Is my tank still cycled?

[Meliska13]

I have a 55gal that I had cichlids in for 2 years. I have removed them and they have been out of the tank for a week and a half. I did not clean it after removing them or turn the filter off for that week and a half. Is it still cycled? If I were to add fish do I still need to abide by the 3-4 rule since I had 8 cichlids in it? Also does it recycle when I add those fish back? Sorry for so many questions at once.

[Aiken Drum]

Beneficial bacteria will survive a fair few weeks as long as it stays wet and oxygenated, so you should be ok.

Only way to know for sure would be to try it and see. You could dose some ammonia and see if it cycles out in a timely manner.

Could you enlightem me on the 3-4 rule. Not something ive ever heard of, google didnt bring anything up either.

[Meliska13]

Everything I read when adding fish to a new tank you should only add 3-4 fish max at a time and allow for a cycle before adding any more.
I have added 6 neon tetras so will be following them for the next little bit to see how they do but wasn't sure if I could add more since everything I read said I was pushing it with 6.

[Aiken Drum]

Originally Posted by Meliska13

Everything I read when adding fish to a new tank you should only add 3-4 fish max at a time and allow for a cycle before adding any more.
I have added 6 neon tetras so will be following them for the next little bit to see how they do but wasn't sure if I could add more since everything I read said I was pushing it with 6.

I tend to work on not increasing bioload by more than 30% in one go rather than a number of fish. Either way it's not increasing too much in too short a space of time.