to mitigate ammonia spikes.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I added about 50 neons all at once to a newly cycled 55G tank and it was fine. Just watch the parameters.

 

[mcordelia]

I guess the part we are missing is the size of the tank. 4ppm in a 50gal tank is a lot more ammonia than 4ppm in a 10gal tank.

 

[Southern Fist]

sorry, you're right. it is a 75 gallon tank.

 

[mcordelia]

Then I would also say that you should be fine.

 

[CassCats]

Thatll be fine and will be an impressive shoal of fish to see

 

[mcordelia]

That would make for a neat video!!

 

[Southern Fist]

That would make for a neat video!!

I’ll post one when they’re in! Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[Southern Fist]

I’ve just added my tetras, and I’ve been testing my water every 6 hours or so. Ammonia has held steady at 0, but nitrites have risen to .5, and they’ve held steady there for about 24 hours. Should I add some prime, or give it a little more time to see if it drops?
The teras all give bright red noses and are eating and swimming vigorously. I’m not sure how I screwed up the cycle!

thanks
Ridley

 

[mcordelia]

Huh, that's unexpected! From what I understand the toxicity of nitrates depends on the pH, but I'm not sure what the best course of action is. To err on the safe side would be to do a water change, but you of course do need some nitrites in the water to grow the BB, soooo, tough to say... Sorry I don't have better advice to give you!

Glad to hear they are doing well otherwise! Can't wait to see pictures!!

 

[Essjay]

There is no non-toxic form of nitrite (only ammonia has a pH dependant non-toxic form). Nitrite binds to the red blood cells preventing them taking up oxygen in much the same way that carbon monoxide does to us.
Prime binds nitrite for around 24 hours, then it becomes toxic again. Water changes should be done whenever a daily test shows nitrite above zero. Using Prime as the water conditioner will protect the fish until the next day's water change, if nitrite does build up again.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Huh, that's unexpected! From what I understand the toxicity of nitrates depends on the pH, but I'm not sure what the best course of action is. To err on the safe side would be to do a water change, but you of course do need some nitrites in the water to grow the BB, soooo, tough to say... Sorry I don't have better advice to give you!

Glad to hear they are doing well otherwise! Can't wait to see pictures!!

Nitrites are not needed in the water after nitrates appear. In fact, you absolutely do not want them. I would add the Prime for now so as to not stress the fish out since you just added them. Tomorrow after they have settled in, do a large water change. Keep us posted.

 

[hansgruber7]

I would do an immediate large water change and keep doing that daily until nitrites are back to zero personally.

 

[Southern Fist]

I did about a 30-40% water change this morning, then tested again. Nitrites were still at the same level to my dismay/surprise (I tested twice). I promptly hauled ass to petsmart to get some prime and dumped in three capfuls. Ammonia is still 0.0, I probably made a mistake by feeding them this morning?

 

[FishGuest5123]

I have to politely disagree with w/c today. The Prime will protect them until tomorrow. I have a tank of 50 neons. They are sensitive when first added. As I said, let them settle first. You will likely lose a few to stress anyway. Don’t make it worse. Do the change tomorrow. Once they settle in, they actually become pretty hardy little guys.