why 24-48 hours?

Question

Why do you have to wait 24-48 hours before adding fish to your tank? Once you have the filter and chemicals in the tank properly and it's had a good 12 or so hours to circulate- why are you not supposed to go ahead and add the fish?

Answer 1

You are right, no reason at all. Good call it shows you are thinking and not just following the crowd with so much common "wisdom". Once the temperature is right and you are sure all the equipment is working properly there is no reason you can't add a few fish.

Now, there is a very good reason you can't add many fish at that point. The tank needs to "cycle". That is build up beneficial bacteria that will convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia is a waste product produced by the fish and by uneaten food. Adding too many fish at once will cause a rapid build up that will kill the fish. By adding them slowly you allow time for the bacteria to grow and colonize the tank. The catch, they will not grow in a tank with no ammonia. No matter how long you wait. You can set it up for years with no fish and you still will not have the correct bacteria (more common "wisdom" that is actually wrong). You can start off with one or two fish, wait 2 weeks and add a few more, wait 2 more weeks and finish stocking the tank. That usually works out fine. To be really sure, invest in an ammonia test kit and don't add any fish to a tank with any detectable level of ammonia.

Answer 2

your tank and water need to cycle. There are beneficial bacteria which break down the bad bacteria, nitrates, convert nitrites etc. 24-48 Hours isn't long enough. It needs to cycle. Even if your reading reman with in the safe limits, adding new fish and creating wastes will increase your ammonia levels to a seriously high rate thus killing your fish. Your tank should be running no less than a week to two weeks (Should be longer than that) when you get a consistant reading on water quality in your tank for 3 consecutive days, then you can add fish.

Read about cycling your tank:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/b/a/238045.htm

Answer 3

The only reason to cycle a tank 24-48 hours prior to adding fish is to remove the water treatments (such as chlorine and bromine) from the tap water and allow it to aerate, however aeration occurs much faster and with modern commercial chemical treatments, this is completely unnecessary. If you've treated it chemically, aerated for a couple hours and it's at the desired temperature, there's no reason you can't add fish (but keep in mind the 1st batch is likely to have a high mortality rate).

Some advice given above is wrong. Biological filters (the ones that remove ammonia, etc.) take much, much longer to develop then a couple days and THEY REQUIRE FISH! Bioligical filters are called that, but they're really not a "filter" at all. That's because they're more of a natural chemical factory -- bacteria that's designed to convert the waste products of your fish (which are toxic to them) into harmless things. However, these bacteria need time (about 2 weeks if you don't "seed" your tank) and they need fish, because the fish produce the chemicals that cause the bacteria to grow.

A good water additive will remove the chlorine and eliminate the need for this time, though I would run mine for an hour or so, to make sure it's fully aerated. The only way "kick-start" a biological filter going faster is to seed it by using piece of filter from a friend, though this can contaminate your tank if their fish are unhealthy. The bio-filter starter stuffs sold in stores are bogus. Start with fish you don't mind seeing die, like zebra danios if you're doing a freshwater tropical tank. If you don't want fish to die, buy some pure ammonia (28% ammonium hydroxide) from the store and add a drop per gallon every day for about a week, then 1 drop for every 5 gallons for another week. Stop adding for 2 days prior to adding fish. That will substitute for the fish and allow the bacteria to have what they need to grow, divide and flourish. Find "fishless cycling" articles if you need help with recipes, etc.

Answer 4

Because the nitrate bacteria has not been developed yet. You need good bateria to grow in the rocks, and filter to help break down nitrates. If you do not have these bacteria colonies growing then the tank will get overloaded with waste that the filter and water changes just cannot get rid of. There are also a lot more reasons, mainly the nitrates cycle which I described above. Fish produce amonia which turns into nitrate which the bacteria breaks down and into nitrite which is also broken down, nitrite is not as toxic as nitrate.

You should wait a few WEEKS before adding fish if you do not want gill problems and dead fish. It took my tanks a few months before I could actually get fish to stop dying often.

Good luck. I KNOW it is hard to be patient, but try!

Answer 5

Fish do not like rapid changes in water (temp and chemical content) Floating the bag gives the water inside the bag to become the same as the water in the tank. Allowing the water to slowly seep into the bag gives them time to adjust to the change in the grade of the water. Make sure the fish do not suffocate.

Answer 6

All of the information about why you should cycle a tank is correct in that you want to get rid of the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and get the beneficial bacteria growing in the substrate and filter, but there is one aspect I disagree with. There are two forms of cycling. One is the old-fashioned, inhumane way of adding "guinea pig" fish right from the start to get the cycle going faster, which fish, more often than not, die, and the second, modern form of cycling is the "fishless cycle," which may take longer, but does not use poor innocent fish in the cycling process and is a far more kind and humane method. Please consider doing the fishless cycling method. It may take longer, but it is a far more sympathetic path to take.

Edit: To all those who insist that fish are REQUIRED in order to cycle a tank, that is completely false and incorrect information. A fishless cycle involves adding your own ammonia, which does start the cycle and does so humanely without the need to kill fish. Move into the 21st Century and please read up on the modern way to cycle fish tanks so that you do not give advice which, although not incorrect, is outdated and cruel and inhumane. Thanks so much to all!

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I think you should just wait about 24 hours and add some hardy fish.

Answer 9

To allow enough time for your home's environment to infiltrate.
Oxygen, room temp, etc.

Answer 10

EASY
THEY DIE
HONESTLY
TRY IT