Cycled tank how many fish can I add initially?

[89Sem]

I keep getting varying information from 2-3 and let the good bacteria adjust to the new bio load for a month or so and add 1-2 more. On the other hand I’m hearing that if it is cycled I can add more which I don’t necessarily think is true. But let me know what y’all think.

 

[Borat]

I keep getting varying information from 2-3 and let the good bacteria adjust to the new bio load for a month or so and add 1-2 more. On the other hand I’m hearing that if it is cycled I can add more which I don’t necessarily think is true. But let me know what y’all think.

the advice you were given sounds reasonable - 1-2 at a time slowly..

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I keep getting varying information from 2-3 and let the good bacteria adjust to the new bio load for a month or so and add 1-2 more. On the other hand I’m hearing that if it is cycled I can add more which I don’t necessarily think is true. But let me know what y’all think.

Patience. Add 1-3, wait a few weeks, then add a few more...

 

[The_Paradox]

Depends on size of tank, how it was cycled, and what your ultimate sticking goals are. I personally add everything I plan to add in the first year at the same time. Do the whole stress over disease and fighting thing once. Everyone starts fresh in wipe day, no veteran players.

 

[MissMolly]

I have recently set up a tank succesfully (cycling and stocking wise). I started out with two tiny cleaner shrimps. Week 2 I got a molly. Week 3 two small peppermint shrimp and a hermit. Week 4 one more molly. Week 5 a chalk bass. Then waited a few weeks and adding one more fish and one more shrimp. Then gradually adding snails of different kinds.

I would never do more than one fish or two shrimp /crabs per week.

 

[MissMolly]

Btw to me it makes sense to start out with the small size livestock so you get something to look at but minimum fish waste. A week ago I added an angelfish and that fish eats and ***** for 5 people

 

[Cthulukelele]

It really depends on tank size too as total water volume directly dilutes waste. For my 160 total gallon system I started with a clown pair then added small fish 3 at a time larger fish 1-2 at a time. There is no perfect science, but you cant go too slow. The longer you stretch it out the more likely you'll be successful, though this changes time to full on stability

 

[89Sem]

right on, so I have a 120g tank with a 40gal sump i did Fritz turbo start and dosed that for 400 gallons as you can safely use it to 5x and did a fishless cycle with their fishless fuel amonia. 2ppm and now 2ppm for ~160 gal dosage gets cycled in about 36hrs.

 

[Magic031707]

For reference, in my 250 gallon the 1st fish were a flame hawkish, lawnmower blenny, 2 clowns and a Foxface. Foxface was about around 2.5in and the rest was 2in or under. 6 weeks before the next batch which is the quarantine period

 

[The_Paradox]

right on, so I have a 120g tank with a 40gal sump i did Fritz turbo start and dosed that for 400 gallons as you can safely use it to 5x and did a fishless cycle with their fishless fuel amonia. 2ppm and now 2ppm for ~160 gal dosage gets cycled in about 36hrs.

How long since you started all this? I would give everything two weeks and probably dose ammonia a few times in that period followed by a water change and test to confirm everything is squared away.

 

[89Sem]

So once I got the first amonia/nitrite down to 0 I dosed it again and did the water change and dosed again I would say about two weeks from the initial “cycle” I have a roller mat for filter and a skimmer, carbon filter so I feel like the filtration will be sufficient

 

[brandon429]

I'm adding this thread to the updated cycling science thread from 2023, it's a great question

the answer: disease protocol limits stocking rate over risk of ammonia noncontrol.

nobody reading or posting can link an instance where a thread they were in displayed ammonia noncontrol in a reef tank, post cycle.

yet everyone reading can easily read some help threads in the disease forum related to tanks under 8 mos old. stark patterns exist there

if you don't have a disease plan in place, it doesn't matter how many fish it can carry. the technical answer is it can carry your full bioload after cycling, bacteria don't 'ramp up' on surfaces after a set amount of prep time, the cycle deposits what's needed on surfaces. I have several thread examples of full tanks stocked just after cycling

ammonia control isn't the risk, for anyone, you're not going to stock past what ammonia loading the tank can handle. there aren't any examples of that, there's only examples of api and red sea test kit misreads but no actual tank symptoms in any post.

 

[MissMolly]

I'm adding this thread to the updated cycling science thread from 2023, it's a great question

the answer: disease protocol limits stocking rate over risk of ammonia noncontrol.

nobody reading or posting can link an instance where a thread they were in displayed ammonia noncontrol in a reef tank, post cycle.

yet everyone reading can easily read some help threads in the disease forum related to tanks under 8 mos old. stark patterns exist there

if you don't have a disease plan in place, it doesn't matter how many fish it can carry. the technical answer is it can carry your full bioload after cycling, bacteria don't 'ramp up' on surfaces after a set amount of prep time, the cycle deposits what's needed on surfaces. I have several thread examples of full tanks stocked just after cycling

ammonia control isn't the risk, for anyone, you're not going to stock past what ammonia loading the tank can handle. there aren't any examples of that, there's only examples of api and red sea test kit misreads but no actual tank symptoms in any post.

Hi Brandon, just a bit curious if I'm reading your message correctly.

