I just set up a freshwater fishtank in my sons room. How long should I wait to put some fish in it?

Question

I have had saltwater fish tanks, and it has been many MANY years since I had freshwater. How long to put some fish in?

Answer 1

A freshwater tank needs to cycle the same way a saltwater tank does. Without something 'live', it can take a few weeks. Many people opt to start with a hardy fish and slowly add more fish as the nitrogen cycle matures. A molly would be a good choice to start with, or a feeder goldfish after a week to ten days.
A
PS here is a nice site with compatability charts
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm

Answer 2

You can put fish in a freshly started tank within 24-48 hours but ONLY put 1 or 2 fish in. Danios or other inexpensive fish are best, as they promote bacteria growth which is essential for a healthy tank.

The worst thing you can do is go get the max number of fish your tank can hold on the first day it's set up---the tank hasn't cycled properly and most of those fish will die.

It takes about a month for the bacteria and water to fully stabilize.

Answer 3

well some say that the time is 24-48 hours, but that is wrong, sure some people get lucky but more dont get lucky than those that do. the proper time to wait is about seven days to even think bout putting fish in. and you should wary of what you put in. your nitrogen cycle takes about 5-7 weeks to complete so you can only imagine what would happen if your nitrogen cycle is weak. if you have a salt water tank you should be aware that ammonias can be very dangerous to your fish, well if you put fish in too soon, then your ammonias will rise and that will not be good to your fish. there are some products however that can help improve the bacterial productivity in your nitrogen cycle, one of them is "cycle" which adds living bacteria and strengthens your nitrogen cycle, another is "biozym" which does the same but is in powder form. there are a bunch more but these can be purchased at your local pet store, hopefully, otherwise the best thing to do to your tank is leave it alone for about 14-21 days. this way when you do put fish in you dont have to worry bout too much. remember your rules of thumb too, 1 1/2 inch of fish for every gallon of water for tropical and 2 gallons of water for inch of goldfish. oh yeah use a conditioner that takes out chloromines and chlorines, for the simple reason that some water stations use both and switch back and forth so just use one that does both, good luck.

Answer 4

You can put fish in right away.
You might want to start with some less expensive fish, because until the tank matures (in a few weeks to a month, depending on the type of filtration and how many fish you put in) the fish are more likely to die from changing water conditions as the tank cycles.

Answer 5

u should wait 24-48 hours to let the tanks set up and then you can get some mollies or tetras or some playts.There are some playts the when you look at the tail has a sideways design of what looks like mickey mouse. I wouldn't advise getting Oscars for a starter tank because they are aggressive fish and will eat other live fish and Oscars grow to get pretty big. I hope that your son enjoys his fish tank. I know I enjoy mine.

Answer 6

Immediately. Freshwater tanks are much easier to maintain than Saltwater tanks are because Freshwater fish are typically much more adaptable.

Answer 7

Hi, I work at a pet store, you should wait at least 24 - 48 hours before adding any fish to it, always start out with a less expensive fish to build up the bacteria.

Answer 8

Once you have set it up how you want it and get everything going (pump, air stone ect) give it about 24 hours then take a water sample to your pet store (or buy a kit) and they will tell you the condition of the water, it needs to be alkaline for the fish to be ok.

The pet store will give you a ph up or down treatment to stablise the water.

Good luck!

Answer 9

There is no reason to wait. As long as you used a tap water treatment (to de-clorinate the water), you are ready for fish.
Get cheap ones. The tank does have to cycle and build up beneficial bacteria, but Mollies, Platys and Guppies should be fine.
Have fun.

Answer 10

what you do is buy the fish while they are still in the bag put the bag in the tank with water in the tank and leave them in there for around an hour this is so they can get used to the water temp if you put them in right away they die cuz of the sudden change in temp.