Reintroduce fish into tank?

[Scott Tuttle]

Unfortunately we had a velvet outbreak in our aquarium and have lost all but 2 of our fish. The only 2 remaining is 1 PJ Cardinal and Yellow Tang. They have been in qt for about a month now, still waiting, but when it's time to start adding the fish, should they be added slowly or can we add several fish?

 

[HairyGary]

Unfortunately we had a velvet outbreak in our aquarium and have lost all but 2 of our fish. The only 2 remaining is 1 PJ Cardinal and Yellow Tang. They have been in qt for about a month now, still waiting, but when it's time to start adding the fish, should they be added slowly or can we add several fish?

Has your DT been fallow for only a month as well? Or are you asking about how to add after the 76 days fallow period in your DT. If the latter, you could add both but go ahead and feed your DT a little food to keep the bacteria population going.

 

[Scott Tuttle]

The DT has been fishless for a month, only shrimp and crabs, going to wait the full 72 days before the 2 are added back to the DT. We have been trying to feed the shrimp and crabs a little extra to help with feed the bacteria.

Should fish be added slowly again or can a few extra be added since it was stocked before the outbreak?

 

[HairyGary]

The DT has been fishless for a month, only shrimp and crabs, going to wait the full 72 days before the 2 are added back to the DT. We have been trying to feed the shrimp and crabs a little extra to help with feed the bacteria.

Should fish be added slowly again or can a few extra be added since it was stocked before the outbreak?

You could add more then the two at the start but be mindful of any ammonia spikes and mini-cycles. I would start with the two and then add from there to be on the safe side. I think it is 76 days based on current research and posts. I am about 10 days beyond my fallow period and plan to add two to three back every couple of weeks. Good luck!

 

[Brien]

I made this mistake once. I put in about 15 fish after a fallow period over 2-days. I had a GHA outbreak for the next year. Never again... add them back slowly.

 

[SoreninKL]

HairyGary is right, 76 days is the recommended fallow period and after that you should introduce your fish one by one to avoid ammonia spikes. I would invest in a Ammonia alert from Seachem, they don't cost a bomb but they are really handy (at least to me)

cheers