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well, as some people may have read, I had to do a emergency tank transfer because of leaks in my 26 gallon tall, and now have a running 29 gallon standard tank.

to ensure no bad things happen, i consolidated filtration and stocks from my 10 and 26 gallon tanks. meaning that i now have 2 Whisper 30s, a Bravo 200, and 2 Hagen Elite Minifilter Powerjets...all established/cycled filters...a whopping 616 GPH on cycled filters,lol. lil overkill for a 29 gallon eh? didnt want a ammonia spike...

between over filtration and water changes and the addition of start up bacteria addatives, all the occupants are stable without a single loss, and its been a week.

had a very minute nh3 spike (almost unmeasurable) after a couple days, after that, nothing.

PH is down where i want it at 7.0, and hasnt been any measurable no2,nh3, or nh4 since the almost unmeasurable nh3 spike.

so, current occupancies are:

2 peppered corys
2 female cherry barbs
5 lemon tetras
5 ember tetras
1 bolivian ram
1 south american bumblebee catfish

after carefull consideration i have decided to add 3 more peppered corys, 1 male cherry barb, and 5 more ember tetras. i know the origional stocking i have right now is all wrong, but when fish have died i hadnt replaced them due to my 26 gallon being so tall and old (bought it used before i had any idea that a tall tank sucks to stock and has poor gas exchange)...but i am going to try those additions and hope for the best...so far they all seem happy even without the filled schools.

the bravo 200 filter will be removed soon and a airstone hooked up instead. water changes are 5 gallons twice weekly and via gravel vac to remove garbage from the bottom (never any food, only waste, catfish,corys,cherrys, and ram see to that).

so, with all that in mind, at what rate should i slowly start stocking?

i was thinking a male cherry barb first...low bio impact, small, and would make the females happy...maybe wait a few days and add the corys. wait a week and introduce the embers.

how does all this sound?

EDIT: tank can be viewed via a link on my profile to give you a idea of layout and swimming room

The cherry barbs are fine in low numbers, I'd up the cory school first. Then cherry barb, then tetras.

Generally I suggest people wait a week to two weeks between stockage.

Did you transfer established gravel from the 26 or just filters?

I would add all the fish you mentioned in a 10 days spam. Like adding 3 Corydoras today & them leave 5 days, to add some more & then another 5 days.

Are you going to add the fish you buy directly to your tank, or you're going to quarantine them first?.


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Again it all depends on (lets assume tank is all OK) I would only add a few at a time usually one to two weeks apart two days after you have done the water change. Reasons being I don't feed on water change day and never on introduction.

With your list I would work from the smallest number/total size, up to the larger groups.

I would also add some form of stress coat eg Melafix as well as a little Sera Nitrivec Bacteria booster or similar product.
Also keep a good eye on the water parameters all the time.

Again this might seem to be an over kill but it is well worth the extra care and work.
While you are doing this over several weeks I would also be careful with the feeding reduce it to just over 1/2 of your normal feeding.

I hope this helps rather than confuses you.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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thanks for the input! I did not transfer the substrate after the tank switch due to a snail issue, so new driftwood,rocks, and gravel...hence why I DO want to be extra carefull at adding numbers.

I feed in mornings, and fish are always introduced in the evening when its closer to dark as i was told darkened conditions aliviated stress. so no food at the time, and i normally change the water before introduction, as i am guessing the gravel vac would be disturbing to most of the fish (other than the corys maybe, every one i have had loves it when the substrate is stirred up).

I have been adding a product called Stability by Seachem as it was the only bacteria product locally that anyone could vouch for.

i have not used a stress coat or anything like that cause I have always been very wary about chemicals in the tank. normally my occupants live long lives (usually 6months+ after their average life expectancy) with the exception of a cory problem that i experianced that wiped all but two of my corys

when i was foolish enough to buy some lemons at a brand x chain store, i lost 1 of 6 lemon tetras purchased, and 1 of 6 embers purchased.

anyway, i can try it, will have to remove the charcoal though. does that stuff have any affect on the corys?

P.S. how often should I be feeding? I feed once daily, but its small amounts of varried food...i have small sinking pellets for the bottom feeders and ram that i break into quarters and sink down(5 types actually,lol) and occasionally live or frozen foods when budget can afford it. I never seem to have excessive fish waste due to the small quantities...i know they can go a few days between feeding, but daily seemed to get the brightest colors from the lemons and embers.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Twice daily is usually how I feed, little in the morning (when I get home) and a little at night (when I wake up), small amounts of varied food. Variety is key, that's a major contributing factor on the vibrant colors of your fish. Live/frozen are usually fed as a treat once a week (more, depending on nutrition requirements or breeding/conditioning) due to high fat content. You usually want to feed a 'staple' food at least once daily, and then switch up the 2nd portion of the feeding. I feed flakes as my staple, and use granules/pellets/bloodworms/algae/specialty flakes/tablets/etc as the supplemental feeding. Adding variety in texture is just as important as variety in taste/color/nutritional value.

If once daily is working, don't break it, but I doubt you'll run into any problems feeding twice with your seemingly excellent care of your fish.

thanks for the tips on feeding...i currenty use a mixture of ground up spectra new life granules and tetra brand flakes for staple, and after the staple is wolfed down i start adding some freeze dried blood worms or vegetable flakes or a couple other brands of flakes, and live or frozen foods if i can afford them. it seems to be working well as the lemon tetras are a brighter yellow than the ones in the profile photos on this site, and the embers are a bright red. was also going to ask if freeze dried tubiflex worms were any good and if so what brands are favored?

now, onto the actual stocking. turns out my LFS is having difficulty getting thier hands on Corydoras paleatus, and arent even currently available from any of their suppliers. from what I have read mixing the differant varieties of cories is a no no, so i suppose i will wait.

there are plenty of chain stores in a 10 mile radius, but i have had very poor luck with them and their tanks are ussually very poorly maintaned...so it looks like i am stuck on the waiting list.

i went ahead and purchased a single male cherry barb today as they had a VERY nice specimen in the tank that was about 1.75" and brilliant red.

the embers will follow eventually, and i went ahead and pulled the charcoal and added the Melafix that was suggested. did a small waterchange today, and will be waiting till after the embers are added and if everything is stable pulling the 5th filter (the bravo 200) out and re hooking up the airstone.


thanks again for all the info guys and any tips or suggestions are welcome!