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Fishnet

If you have a fish pond, fish tank or are seeking advice about keeping tropical fish, you can find advice on our Fish forum.

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Original poster

When can i add more fish?

30 replies

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 18:39

I finally rehomed my goldies to a pond and got myself some neon tetras yesterday. They seem to be doing really well and i'm a bit obsessed with them. Whenever i go into the kitchen i count them to make sure they're all there (9) lol.

Im wanting to get some more but think you have to wait a week? Correct me if im wrong. Also i'm wondering what else to get? My tank is a 55 litre. I'd love a betta but wont take the risk of it bullying my neons. I like the look of tiger barbs but dont think they are suitable with neons from what ive read.

I want a colourful fish (whether a schooling fish or not) suited to neons that doesnt look like a goldfish. Any suggestions? Im going to get a cory/plec at some point too to keep the algae down.

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thisisyesterday · 28/03/2012 18:40

i have a betta in with my tetras and they're all fine. maybe i'm just lucky though

we also have 5 striped barbs, which are not quite as striking as the tiger barbs, but are much friendlier

alternatively you could get some guppies? they come in all kinds of lovely colours

EauRouge · 28/03/2012 18:52

At 55 litres, you are pretty limited to what you can put in there. Did you do a fishless cycle before you added your neons? What are the latest water readings?

The tank is defo too small for tiger barbs and plecs, corys need to be in a shoal so they are out as well (also corys and plecs don't eat algae anyway). Tbh I would just stick to the neons. You'd need to quarantine any new fish in a separate tank anyway. Sorry, I am full of bad news.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 19:03

I didnt have to do a fishless cycle as i put new fish in after goldfish went. The reading are fine according to pets at home.

I meant the cory/plec to clean bottom of tank not algae (just been reading about algae and it stuck in my head)

i was thinking a few guppies and ghost shrimp i think they are called? Which would keep the population down?

The neons currently look lost, there is so much space left. Apparently even if i add 1betta and 6 guppies, i' d still only be 79% stocked (not planning on geting them, its just an example)
Also no-one said how long i need to wait to put more in?

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EauRouge · 28/03/2012 19:19

Why do you think you'd only be 79& stocked, where did you get that figure from?

Sorry, I thought that the tank had been empty for a little while. Did the P@H person write down the results?

Corys and plecs don't clean the tank, it's a common misconception perpetuated by shops that want you to buy more fish. Your tank isn't big enough anyway, the smallest plecs still get to a few inches long and corys are very active so need a lot of space.

Obviously you can do whatever you like but if it was my tank I'd just stick to the neons. They won't be fully grown yet if you've only just got them.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 19:32

I've been on another fish site and someone gave me a link, but i cant link on my android (cheap ipad lol) You put in the tank specs and add which fish you have/want and it tells you if they're compatible and how stocked your tank is. I'll link when i get on the pc.

What about the ghost shrimps? They have a low bioload and will eat the fallen food right? Instead of a plec/cory. I dont like snails though i know they will clean the glass etc.

So you wouldnt personally put anything else in there? They look so lost lol. Will have to do a bit more research into it before i decide.

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EauRouge · 28/03/2012 19:39

Sure, you could add a few ghost shrimp, or cherry shrimp if you prefer.

Is it this stocking website? He's put a lot of work into it but I disagree with pretty much everything it comes out with Overstocked tanks are a lot of work- you may end up having to do more than one water change a week.

Snails won't clean the glass anyway, you just need one of these (shop around though, you should be able to get a much cheaper one).

Yes, I would maybe add a few shrimp and leave it at that. I don't like to overstock, I like an easy to care for tank because I'm so lazy busy. 9 neons will soon get a bit bigger and a bit more confident and use the space up a bit more. New tanks with new fish always look a bit empty.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 19:50

Yes thats the one. Thanks for all the info, i am tempted to get a few guppies and ghost shrimp but will wait a while and research a bit more before i do anything. Out of cutiosity what size tank do you have and what fish?

I dont have the room to get a bigger tank, but ive always wanted tropical fish and i'm kinda dissapointed its not going to look like i was expecting :( but at the end of the day the fishes needs come before what i want.

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Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 19:51

Just googled cherry shrimp and i dont know why but they give me the heebie jeebies lol.

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EauRouge · 28/03/2012 19:56

I've got a 55 litre too (have had several bigger and some smaller tanks), recently I had 10 celestial pearl danios in it- they're a wee bit smaller than neons but they looked great in there. I think it looks more natural as well, and you get more natural behaviour. Some fish get a bit weird and aggressive if you pack them in too tightly.

