Can I add fish to my tank now ??

[candymancan]

Hey guys.. My 55g has been cycling for like 2-3 weeks now.. I used filters from my 27g and my 30g behind the penguin 350 filters and I kept squeezing the other filters from those 2 tanks in the 55g to help cycle it faster..

Well my ammonia was like 4ppm for 2 weeks I kept doing 50% water changes but now it has been 0 for 3-4 days now.. My nitrites were around 2-5ppm for a few days but I changed the water 2 days ago and its been sitting at 0.50ppm for 2 days now, and my nitrates are around 10ppm

Anyway back to my original question.. Can I put fish in the tank now ? The tank is heavily planted as well, it has 3 Big wisteria in it, a giant water sprite and medium water sprite, it has 2 smaller java ferns, and red nesaea, it also has 4-5 6 inch amazon swords lining the back.. I also have Red Combomba, and a moneywart..

I want to put 2 of my big dwarf gourami's from my 30g in there, and I also want to put 4 of the Gold barbs from the 30 in the 55 as well. (They aren't adult sized yet maybe about 1 inch long) I also have 2 small angle fish in my 27g that I have been holding waiting for the 55g... But angle's are kinda sensitive so I will wait till the nitrites are 0..

Anyway can I add these 6 fish to the tank with my nitrites at 0.50PPM ? I'll test the water everyday to make sure they don't jump high if they do ill just do a 50% water change again and use prime

 

[Rivercats]

You can BUT personally your close to the end of you cycle so why not finish it out and not put any undue stress on the fish by moving them into a tank with nitrites. Also the nitrite part of the cycle is often the longest so I just wouldn't rush it with the fish.

 

[candymancan]

Well I just put the gourami in the tank 2 of them.. They are like max size for normal gourami.. Not the smaller dwarf ones.. I'll put the other fish in once the tank is completetly finished... My moms 30g is just over populated atm... She has well had minus those 2 gourami like 10 fish more then she should in that tank which are going in the 55g..

She has like 7 neon tetra, 2 gourami, like 10 platys, 3 cory catfish, 2 ( was 3) pearl danio, 4 gold barb.. In 30 LONG gallon that's not very tall the tank is really croweded.. and I cant keep up with the nitrates literally every 3 days they sky rocket to 40+.. Yea she does way overfeed them because those platys are like always hungry... but having 10 fish that are suppose to be in the 55g doesn't help.. Uhg I hate cycling tanks lol.


Hey btw rivercats.. Her tank is starting to grow what looks like black beard algae... I just noticed that... What causes that stuff to grow ? Its black/grey.. stringy and really hard to pull off

 

[candymancan]

Ok tested the water this morning... ammonia is still 0, nitrites are now 0.25ppm and 0.00ppm.. Its almost light blue and its not quite at .25's color either.. and this is after i added the 2 big gourami.. I think My tank is pretty much done cycling now.. 1 more day and i bet itll be at 0 nitrites.. Im going to put the other fish in the tank now. Itll be like um.. 7 fish plus the 2 i added last night.. So i'll check my water everyday and see how the ammonia and nitrite are doing with those fish introduced.

Question... Can angle fish get along with gourami ? My mom bought 2 smaller angle fish and they are in my 27g right now, but they are suppose to go in the 55... But the 55 has 2 gourami in it.. They wont like fight each other will they ?

Also I know neon tetras are fine with the gourami but what about with angle fish ? I want to get like 10-15 neon tetra and have a giant school of them.. In essence the tank will have

2x Gourami
10-15 Neon tetra
2x Pearl Danio ( i might get 1 more)
1x Cory cat (im gonna get 1-2 more)
1x Ram
1x Clown Loach (please don't lecture me on i need 5 of them or i need a bigger tank)
4x Gold barb
2x Angle fish

My tank is heavily planted too.. and my driftwood is a awesome shape it has lots of hiding places under it due to its shape and inside it..


