Tips for Community tanks

[Alexis and Zollzi]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for starting a community tank? I have been doing a lot of research and would like to make it easier on me.

Some related questions I have:

• When you go buy the fish how many do you buy at a time and when would you buy more?
• If you already have fish and want more how long do you wait?
• How much would I be looking at spending? I have to buy food for two different kinds of fish, and 8 or 9 fish to buy.

 

[Mixicano]

for a ten your gunna be pretty restricted as to what you can add... mostly small tetras, and as far as how many at a time it depends on the suggestions of that species, most tetras do best in groups of 5-7. and i usually wait a month between purchases

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

for a ten your gunna be pretty restricted as to what you can add... mostly small tetras, and as far as how many at a time it depends on the suggestions of that species, most tetras do best in groups of 5-7. and i usually wait a month between purchases

Can't I add them all at the same time?

 

[Newman]

that might overload your filter..

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

that might overload your filter..

Okay so if I want to add 8 cories and 7 tetras how long should I wait till I add more?

like: Add four wait so much then add 4 more???

 

[Newman]

thats the safest way to do it. 2 at a time might be safer but very annoying over time cuz you have to wait more than 2 weeks in between...

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

thats the safest way to do it. 2 at a time might be safer but very annoying over time cuz you have to wait more than 2 weeks in between...

Okay so I will add two neons, then wait, then two cories, then wait, then two neons, then wait, then two cories, then wait, then two neons, then wait, then two cories, then wait, then two cories, then finished? Is this how and how long should I wait? 2 to 3 weeks???

 

[Newman]

with that method, and if you wait two weeks in between each addition, itll take you...approximately..forever

._.

Seriously though, i'd add 4 each time.
Personally when im going to do this, ima add everything in at once cuz i have to place the order online... and two shippings is too much of a drag. i'll take my chances, but you shouldnt ...

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

with that method, and if you wait two weeks in between each addition, itll take you...approximately..forever

._.

Seriously though, i'd add 4 each time.
Personally when im going to do this, ima add everything in at once cuz i have to place the order online... and two shippings is too much of a drag. i'll take my chances, but you shouldnt ...

Wouldn't I be able to add all the neon tetras then all the cories? Because neons at the store are living together so why not buy them all then wait a few weeks and buy the cories and add them?

 

[Newman]

You can certainly try it, but youve been warned...**** MIGHT happen.

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

You can certainly try it, but youve been warned...**** MIGHT happen.

I am sorry but warned, I wasn't warned... About what???

 

[lludu]

I am sorry but warned, I wasn't warned... About what???

What Newman is trying to say is you can try adding the fish together (assuming they were purchased together from the same tank, like you said) at the same time. But BE WARNED as **** could happen and you could stress them out. I normally do add my fish the way you speak of, but things have happened in the past to my tanks as well.

So yes, be warned, if you do try to do this it could lead to fish deaths and / or sickness.

 

[Alexis and Zollzi]

What Newman is trying to say is you can try adding the fish together (assuming they were purchased together from the same tank, like you said) at the same time. But BE WARNED as **** could happen and you could stress them out. I normally do add my fish the way you speak of, but things have happened in the past to my tanks as well.

So yes, be warned, if you do try to do this it could lead to fish deaths and / or sickness.

Alright i will pretend I understand what '****' means... Anyone want to tell me, clear this up a bit?

 

[Newman]

Hahaha!

My mistake.
****= sh*t= stressing out fish and fish deaths.

I thought sh*t happens, is a common phrase these days =/

 

[Stillness]

The problem is fish produce ammonia and this is bad. What your filter does, besides mechanical filtration (removing the debris from the water) is biological filtration. this is important b/c it removes the ammonia and other chemicals that can be harmful to your fish with beneficial bacteria. Adding to many fish at once will create an ammonia spike because your beneficial bacteria will not be able to get rid of the ammonia and other chemicals thus killing your fish. The safe and responsible thing is to add the fish slowly. IMO, 4 at a time is fine. It is annoying, but in th long run, you'll be glad.

 

[sheamurai]

If you are doing a fishless cycle (it doesn't sound like you have started yet?) I don't see why you couldn't bump up the ammonia dose until your filter could handle adding your school of neons at once. You'd still have to wait a bit to add your corys tho.
Is there any reason Alexis couldn't do this? I understood that being able to stock your tank more at first was another bonus of fishless cycling?

 

[Newman]

Yea, if its fishless now, you might aswell train your bacteria for a large fish load and then throw all the fish in.