So what you're saying is: That if the tank is cycled, it does not matter if you add one or 20 fish at once. Nitrifying bacteria does not ramp up with time. Once it's there, it's there.

Instead you should have a hospital tank so you can remove sick fish?

Am I understanding you correctly?

 

[Katrina71]

My rule is 1 per month, but I have added a pair of clowns together.

 

[brandon429]

Here's a real world example to verify @shrimplover

Bio-spira works great

I just started a new tank a little over a week ago. I started with all dry rock and new sand. I added a bottle of Bio-Spira and put fish and coral the same day. Never saw any ammonia and fish and coral seem healthy.

www.reef2reef.com

Notice that's an entire reef worth of fish on day one, with bottle bac, no ramp up time. If you stagger animals or if you lump them in, nothing changes about the disease course it'll come either way in a brand new dry start setup


What i mean about fish disease is opposite of that summary above so I'm glad you posted the clarifying question. Disease preps start before you add anything at all to the tank. Quarantine and fallow planning happen before anything is added, as the observed items come out of qt or fallow preps then they're added to the display. It's not that they go in the display first and then come back out to a hospital tank, that's too late your whole system would be infected by then.

Must read all stickies in the disease forum to plan for a disease protocol

After cycling is done you simply don't have to worry or plan for or assist in ammonia control by staggering anything, that part is set. If you add fish too fast you get disease issues not ammonia issues.

 

[MissMolly]

Here's a real world example to verify @shrimplover

Bio-spira works great

I just started a new tank a little over a week ago. I started with all dry rock and new sand. I added a bottle of Bio-Spira and put fish and coral the same day. Never saw any ammonia and fish and coral seem healthy.

www.reef2reef.com

Notice that's an entire reef worth of fish on day one, with bottle bac, no ramp up time. If you stagger animals or if you lump them in, nothing changes about the disease course it'll come either way in a brand new dry start setup


What i mean about fish disease is opposite of that summary above so I'm glad you posted the clarifying question. Disease preps start before you add anything at all to the tank. Quarantine and fallow planning happen before anything is added, as the observed items come out of qt or fallow preps then they're added to the display. It's not that they go in the display first and then come back out to a hospital tank, that's too late your whole system would be infected by then.

Must read all stickies in the disease forum to plan for a disease protocol

After cycling is done you simply don't have to worry or plan for or assist in ammonia control by staggering anything, that part is set. If you add fish too fast you get disease issues not ammonia issues.

I will read that. I cycle with fish in myself. I use Stability and Prime until I read Nitrate. Then stop with prime but do continue with Stability and also Pristine. I have used this method several times (also in freshawater) - also in my Pico tank that holds 22 sexy shrimp. Never had a fish/shrimp loss. I thought this was both due to the products but also adding bioload slowly. Interesting if you can add all at once. I know that they have tested that on BRStv also with succes in the 16 tanks biome experiement (not so succesful in terms of managing pests and so but that is another story). I am all for new knowledge and new ways of doing things. I think that this hobby has way tooo much "this is how it has always been done so we should do that forever".

 

[MissMolly]

I agree with your quarantine thinking. Just not sure why you would quarantine if you get 20 fish all at once for you new aquarium as the first thing you do. Then you need 20 tanks, one for each. Otherwise no point.

I myself have VERY few fish (more of an invert person) so I have not bothered to quarantine fish. I think this gets more important the more fish you have and perhaps also get them from many places. I only shop from a trusted source (and yes, I can trust this one, don't want to go into details). At this point where I have a "fully stocked" fish tank, I wouldn't dare to buy from another place or online without quarantining.

 

[MissMolly]

@89Sem hope we didn't loose you. The discussion took a turn from your question I think. I apologize.

 

[brandon429]

losing animals on the initial go is simply not found in pattern searches from the new tanks forum, going back to it's inception. I love how forums compile library-like data that can be combed ten years later for predictive patterns.

if we check just about any system anyone ever posts, all their stuff lives, and that includes all the harsh too quick ways people acclimate animals from low salinity pet store water to their high salinity just cycled system.

ammonia control is not a worry in reefing, it's just been presented to be that way. and by luck alone, a slew of for-sale products are available for those concerned about ammonia control in reef tank settings. they're always fine on ammonia is the hidden catch lol, it's free inherent control in reef tanks that constantly copy everyone's same surface area over and over.

 

[89Sem]

Still here and still following along. I ended up adding a pair of clownfish and 3 small cardinals and a cleaner shrimp I also have a LFS that I’ve never had issues with fish falling ill before so I would say a trusted source. They currently have a majority of the fish I would want to add to the tank so still “soul searching” for what the right thing to do is. Which on the other hand raises the question of quarantine which is the right thing to do but obviously no one has multiple additional tanks or do I add them all and hope for the best. With that said plenty of posts about tank maturity etc. but again trying to stay on subject

I’ve had a tank crash before due to amonia spike and a dead decomposing tang I couldn’t locate for 2 days due to the rock formation and where it had ended up at that was an expensive and emotional lesson learned in rock formation and lay out. But I feel like that is a case of more fish more problems. And again I feel like no amount of beneficial bacteria could have dealt with that anyway.