Recently Cycled Tank

[zesty]

Hi, my 95g recently cycled and last week I added 4 gouramis and 6 tiger barbs and a bn pleco. The barbs were arguing with each other to start with but have now settled down and they do not bother the gouramis at all.
Now at some stage I will want to add some more fish but I am unsure as to what fish to get and how long to leave it before I add them. I did have some rainbows in mind probably about 6 of them but maybe the tank is too new to consider them yet.
Any suggestions on something else to consider getting in the mean time or should the tank be left alone for now?

 

[zuulan]

Hi, my 95g recently cycled and last week I added 4 gouramis and 6 tiger barbs and a bn pleco. The barbs were arguing with each other to start with but have now settled down and they do not bother the gouramis at all.

I'm not sure what other people think, but personally I wouldn't have added 11 fish at once into a new tank. Therefore I wouldn't add any more for now until your tank has become more established.

 

[Geoff1991]

Hi, my 95g recently cycled and last week I added 4 gouramis and 6 tiger barbs and a bn pleco. The barbs were arguing with each other to start with but have now settled down and they do not bother the gouramis at all.

I'm not sure what other people think, but personally I wouldn't have added 11 fish at once into a new tank. Therefore I wouldn't add any more for now until your tank has become more established.

If he fishless cycled it should be fine. Just keep an eye on the water stats.

 

[zesty]

Yeah I did fishless cycle it.
I thought that because of the size of my tank that I had been quite sensible with my stocking.
How many fish do you think I should have started with then?
How long should I wait before adding anything else?

 

[zuulan]

Yeah I did fishless cycle it.
I thought that because of the size of my tank that I had been quite sensible with my stocking.
How many fish do you think I should have started with then?
How long should I wait before adding anything else?

Well now you have them there's no point discussing it further.

For new stock, you should just keep an eye on your water quality levels. As long as you can see the ammonia is being converted to nitrites and nitrates and the levels are low and steady then it's time to add more.

 

[zesty]

Yeah I did fishless cycle it.
I thought that because of the size of my tank that I had been quite sensible with my stocking.
How many fish do you think I should have started with then?
How long should I wait before adding anything else?

Well now you have them there's no point discussing it further.

For new stock, you should just keep an eye on your water quality levels. As long as you can see the ammonia is being converted to nitrites and nitrates and the levels are low and steady then it's time to add more.

Been keeping an eye on it and ammonia and nitrites are zero, nitrates are as best as I can tell 40ppm.

I know its too late as I already have them but I have read several posts on this forum saying that once the fishless cycle has finished you can virtually fully stock the tank. I am still curious as to how many fish I should have started with though and it could also benefit someone else reading this at anytime.

Thanks

 

[zuulan]

I know its too late as I already have them but I have read several posts on this forum saying that once the fishless cycle has finished you can virtually fully stock the tank. I am still curious as to how many fish I should have started with though and it could also benefit someone else reading this at anytime.

Thanks

Personally I would've just started with 1 to 3 fish, depending on their type. Then stocked up with new fish every 7-21 days. I believe the bacteria in the filter builds up with the level of fish you have. So even in a cycled tank if you suddenly introduced a load of new fish at once the bacteria wouldn't be able to cope with the new level of ammonia being produced by the fish.

 

[zesty]

Ok thats understandable thanks . Well touch wood all is ok as its been a week now and I havent had any high readings yet. Will continue with current stocking for a bit longer then.

 

[Faythee]

Just don't add any slower moving fish with long fins such as Angels because of the nippy Barbs.

 

[zesty]

Just don't add any slower moving fish with long fins such as Angels because of the nippy Barbs.

No not going to add any angels, I did read some concerns about having gouramis and barbs together but so far my barbs and gouramis get on well together.

 

[arobinson1984]

If you fishless cycled the tank using 5ppm of ammonia then you will be fine to fully stock the tank

Enough beneficial bacteria will have been created to handle 5ppm worth of ammonia and unless your tank is either

a) massive
b) full of high waste producing fish such a plecs

then your fish won't create as much ammonia as 5ppm, this is one of the reasons it is recommended to dose right upto 5ppm when cycling. If you only dosed upto say 2ppm then you may have to keep an eye on your ammonia levels.

Zuulan is right in what he/she says regarding the filter has enough bacteria for the waste produced but if you have fishless cycled by doing 5ppm of ammonia then your filter already contains plenty of bacteria to handle the bioload. By not adding enough fish the bacteria would have started to die off and then you would experience ammonia spikes everytime you added new fish.

Andy

 

[Faythee]

Is it 95 Imperial gallons ?

A Severum would go nicely with your stocking if the tank is big enough.

 

[zesty]

If you fishless cycled the tank using 5ppm of ammonia then you will be fine to fully stock the tank

Enough beneficial bacteria will have been created to handle 5ppm worth of ammonia and unless your tank is either

a) massive
b) full of high waste producing fish such a plecs

then your fish won't create as much ammonia as 5ppm, this is one of the reasons it is recommended to dose right upto 5ppm when cycling. If you only dosed upto say 2ppm then you may have to keep an eye on your ammonia levels.

Zuulan is right in what he/she says regarding the filter has enough bacteria for the waste produced but if you have fishless cycled by doing 5ppm of ammonia then your filter already contains plenty of bacteria to handle the bioload. By not adding enough fish the bacteria would have started to die off and then you would experience ammonia spikes everytime you added new fish.

Andy

Yeah I fishless cycled using 5ppm ammonia. Im did think that I had read right about being able to stock the tank well. What is classed as a massive tank though? i have 95us gallons or 360ltrs. The only thing I dont know is how much I have stocked my tank by?

Is it 95 Imperial gallons ?

A Severum would go nicely with your stocking if the tank is big enough.

Not sure if its imperial or metric but the tank is 95us gallons or 360ltrs.

Not looked at severums but just going to now.

 

[arobinson1984]

It would take a fair amount of messy fish to create 5ppm worth of ammonia so I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you are slightly apprehensive then just add half or 3/4 the stocking to begin with.

Be warned though that if you add half the stocking, the excess bacteria in the filter will gradually die off just leaving enough to cope with the fish in the tank as the bacteria wont be getting enough ammonia to keep it all alive so whenever you add more you should add few at a time

If I had a 95 gal, my first choice would be an oscar! You wouldn't be able to keep many other fish with it as oscars need 75 us gal for themselves and you would also have to be careful what you kept but they make great fish, so entertaining and have wonderful personalities.

You would need great filtration though for either oscar or severum, preferably 2 externals on a 95 gal tank.

Andy

 

[craig855s]

I would add more stock (and lots) as soon as possible or your fishless cycle was a waste of time. If you let ur excess bacteria die due to being heavilt understocked for ur filter in its cycled state then u will experience a mini cycle every time u add fish. So if i were in ur shoes i'd be down the LFS right now getting a few dozen inches worth of fish