I know for a fact the gourami are fine with all those fish above as they were together in the 30g.. But the angle fish im unsure of

 

[Rivercats]

How big are the angelfish? Angels and full size gourami's may or may not work. Also depends on the individual personality of all the fish involved. Also if you have small angels and raise them around small fish like neons most of the time when the angels mature they will leave small fish alone. But if you have 2 larger sized angels to start and the neons are very very small like some sold are you could have problems. Also I can tell you that even with a large school of neons they may tend to stay in the plants mostly out of sight with angels in the tank. Even my large sized cardinal tetras, 25 of them, stay mostly in the plant cover in my 220g that has 12 adult angels. The angels never bother them but its quite common for small fish to stay in plant cover where they feel safer when certain large fish are in the tank. Do you already have the Clown loach? If not you should look into yo-yo's or my favorite Dwarf Chain loaches as those guys are a hoot to watch.

 

[candymancan]

Sadly yes, My mom likes clown loaches and she got that and a ram the day I setup the tank so they had to go through the whole cycle process with high ammonia and nitrites.. which is why I had to do like 50-70% daily water changes and 2x the dose of prime to keep them alive and not get sick.. They are doing great... But yea I don't like loaches honestly... and I wanted to eventually stock the tank with like 15+ nerite snails maybe more but I cant do that now with the loach...

I have had people tell me to get more loaches since they "school" together but I also had people get nasty with me saying the tank is too small for the loach they get 6-10 inches long.. I have had loaches in the past and its my experience they only get 3-4 inches most likely due to the size of the tank they are in... Every fish gets bigger or stays a certain size depending on the environment its in...

The gourami one is fully adult sized ( neither are dwarf) so its pretty big almost the size of your palm, and the second one is about half that size right now. The angles are Juvies they are about 1 inch tall from top to bottom. The larger gourami grew up with small neon's and smaller fish.. He tends to hang in his "corner" of the tank and not bother anyone. And im not worried about the 4 gold barbs.. I have 3 adults in my 27g hex and they seem to like hiding in dark places on the bottom of the tank.. So my 3 foot long and 18 inch tall driftwood is perfect for them.. It has a ever so slight arch on the bottom so nearly all 3 feet of the thing is like 2 inches above the gravel so its like the ultimate hiding place for the loach and fish who like to hide

 

[Rivercats]

Actually you theory about fish only growing to the size of their tank environment isn't quite right. Clown loaches grow very slowly and live for a very long time so in a tank it takes years for them to get large. Have you ever seen the price tag on big Clown loaches? When a fish that grows large is kept in a small tank most often what happens is they become stunted which will cause a lot of health problems for them and shorten their life span considerably. I've been in the hobby for well over 30 years.

 

[Fresh2o]

I know it's a little late for this, but if you need to do a fishless cycle in the future, Harris Teeter grocery stores sell 1/2 gallon clear ammonia (no dyes or surfactants) for $1.99. I only needed about 20-30 mL to cycle a 20 gallon tank.

 

[candymancan]

I just use fishfood for the ammonia.. My tank cycled in like 2 weeks.. I used filters from my other tanks, and every 3-4 days i took more filters and squeezed them in the tank and i used a bottle of bacteria..

I've had fish tanks for 20 years Rivercats.. I just haven't done plants until recently so its kinda like im re-learning fish tanks all over again.. I honestly have never seen a clown loach bigger then 4 inches.. Anywhere although we only have 1 local fish store left and i never go there anymore the owners are jerks. I had an issue with them and ich on oto's i bought.. The funny thing is the guy boasted about being in the fish business for 40 years so that makes him automatically know everything about ich... But he knows squat about it..

 

[Caliban07]

I think if you have a adequate size tank, lots of hiding places and solid water parameters, there's no reason why angels and gourami's can't get along. Fish tend to bully usually when the are stressed out or feel vulnerable.

I wouldn't stock your tank so quickly though. That could cause mayhem. Your bacteria will have to catch up then and your parameters will take time to subside again. This will stress the fish out.

I would worry about the angela and neons though. There is a theory that if the Angels mouth is big enough to fit a neon in then undoubtedly eventually it will. Especially if you forget a feed or can't get home to feed for a couple of days.

 

[Mebbid]

Ok tested the water this morning... ammonia is still 0, nitrites are now 0.25ppm and 0.00ppm.. Its almost light blue and its not quite at .25's color either.. and this is after i added the 2 big gourami.. I think My tank is pretty much done cycling now.. 1 more day and i bet itll be at 0 nitrites.. Im going to put the other fish in the tank now. Itll be like um.. 7 fish plus the 2 i added last night.. So i'll check my water everyday and see how the ammonia and nitrite are doing with those fish introduced.

