Mrs Frog Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Evening all...so I have a lovely big 3ft tank (big for me lol), and currently I only have 3 Zebra Danios, 2 neon tetras and one angel fish in there. I have purchased the following fish, 10 small angels, 4 black skirt tetras, 6 black neons, 2 catfish, 6 golden barbs, 10 guppies. How many of these can I add to my tank without totally over stocking it? Just trying to get an idea of any extra tanks that I may need to have, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 too many angels and when they get bigger they may eat the guppys and black neons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Okay thanks, but can I put everything else in there?? I have brought a tank which I thought I would have purely for Angels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 should be fine but the barbs might nip the guppys a bit. And bring up the neon and danio schools up a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 should be fine but the barbs might nip the guppys a bit. And bring up the neon and danio schools up a bit wow neat, I didn't think I would be able to have them all in there, but if I can that would look fantastic! So I need more danios and neons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I wouldn't mix neons / guppys with Angelfish. Angels get pretty big and start looking at the smaller fish as a snack :-? Also the number of Angels, remember they can grow to 15cm long, and will probably pair up and get territorial as they mature. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Thanks Ian, and advice is greatly appreciated. Should I not keep all the Angels together then? Maybe split them up somehow so they can pair off?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 When they are small they will be fine together. As they mature you will notice if they pair up and start getting aggressive. You can move them about / sell off the extra ones then. Just be aware of whats going to happen in the future. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 You added ALL of those fish in one go!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 You added ALL of those fish in one go!? NO! lol, I haven't got them here yet, I'm planning ahead....so I guess I don't add them all at once then...what would happen if I did...have to learn these things aye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueit7 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 You will cause a massive ammonia spike and possibly lose the lot. Best to only add 2 -3 at a time, let the tank settle and then add 2 or 3 more etc. Adding only one fish can casue a small spike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 What Blueit said. The problem is that your filter has a population of bacteria that processes the ammonia that the fish excrete. The amount of bacteria is related to the amount of ammonia released into the tank. So if the tank only has a few fish, it will also have a small bacteria population, but they will be in balance. Now if you add a couple more fish, the bacteria will multiply to bring things back into balance and nothing serious happens. But if you suddenly dump in 5 times the number of fish the ammonia may rise faster then the bacteria can multiply. If the ammonia level gets too high.. the fish die If you remove fish from a tank then the number of bacteria will gradually fall untill the balance is re-established, so even if the tank has had a full population of fish before, you still need to take care when building up the numbers again. Like most things there are no exact rules, but if you are aware of the problem and spread out the fish additions over several weeks then you will be fine 8) Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 The catfish could grow anywhere from 2cm to 2m, the species name might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Also so you know angel fish don't stay small very long. My breeding male is around 20cm tall. As above, too many, I've got 4 and have had to seperate them in to two pairs. They all have personalities, and I had two girls after the same guy, just like jerry springer they beat the boogers out of each other. * end of rant * Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Oh wow so much to learn but I'm loving every minute of it. Okay so can someone help me out here...I will get all my fish home, they are all tropicals, so then what...add a couple to my tank but how to I keep the rest okay until I can add them? I'm picking many tanks huh. Luckily I got hubby to make me 2 more last night. The catfish is sterbai catfish?? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Sterbai cory.They only get to about 5cm. They are good community fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Sterbai cory.They only get to about 5cm. They are good community fish. Thanks Dixon, I'm glad they don't get any bigger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 but they do usually like to be in groups of 5 or more i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 Oh wow so much to learn but I'm loving every minute of it. Okay so can someone help me out here...I will get all my fish home, they are all tropicals, so then what...add a couple to my tank but how to I keep the rest okay until I can add them? I'm picking many tanks huh. Luckily I got hubby to make me 2 more last night. The catfish is sterbai catfish?? :-? I'm not sure I follow, do you plan to buy all the fish at once? Best idea to avoid any ammonia problems is to do what people have previously suggested and just buy and add a few fish at a time, so as to not overload the biological filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 Problem solved, I have tanks set up ready to go, yes I have 'ordered' these fish but am yet to pick them all up, which I am doing in about 2wks time. I'm in preparation so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueit7 Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 There is lots to learn isn't there How are you going to get your new tanks to cycle? Just keep in mind it may tank longer than 2 weeks for them to cycle. From what I have read it varies quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 There is lots to learn isn't there How are you going to get your new tanks to cycle? Just keep in mind it may tank longer than 2 weeks for them to cycle. From what I have read it varies quite a lot. Yes I think it will take longer than 2 weeks but I have read that there is something you can buy to help the process a bit or add a couple of real hardy fish to it. I also already have 3 established tanks running that I could put a couple of fish into at a time. I'm really looking forward to getting all this up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 Yup.. start slow at first. The first 2 weeks are the tricky part, but if you only add a few fish to the tank it will be OK. Leave them for 2 weeks before you add any more. If all is well (and a water test is a good idea) then you can build up the numbers a few at a time over the next 4 weeks. If you have an established tank already you can take filter material from a running tank and use that to 'seed' bacteria in the new tank. Either swap some of the media from a working filter with a new one, or squeeze a nice gungy filter sponge into the new tank. The gunge has a few zillion good bacteria in it, and they will get sucked up into the new filter. Just take it slow and you shouldn't loose any fish 8) Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frog Posted December 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 Yup.. start slow at first. The first 2 weeks are the tricky part, but if you only add a few fish to the tank it will be OK. Leave them for 2 weeks before you add any more. If all is well (and a water test is a good idea) then you can build up the numbers a few at a time over the next 4 weeks. If you have an established tank already you can take filter material from a running tank and use that to 'seed' bacteria in the new tank. Either swap some of the media from a working filter with a new one, or squeeze a nice gungy filter sponge into the new tank. The gunge has a few zillion good bacteria in it, and they will get sucked up into the new filter. Just take it slow and you shouldn't loose any fish 8) Cheers Ian Thanks again Ian, you have really good advice and I appreciate this as I'm learning the ropes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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