how early can i put damsel fish in my new salt water aquarium?
i set up a salt water tank 5 days ago. how early can i put in damsel fish?
This Truely Depends on the Size of your Aquarium System..
You must first wait for the Water in your system to "Cycle"
Don’t get in a Hurry! Some systems take as long as 3 months to cycle completely..
April 30th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
This Truely Depends on the Size of your Aquarium System..
November 7th, 2009 at 1:10 amYou must first wait for the Water in your system to "Cycle"
Don’t get in a Hurry! Some systems take as long as 3 months to cycle completely..
References :
It would depend if your going to use him to cycle. They are tough, but it isn’t the kindest thing to do.
Add him only if you want to keep him. I had a large tank and had to tear it down to catch that sucker when he picked on my clown fish! I’d never have a damsel again!
The safe time is after the ammonia has spiked, and gone back down to 0, and the same w/ the nitrites. When nitrates start to show, the cycle is complete and you can add fish. Adding a bio starter like Bio-sphere helps a lot and so does Stability.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:15 amReferences :
Your tank needs to cycle longer. For the health of the fish, and quite honestly, for your wallet, read up on cycling salt water tanks. Proper fishless cycling takes about 6 weeks or so. If the water has not been properly balanced prior to putting in fish, you will lose them all, and when it comes to saltwater fish, that can add up to BIG money! Oh, and please consider doing a fishless cycle. It is so much kinder on fish, because if you do the traditional cycling that includes putting in fish, you’re almost certainly giving them a death sentence.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:45 amReferences :
http://ezinearticles.com/?Saltwater-Aquarium-Maintenance&id=72855
Well that depends on how you set up your tank. Do you have live sand? This starts the process faster. Saltwater is usually a fishless cycle, however now that your tank (depending on the size) has sat 5 days, the best advice I can give you is go and buy a black mollie. Just one. (Yes they can live in salt water) this will help cycle your tank faster. after about two weeks, get another. They are cheaper than damsels and generate more biodegradable wastes.
You should wait a total of 6 weeks for your damsels. about 3-6 months for other fish.
Patience with a salt water tank will have its rewards.
ALSO
NEVER put ammonia or any other chemical into your salt tank. Anyone who tells you differently doesn’t know salt water fish.
Your nitrates should be around 10-30 ppm It will never be 0. If it is, you need a better test kit.
If you aren’t sure about water quality, take a sample to the store, they will test it for you.
Lots of luck
November 7th, 2009 at 2:06 amReferences :
About 3 months.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:47 amReferences :