I am buying an aquarium today, its it alright to put the fish in it today?

Answer 1

Firstly you are going to hear MANY different answers to this question. I am not going to say that they are wrong I will say why this advice works for me. Upon treating the water and you nutralise the cheminals used to sanitize the water. If you put fish in they start going to the bathroom. THERE IS no way to stop it! as the fish waste accumulates first Ammonia levels climb the a bacteria forms that consumes the ammonia. NOTE there is a difference to the ammonia that the city adds and the natural forming. those bacterrie give off a waste called Nitrites a bacteria forms that consime those wastes and break it down to nitrates. Nitrates are removed through partial water changes LATER! the only way to make a tank cycle is with fish in it! bacteria need food to grow. So even if you wait a month you swill only delay the sart of the cycle by waiting for fish. NOW Gold fish are not any better at surviving the cycle than the other fishes. They are merely lest costly to put the tank hrough its start up cycle. Again you can season a tank with an expensive angelfish and likely waste your money or you can put a few innexpensive fish that if you loose one it does not wring your wallet out! DO NOT ADD FISH DURING THE CYCLE!!!!! Once a week take a smalll jar of water to a tropical fish store have them test it to see if it is done cycling. It is not a day you can mark on your calendar when Mother nature is ready she will be ready and it differs from tank to tank filter to filter system. My other advice is pick a store that does only fish. If you have a broken leg you do not see a heart specialist. And skip wal mart unless you think the advice from someone from lawn & garden will be of benefit. only other advice is no tanks smaller than 30 gallons

Answer 2

No, after you set up the aquarium you should let it stand without fish for at least 24hrs. This is to make sure there are no leaks, the filter is working correctly and give the heater time to get the water to the right temperature and to make sure the heater is working correctly (if not it may not turn off) After that you can go one of two ways.

You can start a fishless cycle where you add a table shrimp (the kind you eat) or add a small pinch of fish food. The fish food you add daily the shrimp you only put in once. You continue this until your ammonia spikes then zeros out then your nitrites spike then zero out. After that you can slowly add fish.

You can also start by adding a very few fish (the number depends on the size of the tank) and follow the same ammonia cycle. After that is done you can slowly add more fish.

Also if you are using live plants they generally speed up the cycling process as they have some of the beneficial bacteria on them from the tank they were previously in.

Answer 3

No unless you want to go by replacements tomorrow.

You should let your tank cycle prior putting fish in it. This is especially importent if your going to be doing Marine.

Assuming you are doing tropical fish, you should wait 2-3 days after treating the water before putting fish in the tank. First, this allows the water to cycle in the tank and become ready for fish. Secondly, it gives you an oppertunity to make sure all your equipment works properly and there aren't any leaks in your fish tank.

Tanks cycle at different rates. You will hear people say a month and you will hear people say as little as two days. There are several things that play into the role from water quaility to the type of fish you buy.

If you simply can not wait to buy fish, I suggest starting with sturdy fish that will survive. Dont add to many fish at once otherwise amoneia levels will spike and you'll be buying all new fish and flushing $$ down the tiolet.

Answer 4

Nope.

You should first rinse everything in water (no soap), then set it up. Put the water in and treat it with store bought tap-safe water conditioner.

Leave this up and running for a few days to check everything works. Add a tiny pinch of food, which will then break down and start your cycling process.

You could also go to a fish shop and ask for a scoop of gravel to bring home in a bag of water, which you then put in your tank. This contains good bacteria which will also speed your tank along.

Buy a test kit, and wait a few weeks (testing every day...or every other). There should be 'spikes' of chemicals, where they get high for a few days. Once a few of these have come and gone, get two mollies/guppies/platys.

Because the cycling is almost done, these should survive. Continue to monitor the nitrite nitrate and ammonia levels, and if they get high, do a water change.

After another 4 weeks, you can then start adding a few fish at a time.

Remember to never put more than a few in at a time - even shoaling fish. It's okay to have 3 tetras for a week then add more than to put too many in and have an ammonia overload that your tank can't deal with.

Good luck! And be patient :)

Answer 5

no. get the tank fully set up then wait 1-4 days depending on the tank size. meanwhile keep the fish in a smaller tank and don't start with more than 3 fish at a time

Answer 6

no you need to clean the gravel and get the tank ready with the filter but do not put the fish into the tank, we waited 3 days but we filled the tank with filtered water which decreases the amount of chlorine and salt there is in the water

Answer 7

Yes! But you have to make sure that there are no harmful materials on the new aquarium. You have to wash it first, dry it. Fill it with a night keep water. And you can put your fish there. Don't be to idealist by thinking about ammonia cycle, etc. Fish is not paper that is so fragile. They are living thing. They'll try to survive whatever the condition they have.

Answer 8

Yes, if you already aged some water and have a filter culture from another tank.

Answer 9

You should actually let the tank run with a filter in it for atleast two days before putting new fish into it. Also it is good not to put more than four new fish into it at a time seeing as it will most likely cause too much stress on the fish, resulting in them getting hurt or dying quicker.

Answer 10

Get a heater. Your fish won't live long without one, I give it a month tops.