Question... Can angle fish get along with gourami ? My mom bought 2 smaller angle fish and they are in my 27g right now, but they are suppose to go in the 55... But the 55 has 2 gourami in it.. They wont like fight each other will they ?

Also I know neon tetras are fine with the gourami but what about with angle fish ? I want to get like 10-15 neon tetra and have a giant school of them.. In essence the tank will have

2x Gourami
10-15 Neon tetra
2x Pearl Danio ( i might get 1 more)
1x Cory cat (im gonna get 1-2 more)
1x Ram
1x Clown Loach (please don't lecture me on i need 5 of them or i need a bigger tank)
4x Gold barb
2x Angle fish

My tank is heavily planted too.. and my driftwood is a awesome shape it has lots of hiding places under it due to its shape and inside it..


I know for a fact the gourami are fine with all those fish above as they were together in the 30g.. But the angle fish im unsure of

If you are showing nitrites within 24 hours of putting 2 fish in the tank then sadly the cycle isn't that close to being finished and adding more fish will just make things worse.

Sadly yes, My mom likes clown loaches and she got that and a ram the day I setup the tank so they had to go through the whole cycle process with high ammonia and nitrites.. which is why I had to do like 50-70% daily water changes and 2x the dose of prime to keep them alive and not get sick.. They are doing great... But yea I don't like loaches honestly... and I wanted to eventually stock the tank with like 15+ nerite snails maybe more but I cant do that now with the loach...

I have had people tell me to get more loaches since they "school" together but I also had people get nasty with me saying the tank is too small for the loach they get 6-10 inches long.. I have had loaches in the past and its my experience they only get 3-4 inches most likely due to the size of the tank they are in... Every fish gets bigger or stays a certain size depending on the environment its in...

The gourami one is fully adult sized ( neither are dwarf) so its pretty big almost the size of your palm, and the second one is about half that size right now. The angles are Juvies they are about 1 inch tall from top to bottom. The larger gourami grew up with small neon's and smaller fish.. He tends to hang in his "corner" of the tank and not bother anyone. And im not worried about the 4 gold barbs.. I have 3 adults in my 27g hex and they seem to like hiding in dark places on the bottom of the tank.. So my 3 foot long and 18 inch tall driftwood is perfect for them.. It has a ever so slight arch on the bottom so nearly all 3 feet of the thing is like 2 inches above the gravel so its like the ultimate hiding place for the loach and fish who like to hide

A full sized clown loach is 1' long and they need an enormous tank plus tank mates. Loaches are social fish and need friends.

Actually you theory about fish only growing to the size of their tank environment isn't quite right. Clown loaches grow very slowly and live for a very long time so in a tank it takes years for them to get large. Have you ever seen the price tag on big Clown loaches? When a fish that grows large is kept in a small tank most often what happens is they become stunted which will cause a lot of health problems for them and shorten their life span considerably. I've been in the hobby for well over 30 years.

There's approximately 3 - 4 people on this forum whose advice I trust completely and rivercats is on it. Her advice is sound.

 

[Rivercats]

As long as you don't have wild caught angels or Altums which do eat neons in the wild you really don't have to worry. I've kept angels for 30 years as they are one if not my favorite freshwater fish and if they are raised with small fish they generally leave them alone when mature. I current keep 12 adult breeding angels with mostly small fish. I added 25 less then 1/2" cardinal tetra's after the angels were adults. My Rachovii killi females are also tiny. The only time I've had issues with angels and small fish is when occasionally a male would grow large and get extremely aggressive. I actually started with 14 angels in my 220 and had to rehome 2 large males as they went after and would try to kill any sized fish. Once they are gone peace has ruled for well over a year.

This is just one example of how large clown loaches can get... Monster Clown Loaches - YouTube. I got to see 3 once and they were 10" long in a display aquarium. They were very old and they guy raised them from like 3 or so inches. Sadly these guys are so big they have very little swimming room tho.

 

[Rivercats]

If you go to this page and click on Monster Clown loaches you can ready about the size of the guys above... large adult clown loaches you tube - Google Search.

 

[candymancan]

If you are showing nitrites within 24 hours of putting 2 fish in the tank then sadly the cycle isn't that close to being finished and adding more fish will just make things worse.



