Can I Add Fish Yet?

[stevieniks]

am new to fish keeping and have just started my 180L tank. my nitrates are 20, nitrites 0 and ph is 7(and have been stable for 3 days now) but my water is still slightly cloudy (white). is it safe to add some hardy fish yet or do i need to wait until the water had de-clouded? please help

 

[catxx]

the cloudy ness is a bacterial bloom, shouldn't be anything to worry about and will clear in time.
what is your ammonia reading? although it sounds like you're ready to go.

make sure the fish you plan to add are ok for the tank in question, do you have any in mind? and don't add too many at once!

 

[stevieniks]

ammonia readng just taken is between 0 and 0.25 is this ok?

we were thinking maybe some guppys and tetras(at the same time) to start the tank off and then later maybe some mollys. dwarf gouramis and maybe an algea eater or 2

 

[catxx]

neither guppies or tetras (i presume neons?) are hardy anymore, they've been weakened massively by inter-breeding.

adding the first fish is pretty tough, a lot of the fish that used to be hardy are now weakened! dwarf gouramis used to be tough but are now notorious for carrying a fatal infection that wipes them out pretty quickly, so just be wary where you get your stock from!

i think maybe start with mollies, they may be the toughest of the bunch. mollies like to have a bit of salt in their water, if you need to know more about that, venture over the livebearers forum, i haven't kept mollies myself.
but bear in mind if you have salt in with the mollies, this limits your choices of "algae eater", as most plecs, otocinclus and corys are intolerant of salt in the water. avoid at all costs the "chinese algae eater" or "golden sucking loach" these guys are monsters in disguise!

 

[stevieniks]

i did mean neons yes. might start with some mollies then and see how it goes. thanks for your much needed advice. fingers crossed.

 

[newtotropical]

Danios are very hardy also....

 

[Fate2006]

Don't introduce neons into a new tank right away, they're sensitive, wait untill everything in your tank is stabalized then add them in (like 1 month)

 

[vinylman]

I'd be more inclined to leave it even longer before adding Tetras, a good two months. I waited three before adding Cardinals and I've never had any problems with them. I'd also agree with not adding Guppys at first, they seem to be very fragile nowadays (as many fish are, sadly). It's worth asking at your LFS if you can return any fish you put in as the first lot, some LFS will let you do that. If yours does, try Platys or Zebra Danios. Bear in mind, though, that Zebra Danios are very lively and may upset any placid fish you might want to add later on. Always think ahead.