# Stocking dilemma



## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

Hi all,

I am new to fishkeeping and to this forum, and I'm hoping I can benefit from your experience. 

I have a 46 gallon tank. I thought that fishless cycling seemed like a good idea, because the tank can be matured relatively quickly with no harm to fish. 
Also, proponents note that when the process is complete, you can stock your tank to its capacity, since the bacterial colonies will be large.

I am expecting the cycling of this tank to be complete some time in the coming week. 
The nitite has been spiking for a few days now, and the nitrosmonas colony is fully established.

This will be a planted tank with tetras and gourami, to start.

Here is the dilemma that occurred to me only yesterday:

1) On the one hand, stocking my tank in bulk risks losing the whole batch to disease. 
To complicate this matter, my tank will be planted, so as far as I understand this could make treating the tank difficult.

2) On the other hand, if I quarantine then bulk stocking is out of the question and my bacterial colonies will begin to die off for lack of food. 

Though I do plan get a small multipurpose spare tank at some point, the thought of setting up QT at this point does not thrill me.

I am hoping that the risks of bulk stocking are manageable, but I don't have enough information or experience to judge this matter. 

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for any help.


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

QT is always a good practice, especially when adding fish to an already established tank. Having a spare tank for QT and treatments is also important. You've recognized that planted tanks can be a challenge to treat if needed. Catching sick fish in a heavily planted tank can also be a challenge.

My preference would be to QT the fish before adding them to the tank, but bulk stocking might be doable if you are prepared to catch/remove fish if the start to show symptoms of illness.


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

I have an old empty 15 gallon if you would like...


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks! I may take you up on that. I'm thinking a compromise to a QT would be to have hospital tank ready to assemble and watch for extra closely for sickies. I'd just need a heater and a sponge filter. I have an air pump and some fake plants that would do for the tank.

I would guess that if you use a hospital tank, it wouldn't be cycled so you'd need to change the water a lot. Then re-medicate each time you change the water?


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

What I try to do is keep an extra sponge filter or three cultured for QT/hospital tank use or for those times when another tank just follows me home


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

Yes I made myself a DIY filter out of a fruit container! I call it the DelMonte! LOL works awesome with air and cotton balls. I just run in another tank for several days b4 moving to qt tank or bucket(5gal pail or anything).


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I would stick with adding a few fish at a time, given that this is your first tank, and things can go downhill fast given the opportunity to do so. In a mature tank, it is more forgiving when you make large changes, but a brand new tank will be difficult to handle for a beginner.

As for QT, most likely advisable for a densely planted tank. I have tried rounding up a school of tetras in a 75g planted tank, and it took me over 3 hours to catch all 12 of them.

Also, many medications will either harm, stunt or kill plants, so medicating planted tanks is often not an option.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

on another hand... if all the fish youa re getting are new. your tank pretty much is a QT tank. if they die they die its not a huge loss since none of them have any attachment yet. when i come back from an auction i dont mind putting all te fish i got from the auction in 1 qt. but i guess you could set up liek 5 qt tanks. for all your different fish but that might be a pain . and i dont think you bacteria will starve if wet i think the bateria will live for a very long time. or if your really concerned about it just dump some sludge in there from the qt tank(s).


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Another good argument for a QT tank is the quantity of meds required to treat a 10g tank vs a 75g tank. I learned this one the hard way; it's the difference between using a single packet of meds for a 10g vs 7 packets for a 70g. If you need to administer 4 treatments well, you get the picture.

I'd also start off slow and not get all your fish at once, as Ameekplec suggested. Once they've survived a week or 2 then add some more.

Good luck and cheers.


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## Prodicus (Nov 3, 2008)

Thanks for all your replies. I was thinking that I might hold off on the plants so that I could treat the tank if necessary, but I hadn't thought of the amount of meds that could take. Sawman, I think you made a good point about the hardiness of the bacteria. They will probably go dormant instead of dying off, so that means I can use a qt without de-maturing my main tank. 

I haven't quite figured out how to manage the qt. Maybe I can transfer some of my filter sludge/material to a sponge to jumpstart a qt. But once I have an active QT filter, what happens if I medicate? Can I put the filter back in the main tank to preserve it after it's been in a medicated tank, or will keeping it wet be enough?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

If you're worried about the bacteria not having anything to eat, add a drop of ammonia to the water every several days to feed them. Shoppers Drug Mart sells it.

With a QT, buy yourself an Aqua Clear 20 and seed it with bacteria from an established community. Monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels closely and do water changes when necessary.

If you have to medicate, the bacteria will take a hit but should recover once you stop the meds but if they don't then you can always reseed.

It's like a snowball rolling down a hill, isn't it...

Cheers.


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