Is my tank ready for more fish???

[Colt 45]

I have 4 fish, 2 tiger barbs and 2 green tiger babrs. Each are about an inch long. It's a 40 gallon tank. I have been changing 10% of the water every week for three weeks and have been checking the water daily. The ph is 7.2 to 7.4 but i have not seen any activity in the ammonia. It's still at Zero. I know that having no ammonia is a good thing but everywhere i read it talks about it spiking and returning to zero before the tank is "completely cycled". I have about 8 small plants and can see that the alge is starting to grow a little on the decorations. The glass is clean and the water is clear. The Temp is good and the filter seems to be doing it's job. Is it safe for new fish?

 

[rich311k]

4 small fish is not much of a bioload. I would think you could add a few more. I would go very slow because you may still see a cycle.

 

[chadthedad]

I would check your nitrite and nitrate as well. When I was recently doing a fishless cycle my API nitrite test was bad and kept reading zero. I got a new one and sure enough there they were. Post those test results and I'm sure someone much more experienced than myself will chip in.

 

[melosu58]

Please dont double post the same thread in different forum. Makes for an untidy site. Both threads merged together here in the getting started forum.

 

[Purrbox]

My guess is that by starting with four small fish in a large aquarium with some plants, you've managed to keep the Ammonia levels extremely low. I'd test for Nitrite and Nitrate as well to see where they are at.