Tank is cycled! How many fish can I add?

[T-Dog]

My tank can officially convert 2 ppm ammonia into nitrate in 24 hours. Can I add 6- 3” male peacocks?? I ordered them off of imperial Tropicals and won’t be here till Thursday for Friday

 

[libertybelle]

I’ve always read to try to get the tank to process 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours but I don’t know where that magic number came from. Sounds like you’ve already ordered them, But if it’s already cycled at a lower level it probably won’t make more than a couple days to bulk up the bacterial colony to handle 4 ppm.

Might be a good idea if you’re adding that many larger fish at once.

How big is the tank? That will effect how much ammonia will accumulate.

If it were me I’d take the days before the fish arrive to try to make the colony more robust and then big water change the day before fish arrive.

 

[T-Dog]

Thanks for the reply! You are always helpful libertybelle! The tank is a 60 gallon. I’ve been told to do 2ppm ammonia by my local fish store and I’ve heard of doing 4 ppm as well. I was told that adding 2ppm of ammonia at once will be stro enough because fish don’t produce 2ppm at once but I can always try to bump it to at least 3ppm ammonia. I’m just worried because I need this to work!!! Haha

 

[T-Dog]

I also must add that I have 3 bottles of prime ready for emergency’s and I also have the python no spill system so I can handle 50 percent water changes daily if needed

 

[libertybelle]

Glad to be of help.

Wouldn’t hurt to try to bump it up before they come; if nothing else it will ensure the bacteria is well fed before fish come. Obviously you don’t want them to die back before your fish arrive.

I’ve read higher than 5ppm can be detrimental to the bacteria which is probably why 4 is recommended sometimes. Probably as high as you can go without causing issues for your bacteria.

But most bacteria involved have a doubling time of no more than a day so once both populations are established getting the population bigger should not take too much time.

since you have prime and your python and a water test kit, even if you do have a mini cycle as the population adjusts you have everything you need to get your fish through it. And what I said about doubling time applies to when fish are the ammonia source too. Shouldn’t take long for bacteria to catch up if the fish are producing more ammonia than expected.

I assume you’ve got the nitrates back down after cycling?

Feeding lightly for the first day or so will help too. Just until you’re sure your filter is coping as expected. (They will probably be a little stressed from shipping and won’t be too interested in eating day 1 anyway. )

 

[T-Dog]

Yes I did a 75 percent water change to bring nitrates down and have been dosing 2ppm ammonia every other day. I will up it to 3-4 ppm tomorrow and do another 75 percent water change the night before I get the fish

 

[libertybelle]

Sounds like you’re on top of this whole cycling thing. Props for being prepared!

Also, (just a question, not a criticism ... I know very little about cichlids,) but won’t having so many males together cause aggression issues?

 

[T-Dog]

Peacock cichlids are not as aggressive as Mbuna. The reason for having an all male tank is for a couple reasons 1. It is believed that when no females are in the tank aggression goes down. 2. The males are the only ones who show color. 3. I don’t want to have to deal with fry haha

 

[T-Dog]

Also another question... if I were to dose 4ppm ammonia that would convert to well over 5 ppm nitrite. Anything over 5ppm nitrite stalls a cycle from what I’ve been reading?

 

[libertybelle]

It probably won’t all convert at once so nitrite may not get that high. I’ve read a lot of posts that use 4ppm ammonia as their fishless cycle dosing target. I doubt it would be so commonly used if it caused problems with nitrite levels.

But if you’d rather stick to 2 that’s really fine too. Like I said, you’re looking at less than a day to double a bacterial population. As long as you’re ready with prime /water changes if necessary you’ll be fine.

First time I cycled a tank I used the highly scientific method of ‘dump a bunch of fish food in and let it rot until I had nitrates.’ I had no idea what the numbers got to but it worked out fine. I just made sure to test a lot as I was stocking and have never had issues.

Anyway; you’ve got both kinds of bacteria a test kit and prime. That’s all you need to keep your fish safe; you’ll be just fine!,

Re aggression. That makes sense. No females = no females to fight over!

 

[kbalaz]

I agree with the don't feed the first day, they will be fine. You sound very prepared and full understanding of cycle. I think you are going to have no worries. Enjoy.