adding all fish at one time?

[Juice It]

Got a 200 gallon last week and was thinking about how to handle puting in the fish when it comes time. Since I will have some triggers,Angels, wrasse, puffer etc. is there any advantage to placing one large order and introducing all at once? I want to start with smaller fish so I can watch them grow but since I have never done this type of thing I would like some input on the best way to handle this. Also, is there a larger goby or jawfish that can live with these larger more asgressive fish to occupy some places the others don't? I love their character but don't want to have one live in fear.


Thanks!

[2dawghouse]

What is the total stock list? How long has the tank been up? Is it cycled, how did you cycle it? Filtration and skimmer type? Was the tank previously used? How much LR and LS? All these factors play into how and when to stock a tank. But more less a stock list of types and size of fish plays the biggest role.

[Jerry W]

I'd strongly suggest against adding multiple fish to a system all at once. You run the high risk of upsetting your biofiltration, not to mention the stress of several fish being placed in a closed system at the same time. A sensible approach is adding the smallest/least aggressive first, and then working towards your larger, more aggressive species. Knowing specifically what fish you want to keep might help plan a stocking order.

[Juice It]

Still working on a stock list but it will consist of a few different triggers, angels, puffers and a few misc. others. I am talking about after the tank is completely cycled as well, not today. It is a tenecor system with a marine reef ready filtration system with a Euro-reef Inc. protein skimmer. Since some of the fish I would say are equal on the aggresiveness scale I just wondered if it would make sense to put them in at the same time so they couldn't establish a territory.

[niles1967]

You just got a 220g and now want to immediately fill it with fish? Please do as much research as you can and let the tank mature. Otherwise, all the fish will die and your wallet will be much lighter. My concern if for the defenseless fish.

[2dawghouse]

You shouldnt consider putting fish into the tank until it is cycled and matured.

[Juice It]

Do people not even read through a thread before responding? Of coarse I am aware and stated above that the tank needs to be full cycled before adding my list of fish. My question was does it make sense to ad them at the same time (once the tank is cycled) to avoid the fish from having staked out territories or is it better to do 1 at a time from least aggresive to most.

Thanks

[niles1967]

Yes, I read it. You will overwhelm your biological filter by doing that, have a severe ammonia spike, and lose all the fish. What you are proposing to do violates Basic Marine-Fishkeeping 101.

[billsreef]

The only real issue is the whole cycling issue. The way to make it work is to add ammonia to the tank on a regular basis, in sufficient quantity to simulate the expected bio load, until the tank cycles.

[Juice It]

Actually I bought the tank from someone else, we left all the live sand in and a couple inches of water over the sand and I have since added some saltwater and a power head to keep it circulating so cycling should not be the same as a brand new system. Maybe I didn't ask the question correctly. If the tank was fully cycled, had a few chromis in it for a while then is it better to ad one at a time or together or would it still cause a bad spike and be worse for the fish?

[billsreef]

If the tank is already cycled with a particular fish load, it will only be able to handle that current load and only a small increase in bio load without causing a bad spike. So in this case your better off just adding 1 or 2 fish at a time and going slow. There's an old adage in this hobby, "only bad things happen fast", so go slow ;)

[FishyMel]

I'd suggest working up the system. I'd dump in some food everyday, even though there are no fish; get the tank used to the bioload it will have. (Work it up to the amount of food you'd feed the fish you'll have)maybe have some chromises and a clean up crew to eat the food. Once the ammonia spike settles out and the system is stable( still essentially a fishless cycle) you can add the all the fish at once if you desire.

There are advantages to the add-all-the-fish-at-once-method. The main reason is to fix aggression and territorial issues that would come from "old tennants". All the fish would be confused and in the same boat, meaning there is no heirarchy and time for fish to adjust before being beaten.

I usually add fish two at a time.

[sokin]

I agree with FishyMel.
I did add multi fish at one time to my system. Every fish is still alive and I didn't have any ammonia spikes that I noticed. (BUT)because it works for one doesn't mean it will work for you, also I had a 3" scopa,2 damsels, and a 3" p. puffer in the tank for a month.My system also was up and running for about4.5 months. I added a 6" naso, 4" scopas, 4" desjardinii sailfin tang, 3" yellow tang, and a 5" queen angel all at the same time. I added them all at the same time since I bought the larger tangs for someone taking a tank down and I moved my yellow and queen from my 75 so everyone would adj. at the same time. So to answer your question can it be done Yes (BUT) !!!! Only if your system has aged like a fine bottle of wine and you have experience. PLUS if your going to order your fish I would QT them first, since you have no way of telling what type of system they came out off.
Well not sure if this helps but good luck.

[stdreb27]

It is possible, but it is higher risk, basically you'd have the waste produced by the fish to bring the bio-load up to the level if you had the fish in there then put the fish in. If you are doing small fish 2-3 inch range, I think it would be more than doable especially with alot of LR and depending on the bio-load.