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ReefLady · 01-01-2004, 05:10 PM

Esy_777,

First, welcome! And welcome to the world of SW tanks.

There are a few different answers to your question, but I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.

First answer - none. Not for a while, anyway. You don't want to add any fish until the tank has completed the ammonia cycle (ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate --- nothing). Usually, the cycle is started by adding some sort of dieing /decaying matter, such as uncured live rock, a raw grocery store shrimp, etc.

Once the tank has cycled, you want to add one, possibly 2 small fish at a time. And then, wait at least 2-3 weeks before another fish addition.

As far as "total" (eventual) fish go, a lot depends on the type of filtration, the type of fish, and the type of tank (fish only, reef, etc.). The usual *guideline* is one inch of fully grown fish (not counting the tail) for every 5g of water.

So .... in a 33g tank, you could have approximately 7 inches of fish max, or 3-4 small fish.

Hope this helps!

01-01-2004, 05:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
ReefLady Golden Moray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 2,029 View Gallery Karma Komment	Esy_777, First, welcome! And welcome to the world of SW tanks. There are a few different answers to your question, but I'll try to keep it as simple as possible. First answer - none. Not for a while, anyway. You don't want to add any fish until the tank has completed the ammonia cycle (ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate --- nothing). Usually, the cycle is started by adding some sort of dieing /decaying matter, such as uncured live rock, a raw grocery store shrimp, etc. Once the tank has cycled, you want to add one, possibly 2 small fish at a time. And then, wait at least 2-3 weeks before another fish addition. As far as "total" (eventual) fish go, a lot depends on the type of filtration, the type of fish, and the type of tank (fish only, reef, etc.). The usual guideline is one inch of fully grown fish (not counting the tail) for every 5g of water. So .... in a 33g tank, you could have approximately 7 inches of fish max, or 3-4 small fish. Hope this helps! __________________ ~ Teri -------- "You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice."