Adding new fish all at once?

[Zirco]

My 150g tank has been running for about 3 months now with just two nano clowns in it. I'm ready to add a bunch of new fish but am wondering whether I should add them all at once or a few at a time.

I've read that adding them all at once can minimize fighting and territoriality but I worry about an ammonia spike if I increase the bio-load too quickly.

Advice?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

If you were to add them all at once you would overload your tanks bacteria for consuming ammonia and would probably kill all of the fish you add by ammonia poisoning. Adding them one or two at at time allows for the bacteria to grow enough to handle the new addition of ammonia.

 

[Nina51]

you will also want to make sure you add the most aggressive fish last.

 

[Zirco]

Given that the nano-clowns are so small (1") I'll probably just add a single smallish fish then. Would adding a fish per week be about the right pace to allow the nitrifying bacteria to catch up?

 

[dbenenh0]

I would space it out more than a week between adding fish. Are you putting the new additions through quarantine? If so that should give you at least 3-4 weeks to go through the quarantine process

 

[thegrun]

What type of fish are you adding and how big are they? For a 150 gallon tank 2-3 small fish 3" and under at a time should be fine, wait a week between additions.

 

[scooter31707]

I hope you are quarantining your new additions. The right process that would take 4-8 weeks, so adding 2-3 fish at a time will be fine.

 

[gi_eric22]

I would start with two or three place in quarantine. Once there through quarantine get more and repeat. This will help you reduce the chance of one sick fish killing them all or at a minimum giving you a huge headache.

 

[Zirco]

So, I bought a harptail blenny and a Molly Miller blenny and, yes, I put them in a 20g QT. Took some MarinePure balls I had sitting in the sump and added them to the QT and so far no ammonia. Going to be added a UV sterilizer soon.

So two questions:

How long do I need to keep them in the QT? I've read as little as 3 weeks and as much as 10.

How helpful is it to do a medicated dip at some point?

 

[JohnnyHildo]

i added a fish every 2 weeks until i arrived at the 7 i currently have in my 120. depending on the size of the fish i'd say add no more than 2 at once.

 

[homer1475]

I honestly think you should start here.

FAQ on QT procedures.

 

[JammyBirch]

you will also want to make sure you add the most aggressive fish last.

Yes...this is why you don't add a lot of fish at once in nano systems for sure.

 

[Zirco]

I was so tempted to skip the whole quarantine process. Tonight my new guys broke out in Ich. So a big thanks to everyone who pushed me to do the QT.


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[CuzzA]

I ghost fed and used 1/2 bacteria in a bottle for a month then added a pair of QT'ed juvenile clowns and invertebrates to a 150 gallon tank and then the following week added the other 1/2 of the bottle and 16 QT'ed juvenile fish. YMMV. This was on an office tank and needed to be completed. We had no loses. I chalk that success up to the large volume of water, small fish, bacteria in a bottle and QT.

 

[bat21]

I was so tempted to skip the whole quarantine process. Tonight my new guys broke out in Ich. So a big thanks to everyone who pushed me to do the QT.


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This is why! Good job being cautious! You just saved yourself so much trouble. Now look into Tank Transfer Method to get those two new fish healthy. It can be cured fairly easily in quarantine. Once it's in your display though, big problems. So you are in great shape to handle this right now.