How long to wait before adding second fish in new tank,

[Sirsmiley9]

The tank has been setup around 3 weeks but a fish has been in there for one week. I have been getting water tests done and the nitrates are low if not zero and I've seen this is an indicator of the tank being more ready for another fish, but the timing seems much faster than other people's tanks

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

The tank has been setup around 3 weeks but a fish has been in there for one week. I have been getting water tests done and the nitrates are low if not zero and I've seen this is an indicator of the tank being more ready for another fish, but the timing seems much faster than other people's tanks

Generally you don't want to add fish to a new aquarium more than once a month. What are you wanting to add? If it's something like a chromis, you could probably add multiple and be fine, but something like a tang will need more caution since different fish have different care requirements and also process food into waste differently.

 

[Sirsmiley9]

I just wanted to add yellow head jawfish

 

[Maritimer]

In your testing, have you seen ammonia and nitrite rise and fall?

Did you seed the tank with a bacterial product? (Not required, but can speed the process.) Have you been feeding the bacteria? (If you're feeding the fish, the bacteria are getting fed, too.)

What size is the tank?

~Bruce

 

[Sirsmiley9]

I have been bringing the water to a local fish store who have been telling me the water has been good I didn't seed the tank with bacteria I have been feeding the fish and a little too much because I was trying to get him to eat pellets and the tank is a 40 gallon

 

[Maritimer]

Go carefully.

"Good" can mean a lot of things, and those things can be different to someone who wants to start selling you fish. There's a high level of trust involved - do you trust the staff of this LFS? As time passes, you'll probably want to consider purchasing your own test kits, and running your own tests. It really helps to get you tuned in to your tank.

~Bruce