I think there's a lot of false advertising in terms of what you see in shops - their tanks are normally all connected to a huge filtration system and they are only temporarily stocked like that anyway- and also packaging on products that show silly things like a shoal of discus on a 45 litre tank that's not even big enough for anything other than a betta.

Have you got any real plants? You can do some pretty amazing aquascaping even without adding CO2 and all that expensive gubbins. Google 'Takashi Amano' and have a look at some of the tanks he's done.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 28/03/2012 20:13

Yeah i have 3 real and 1 fake, couldn't tell you their names though. I was looking to get some floating plants to subdue the light a bit. Ill have a look at those tanks now.

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Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 29/03/2012 17:54

Heres a pic of my tank...its not that good but the best i can do with what i've got

fishtank (ignore the other pics, cba to put them in their own folder)
Oh and a bit sad because one of my tetra's died last night :( But the rest are all looking healthy (fingers crossed)

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Marne · 30/03/2012 20:48

I have 5 guppies and 2 tetras in my 60ltr tank, am planing on getting 2 more tetras but was told to just add 4 fish at a time (last week we bought 2 guppies and 2 rummy nosed tetras), thats plenty for my tank and i think anymore would be over stocked, so if you have 9 tetras you probably dont want to be adding more sholing fish as you would need to add at least 4 which would meen your tank would be over stocked. I'm now looking at bigger tanks (would have one in each room if i could find space).

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 21/04/2012 18:33

After a bit more advise. I now only have 1 tetra left due to the rest dying from (what i think is) white spot (ich) I treated the tank as soon as i noticed it but the treatment doesnt seem to have worked. The one i have left is swimming normally but i havent seen it eat yest or today. It has white spots on it but they are more like flour than salt so do you think this could still be ich? I have been gradually raising the temp today as i heard high temp stops the ich breeding. I think if this fish dies to then i will give up on fishkeeping as it was horrible watching them die and i couldnt bring myself to euthenaise (sp) them :(

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EauRouge · 21/04/2012 19:59

Ich can be nasty, there are strains that are resistant to some meds- like antibiotics, it's really important to finish the course.

High temperatures don't stop the ich from breeding (unless it was near boiling, wouldn't recommend that with fish though!), it just speeds up the lifecycle so that the meds are more effective.

This is pretty much all you need to know about ich. If you haven't tried Protozin yet then give it a go, it's meant to be pretty good.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 22/04/2012 06:47

My last fish died last night :( If i decide to get some more would you recommend stripping the whole tank down and re-cycling it before adding more or should the ich die off with no host? I think I may re-cycle it anyhow to give me a few weeks to decide whether i really want more because i'm really in 2 minds. I'm expecting my electric will go down massively with no filter, light pump and heater on.

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EauRouge · 22/04/2012 08:00

Sorry about your fish :(

I would strip it down and re-cycle it anyway just to be sure nothing else is hanging around, I think the ich lifecycle length can vary so it would be tough to be sure it had all gone. I'd soak the substrate in boiling water to make sure it's all gone.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 22/04/2012 09:09

I am going to put my old gravel in so there will be nothing nasty on it. (Rinsing it well of course). Would you recommend keeping the bio-foam from my filter or cleaning it?

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EauRouge · 22/04/2012 09:29

All the good bacteria will die off pretty quickly without a source of ammonia so you may as well give the sponges a good clean too.

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 22/04/2012 09:48

Where can I get ammonia from to cycle the tank again? Or is there something else I can use? Thanks for all your help btw :-)

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MamaPizza · 22/04/2012 09:57

I found some ammonia in a Nisa shop yesterday. £1.79, bargain! Have a look around at all those home and bargain style shops, you might be lucky.

MamaPizza · 22/04/2012 09:58

Oh, and sorry about the fish. It's heartbreaking :(

EauRouge · 22/04/2012 09:58

Household ammonia is the best thing to use because you have more control over the concentration. I've heard that you can get it in Homebase but I got mine on Amazon because there's no Homebase near me. This is the one I got.

It's hard to get hold of now, I think it's only used by fishkeepers and terrorists

EauRouge · 22/04/2012 09:59

Crossed posts- aw, my ammonia cost loads more than that :(

Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 22/04/2012 10:21

There's a nisa on the way to pick my brother up for dinner so will have a look in there :-). Thanks. Just ordered an API test kit too so I can check the levels myself instead of asking pets at home to do it. Was only £20 frrom ebay which is better than £35 at pets at home.

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Original poster

ZeldaUpNorth · 22/04/2012 13:04

They didn't have any, the shopkeeper thought ammonia was a medicine lol. Got some from amazon so just have to wait for it to come.

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