A full sized clown loach is 1' long and they need an enormous tank plus tank mates. Loaches are social fish and need friends.



There's approximately 3 - 4 people on this forum whose advice I trust completely and rivercats is on it. Her advice is sound.

No I had .50ppm yesterday... then I put 2 gourami in the tank... then the next moring I had .25ppm.. The nitrite dropped even with 2 new fish added.. It didn't go up

 

[candymancan]

I just add'd the rest of the fish today..

I put in

4x Gold Babr
2x Peal Danio
1x Giant cory cat
2x Small Angle fish

I checked the water params again tonight before lights out.. Ammonia is still 0 and nitrites are now 0 as well.. Nitrate is between 5-10.. So even adding 11 fish the nitrites still dropped to 0.. Glad the tank is doen cycling... Going to add like 15 neons tomorrow I think

 

[Fresh2o]

I just add'd the rest of the fish today..

I put in

4x Gold Babr
2x Peal Danio
1x Giant cory cat
2x Small Angle fish

I checked the water params again tonight before lights out.. Ammonia is still 0 and nitrites are now 0 as well.. Nitrate is between 5-10.. So even adding 11 fish the nitrites still dropped to 0.. Glad the tank is doen cycling... Going to add like 15 neons tomorrow I think

IMO I'd hold off adding anything else for now. You just added 9 fish today. Even though you got 0/0/5-10 on your tests, they may (or may not) change in the next few days once the fish start metabolizing and producing waste. Just keep an eye on the params.

If you are getting the neons the same place you got the Otos, then you might consider quarantining them for a week or two.

 

[candymancan]

Na I dont shop at that place anymore.. More then what I said in my thread with the oto's went on at that place I reported them to the Federal trade commission and I plan on reporting them to the state tomorrow for having and selling Illegal African frogs.. I'm going to hurt them as much as I can after the way the owner treated my mom and I for simply asking for a refund.. After 20 years shopping there..

Anyway back on topic... Im not getting the neons at petsmart or petco either... Petsmart there filter system hasn't been running for weeks and all there tanks are horribly cloudy and have beard algae and ich... and petco the other day had ich in half there tanks... I might drive to a petsmart in another county to get them.

Its amazing how limited I am in such a populous area northern Virginia there is literally only 2 local fish stores left ... Personally I wish I could stock the tank differentl then what it has now.. I'd take out the clown loach and both gourami and replace them with a few Bosamani Rainbow fish.. I haven't had those fish before and they just look so cool.. Or do you think I could put like 2-3 of those in the tank with what I have in there right now ?

 

[Mebbid]

I am always a fan of adding rainbows. but like was said, I would wait a few days before adding more fish just to make sure. It takes a little bit for the food / poo cycle to get going

 

[candymancan]

Oh I will have to wait for sure.. If I do get rainbows.. my only options are either putting my 3 Dwarf Neon Rainbows and 3 Celebes from my 27g in there... Or ordering them online... No one sells rainbow fish in my area... Its weird too.. like the store that have really great plants for sale have awesome rainbow fish in those tanks but the guy is too "lazy" to fish them out and sell them... : /

They did have 2 Bosami rainbows.. but the color of the fish were like completetly gray... I dunno if they will get that bright yellow/blue color back ? But regardless they want $25 each for them lol.. I'll try buying them online before I spend that kind of money. The tank just really needs some color... The gouramis are plain jain orange and light blue... and the gold barbs are kinda boring in color too.. so are pearl danios'... I want something that POPS out.. Neons are always good for that... but neons are so... ehh have em in every tank

 

[Mebbid]

Oh I will have to wait for sure.. If I do get rainbows.. my only options are either putting my 3 Dwarf Neon Rainbows and 3 Celebes from my 27g in there... Or ordering them online... No one sells rainbow fish in my area... Its weird too.. like the store that have really great plants for sale have awesome rainbow fish in those tanks but the guy is too "lazy" to fish them out and sell them... : /

They did have 2 Bosami rainbows.. but the color of the fish were like completetly gray... I dunno if they will get that bright yellow/blue color back ? But regardless they want $25 each for them lol.. I'll try buying them online before I spend that kind of money

Good lord that's a lot of money for a rainbow. Take a look at aquabid. They usually have nice deals for fish on there.

The boesmani would possibly color up once they get used to their environment but it's not a guarantee.