Is this too many fish to add at once

[ILikeFish!]

I have have a 55 gallon that I just set up with 30 pounds of ocean live rock and just a hob filter for now and I’m wondering is adding a cardinal fish,yellow watchmen goby, fire goby, royal Grammy, and a springers damsel to many fish to add at once? I have to buy all these fish together because I have to pay almost 100 for shipping and I don’t want to make two different orders.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Everyone is so eager to dump the whole ocean into their new tanks... odd in a hobby where tank lifespans are measured in decades

I would love to get fish every once and a while to enjoy it but I can’t keep spending 100 dollars on shipping

 

[ILikeFish!]

That should be fine with the ocean live rock. Likely, the amount of nitrifying bacteria on the rocks already is more than enough for the bioload from your fish list if properly handled during shipment and adding to your tank.

The main concern I have is adding fish from a shipment directly to the final tank. Quarantine is best to avoid introducing diseases that are hard to remove from your tank.
I personally start fish in a separate quarantine tank just for observation unless I see something concerning. Almost every online order I've received has had some form of concern or disease, mostly on more susceptible fish.

They are from dr reef so I don’t have to quarantine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

They are from dr reef so I don’t have to quarantine

Fish go through various stress during shipment (temperature changes and delays alone). Even quarantined- Assume it has something . You can shorten Quarantine cycle for quarantined fish but realize youre taking a gamble on that assumption and ive seen a few QT fish get parasites after introduction and person turned around and finger-pointed at shipper when it could have been avoided with simple observation in a qt tank. Acclimation also plays an importance.

 

[Soren]

They are from dr reef so I don’t have to quarantine.

I was not aware of that. My personal choice would still be to quarantine for observation, but I keep 10+ tanks running all times due to interests.

Obviously, one of the main draws in buying from Dr. Reef is to skip the need for your own QT.

Though you could have success with your list and your tank with the ocean live rock, I still recommend patience and would not risk a large order cost just to save on a second shipment. Adding fish over time gives a higher chance for success, especially if you are new to the hobby and continue doing specific research while being patient.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Adding fish over time also allows you to enjoy the system/hobby. Being "new" the last thing you want is a disaster and trial by fire.

Per my observation, more people leave this hobby out of frustration than they do from anything else.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Adding fish over time also allows you to enjoy the system/hobby. Being "new" the last thing you want is a disaster and trial by fire.

Per my observation, more people leave this hobby out of frustration than they do from anything else.

Well I’m not particularly new I’ve been in the fish hobby for 3 years so I know how things work, just never tried to add this many fish at once before.

 

[ILikeFish!]

I was not aware of that. My personal choice would still be to quarantine for observation, but I keep 10+ tanks running all times due to interests.

Obviously, one of the main draws in buying from Dr. Reef is to skip the need for your own QT.

Though you could have success with your list and your tank with the ocean live rock, I still recommend patience and would not risk a large order cost just to save on a second shipment. Adding fish over time gives a higher chance for success, especially if you are new to the hobby and continue doing specific research while being patient.

I would do a observation qt but I don’t have the time or space for a quarantine tank.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I have have a 55 gallon that I just set up with 30 pounds of ocean live rock and just a hob filter for now and I’m wondering is adding a cardinal fish,yellow watchmen goby, fire goby, royal Grammy, and a springers damsel to many fish to add at once? I have to buy all these fish together because I have to pay almost 100 for shipping and I don’t want to make two different orders.

I wouldn't be adding more than 2 fish at a time to a new tank.
You need to give the tank time to adjust

How are you planning on quarantining that many fish?

If you dump them straight in the display you may well be back to zero fish in a months time, especially if you have purchased online and they are stressed by the delivery process.

 

[Idech]

I would do a observation qt but I don’t have the time or space for a quarantine tank.

If you want that many fish at once, set up a temporary holding tank and put half of them in it. Wait 1-2 weeks and add them to your DT.

It will be more work (and time) but your risk level drops down significantly.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

I feel like I’m about to watch someone jump five school buses on an e-bike with an ice cream bucket for a helmet.

 

[Spare time]

I'd say about 34 at once would be too much

 

[ILikeFish!]

I feel like I’m about to watch someone jump five school buses on an e-bike with an ice cream bucket for a helmet.

Sounds doable

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have a feeling you took what you wanted to hear from this thread and have placed your oder.

Good luck (honestly). Hate to see money and livestock wasted.

 

[ILikeFish!]

I have a feeling you took what you wanted to hear from this thread and have placed your oder.

Good luck (honestly). Hate to see money and livestock wasted.

Who said I placed an order yet

 

[BeanAnimal]

Who said I placed an order yet

Nobody - just a guess

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Sounds doable

I like your style mate. Now get online and show these fools just how many fish you can shoehorn into that new 55.

 

[ILikeFish!]

That should be fine with the ocean live rock. Likely, the amount of nitrifying bacteria on the rocks already is more than enough for the bioload from your fish list if properly handled during shipment and adding to your tank.

The main concern I have is adding fish from a shipment directly to the final tank. Quarantine is best to avoid introducing diseases that are hard to remove from your tank.
I personally start fish in a separate quarantine tank just for observation unless I see something concerning. Almost every online order I've received has had some form of concern or disease, mostly on more susceptible fish.

The rock was delayed for a while and took 3 weeks for the ammonia to go down by itself because there was a lot of die off from it so would it still be okay to add that many fish after that?

 

[52728299]

Lol, I understand where you are coming from and starting a new tank it's not uncommon to have confidence in your skills. The frustration you may see in this thread from others is because they see threads like this all the time when warnings go ignored then the next thing they know the op is making a new thread asking for help because all their fish are dying.

Most things we do with our tanks can be done, can be successful but there are unknown stats floating in the ether of how many people are actually successful cutting corners. There is always one more thing we can do to mitigate risk and how much risk that is introduced into the tank ultimately comes down to what the reefer decides. Usually you want to lower the risk when starting a new tank so it has the best chance of succeeding.

There are diseases out there that once introduced in your tank can take many months to eradicate and can set your tank back close to a year. And while you scramble to keep things alive slowly little by little animals will die and the reefer gets so overwhelmed and disheartened they abandon the tank altogether or at the least grow to dispise the tank and the hobby.

There's a good chance you can add those fish to a cycled tank be be just fine. Just know your chance for success will decline and the amount of risk will go up. Best to know what you are getting into, so when you make these choices you aren't taken by surprise if things do go wrong. To lower your risk, throw these fish in a 10g qt for 2 weeks. You can observe and get them eating and see what foods they react best to. If disease pops up you won't be introducing it to your display and you can easily treat from there vastly minimizing any fish losses. Or place them into the display right away, just know that if things do go wrong, it can be a very long road back to a healthy disease free system.

 

[ILikeFish!]

The rock was delayed for a while and took 3 weeks for the ammonia to go down by itself because there was a lot of die off from it so would it still be okay to add that many fish after that?

Never mind

 

[52728299]

I put a lot of thought into that response