Frequency of adding new fish

[enseng]

Hi,

I would like to know what should be the freqeuncy of adding new fish, read online that guideline is about 1 or 2 fish per week....provided NH4 and NO2 are zero before adding new fish..is it true?

I have added 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 clown and 2 blue tang over the past 2 week...is it too much?

how many fishes can i keep inside my 3x2x2 tank? is there a standard guide?...for example, inchesof fish/square litre...

[comycus]

Hi,

I would like to know what should be the freqeuncy of adding new fish, read online that guideline is about 1 or 2 fish per week....provided NH4 and NO2 are zero before adding new fish..is it true?

I have added 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 clown and 2 blue tang over the past 2 week...is it too much?

how many fishes can i keep inside my 3x2x2 tank? is there a standard guide?...for example, inchesof fish/square litre...

bro, fowlr or reef tank? Fowlr tanks typically have a larger load with less pristine water quality.

2 tangs are prob the max a 3ft tank can handle, these fishes actually do better in systems 4ft and above. In fact, one large BT alone will not do well in 3ft. Can refer to bro dnsfpl's thread. My suggestion is to stop stocking for the next 3-4 weeks to let the system stabilise first so the bacteria has time to grow and accomodate with the higher bioload (tangs poop alot). Tangs get ich really quickly, in fact if your tank is new, and you didn't qt your tangs, I'm pretty sure the chances of them getting white spots quite high.

For myself, I'm planning to stock up my 3ft with only 8-10 fishes, average 3-4 inches/fish at full adult size. I suppose some reefers like to overstock their tanks with anywhere from 15-20 fishes, using oversized skimmer, and battling to maintain good water quality. Its really up to you. For me, I subscribe to "less is more"

[Morpheous]

It actually depends on how efficient is your biological filtration. Adding a new fish risks introducing new disease to the tank each time. I've seen my tank battling disease almost every time there's a new addition, sometimes loosing all the life stock due to infamous ick and velvet . It will be good to quarantine the fish for 1mth before adding into the main tank since u will be constantly adding fish. This also gives time for your tank to cultivate enough bacteria (to combat NH4 & NO2). Do also do plan how u are going to combat NO3. Its going to climb real fast

[enseng]

bro, fowlr or reef tank? Fowlr tanks typically have a larger load with less pristine water quality.

2 tangs are prob the max a 3ft tank can handle, these fishes actually do better in systems 4ft and above. In fact, one large BT alone will not do well in 3ft. Can refer to bro dnsfpl's thread. My suggestion is to stop stocking for the next 3-4 weeks to let the system stabilise first so the bacteria has time to grow and accomodate with the higher bioload (tangs poop alot). Tangs get ich really quickly, in fact if your tank is new, and you didn't qt your tangs, I'm pretty sure the chances of them getting white spots quite high.

For myself, I'm planning to stock up my 3ft with only 8-10 fishes, average 3-4 inches/fish at full adult size. I suppose some reefers like to overstock their tanks with anywhere from 15-20 fishes, using oversized skimmer, and battling to maintain good water quality. Its really up to you. For me, I subscribe to "less is more"

plan for the reef tank...will add coral at later stage...yah you are right..the 2 blue tangs are having white spot...but they are still chasing for food....should i just leave them like tat?...i soak the food with garlic liquid..heard it is good to build up fish's immune system....

[enseng]

It actually depends on how efficient is your biological filtration. Adding a new fish risks introducing new disease to the tank each time. I've seen my tank battling disease almost every time there's a new addition, sometimes loosing all the life stock due to infamous ick and velvet . It will be good to quarantine the fish for 1mth before adding into the main tank since u will be constantly adding fish. This also gives time for your tank to cultivate enough bacteria (to combat NH4 & NO2). Do also do plan how u are going to combat NO3. Its going to climb real fast

How can i quarantine the new fish? currently i have one 1 and half ft tank....will it be too small for quarantine tangs and induce more stress on them? What is the better way of control NO3?....de-nitrator or dose AZ-NO3?

[comycus]

How can i quarantine the new fish? currently i have one 1 and half ft tank....will it be too small for quarantine tangs and induce more stress on them? What is the better way of control NO3?....de-nitrator or dose AZ-NO3?

Since you don't have corals now can just treat the tank as fowlr, will be easier. remember to run carbon AFTER treatment to get rid of the chemicals.

I would suggest using AZ-NO3 for quick control of nitrates, but use denitrator or refugium or dosing bacteria or any other way to cultivate sufficient bacteria to control your NO3 in the long run.

Remember to stop stocking and concentrate on ure tangs and clown. Clownfish also prone to Brooklynella, so also watch out for tt. Pls test your water quality more often during this period. Will be in trouble if ammonia or nitrites are not zero. Might want to consider lowering your salinity for now. Fowlr tanks don't need high salinities like reef tanks n I think parasites tend not to do as well at lower salinity, but remember to bring it down really really gradually, don't wanna add further stress to your fishes.

Lastly chill n relax! Read up more in this forum on qt, new tank syndrome, managing water quality etc n I'm sure your fishes will do fine n can start your dream reef tank

[comycus]

btw I heard of using metronidazole to cure ich other internal parasites. I bought a bottle to battle my chromis's protozoa infection. Kinda have alot, if you want a few can spare you, or wanna buy more to stock up your medicine cabinet also can... I have more than enough to share ard.

I think the norm for Fowlr tank is to use copper to treat, dunno if it will leech onto your LR and be released in future to harm corals, have to check with other bros. (I have no experience in doing this)

Also can try using methylene blue to cure white spots. Pls read up on the various methods n decide for yourself which is best k? Of course the best method is to qt them and treat them separately, but for tangs you prob need something like 15-20 gallons per tang in seperate tanks. They need the space, otherwise they might stress n up lorry coz they got not enough space to swim.

n have to put disclaimer, all these is through my own research online when I was reading up, maybe other bros have better way to solve based on their experience.

[enseng]

Thanks bro...

measure my NO3 yesterday..it was zero..will get AZ NO3 to control nitrate if it shoot up...

has been feeding my livestock with mysis shrimp soak with garlic....white spot on blue tangs has disappeared....they r doing ok at the moment, chasing for food...

guess i will just leave them as it is...will dose medicine if necessary...

wat water do u all use to top up/change water? i m using the crystal pro single stage for filtering...TDS read 0ppm 2 weeks ago...but now it increase to ard 40ppm..thought the resin can last for 2 to 3 months? i run very slowly ..should i remove the resin while not in use to extend its life span?