How much is too much?

[Our First Tank]

We have 3 damsels (2 yellowtail and one 3 striper), one green puffer, one tomato clown, and a hermit crab in a fish only 30 gallon tank with 3 decorative plants and a decorative rock.

Once the tank is done cycling we are getting rid of the damsels and planning on a dwarf lion......

Too much? Or just enough?

 

[swims withthe fishes]

way too much if the tank hasn't cycled yet.... the green puffer, mostlikely a brackish will pose nothing but trouble for you.
that aside, there should be no life in the tank if you haven't cycled yet... this can cause irreversible harm to the fish....

i would remove all of them now, and seek other alternatives to cycling the tank.

30g is too small even for a dwarf lion.

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

Puffer is too large by itself -- they can grow to over 6"... I'd say ditch the puffer and the damsels, keep the tomato clown and the lionfish. That's about all you realistically have room for. What kind of filtration do you have?

And who recommended that you stock 5 fish in an uncycled tank that's just nuts. One fish maximum, and there are much better methods than even that. Agree -- get all of the fish out now until the tank is cycled.

 

[Our First Tank]

Get them out and put them where?

And what is teh best sort of food for all of these fish? We did frozen brine shrimp squares last night.

 

[angelsj247]

Well you should have a Quaranty tank also.. you should put them in there.. or sell them back to the lfs. you'll end up killing prob all those fish if your cycle hasnt finished yet and you have all those fish in there.
you should buy some books and do research. all the book and places say what food is best for each fish. read... read... read... and they tell you about the fish you buy what the recommended minumium gallons you should have tank wise.

 

[angelsj247]

how far along are you in your cycle? what are your tests showing right now?

 

[PoukieBear]

You can take them back to the fish store. They will probably give you a store credit for them.

Then when your cycle is done, you can go back and get something that is more suitable for your tank.

 

[RobbyG]

If you have not the Amonia cycle yet, then just about everything in that tank is going to die, maybe the Damsels will survive but everything else is a goner

 

[Our First Tank]

All levels are perfect, and we just added a yellowtail damsel and the clown yesterday. The LFS said we were good to go after we tested.

 

[PoukieBear]

How long has the tank been set up??

 

[Our First Tank]

3 weeks.....last tuesday we added 2 damsels and the puffer under advisement from the LFS.

 

[angelsj247]

you should only be added 1-2 fish tops every couple of weeks... you risking the lives of your fish..

 

[angelsj247]

you asked..
Once the tank is done cycling we are getting rid of the damsels and planning on a dwarf lion......


if you said your levesl (tests) are all perfect then your cycle wouldnt be in the middle it would be over

so are you almost done in the cycle or is it done cycling?

 

[Our First Tank]

It has only been cycling for about 3 weeks. "They" say you should have it cycling for 4-5.

 

[angelsj247]

well that just all depends... sometimes it takes 2 weeks to cycle sometimes it takes a month or longer... it just all depends.. so if your tests are all good.. i would say your cycle is over.

 

[angelsj247]

as long as you had the ammonia spike then it went down, then the nitrite spike then it went down the the nitrate spike, which then you would do your water changes. your cycle is then complete

 

[Our First Tank]

i dont know if we had the ammonia spike yet. what happens during that and how do you get rid of it? could any fish survive that?

 

[bjonesjr1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7016520#post7016520 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Our First Tank
3 weeks.....last tuesday we added 2 damsels and the puffer under advisement from the LFS.

I would find another LFS, If they new anything then they would know that is careless to put that many fish in a tank that is uncycled and that small by the way I can only put 5-7 fish in my 55 gallon tank just to keep them happy... Whoever your LFS you need to find a new one, (my oppion)

 

[Porkibear]

Only you would know the cycling of your tank....there's not a lot of details here to really tell.

For instance, having lots of cured liverock and live sandbed would help the cycling, as well as adding an over-the-counter "cycling" solution that promotes good bacteria growth to start processing the ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites.

Also, did you put most of these fish in all at once, or did you just start out with 1-2 fish?

Another factor you must consider is the fact that your tank (30 gal.) is actually quite small for the full cycle or water parameters to become "stable". Remember, the more water capacity (such as a 100+ gal tank), the less you have to worry about water conditions and ammonia spikes. If you have a 50 gal or less, such as a nano-tank), water conditions must be monitored almost DAILY. To me, it seems like you will have a huge bioload with the puffer (puffers are generally messy eaters).

My suggestion would be to return a few fish to the LFS you got them at and get store credit. Explain to them the situation, and when your tank is fully cycled and water conditions are stable for a period of about 2-3 months, then I would start adding new livestock one by one. You can probably keep 1-2 fish while you are doing this, but the amount you have is probably a little too much for where you are at in the cycling process.

 

[bjonesjr1]

^^^^^I agree with the above