When can i add more fish to my 80 litre tropical tank.?

Question

The tank has filter heater, lighting and air pump aswell as 8 live plants. The tank also contains 9 neon tetra. It's been up and running for 8 days.

Answer 1

You are definately not ready to add more fish. Your tank needs to cycle. Since you have already added fish, the less fish you have in the tank, the more likely it will be that they will survive. (See links below on the nitrogen cycle).

You shouldn't add more fish untill this cycle is complete, which could take a while. Buy a freshwater master test kit (see below for links). These kits are simple to use and will become essential if you want to keep your fish alive. They are about 15 dollars, but you will spend that much replacing your fish if you aren't aware of the cycle.

Start by checking daily for ammonia. If levels reach 1ppm, do a 50% water change. Do this untill ammonia levels have reached zero. At this point, nitrite will start to build up. Test ammonia (to make sure it's still 0) and ntirite daily. If nitrites reach a level that is high (read test solution to determine this) do a water change. Once nitrites have reached zero, nitrates will start to rise. At this point, however, it is safe to add fish. Only add 2-5 per week (depending on their size), if you add more make sure to do daily ammonia and nitrite tests, as your tank will undergo a mini cycle.

There are products to speed up the cycle, which can take weeks to complete. However, these are give and take. Some (like bio-spira) should work wonders, assuming it is cold when you purchase it and you keep it cold untill you put it in your tank. Still check ammonia and nitrite levels though. Others, such as "cycle", seem to be hit or miss, they work for some and not at all for others.

You definately need to wait at least a week or two before adding more fish. Please get the testing supplies and test to make sure your fish are safe. Ammonia levels of 1ppm are toxic over time, and any higher is immediately toxic for a fish. In a new tank, ammonia levels can easily reach 4ppm or higher if you dont' keep up with water changes. Get a gravel vac, or even better a product called the "python" which hooks up to your sink, and make sure after your cycle is complete, that you are vacuuming the gravel to remove fish waste and old food (which cause ammonia to spike).

Also, don't feed to much, especially during the cycle. Feeding every other day will not harm your fish. They will produce less waste, which will help keep the water levels from going toxic on you too fast. Feed just enough for them to consume in 1-2 minutes. If a lto of flake food is falling to the gravel, and fish aren't consuming it, this will pollute your tank.

Answer 2

The first question would have to be, what is the water quality in your tank? There are times tanks cycle quickly and sometimes they take what seems like forever. Once your tank water is stable, if you don't have a test kit have the petstore test it for you. If everything is stable, you can add another fish. Remember you only have an 80 liter, you don't want to Overstock the tank.

How are your plants doing?

Here is a link to understand how the nitrogen cycle works. If your tank is not cycled you run the risk of Ammonia spikes which are not only harmfull to your fish but your plants as well. Don't rush things. Just be sure your water quality is ok before adding more fish.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog...

Answer 3

If your tank is housed with a filter box..heater....air pump and plants and you have 9 neon tetras that are swimming about happily for 8 days.....There cant be nothing wrong with your set up. any time you feel like adding more fish.....go ahead. A good contrast to neons are cardinal tetras and glowlight tetras are an old favourite.

Answer 4

You can add a few more fish. Maybe one guppy and a blue ram cichlid (they are peaceful cichlids). Also instead you can get glo lights or tetras. Good luck. Add some structure in the tank for the fish to hide in.

Answer 5

It should be safe to add more fish as long as you have checked up on the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. As long as the ammonia and nitrite come out to less than .25 ppm you should be able to add more fish without stressing them out. Maybe do a water change to be sure that future water changes will be succesful and unharmful to the fish.

Answer 6

The tank needs monitoring to make sure its stable... if you are adding a biofilter supplement such as 'cycle' and conditioning salt (make sure that it is conditioning salt for a freshwater tank and not marine salt). Adding a few new fish each week shouldnt be a problem just keep up on your water changes and your testing.

Answer 7

nothing yet. your tank has barely began it's cycle. neon's aren't so hardy anymore due to inbreeding so you may lose some. check the links below for more information on cycling.

it will take 2-4 weeks for a tank to fully cycle. then you can think about stocking again.

Answer 8

You can put your fish in now but don't put any fish in the tank that dont get along with the fish you have now

Answer 9

make sure your tank is cycled

Answer 10

if you've conditioned it u cn add other fish right away