will this stun my tank...

[fishsticks]

what will adding too many fish in 1 month do?

can it throw off my levels?
i notice ammonia levels in my tank now, i never had those.
only time i had those, were when i was cycling.

any ideas?

[BarbMazz]

Yes, it will throw your tank out of whack. It adds too much bio-load for your bacteria to handle.

New fish to be added every 5-6 weeks after quarantining them in a QT, one at a time.

[sasquatch]

it will do exactly what you have described, you system is not equiped to handle the waste produced by the new bio load, water changes and keep checking your levels, so just how too many did you add?

[fishsticks]

omg i added, 1crab, 1shrimp, 1 fire goby, 1 madarin goby, 1 angel fish all in about a 2 week period. i MESSED UP! ok so im doin a 25% water change every week now, how long until my bio load is ok again???

[aquaman3680]

The crab and shrimp don't count. You should not have added the mandarin at all it will likely die in the tank, they need a very mature system! Just keep an eye on parameters and dont add anything for a couple weeks.

Matt

[Jeremy0322]

If I were you I would take the mandarin back, but depending on the size of the tank you MAY!!! be able to keep it alive. Look for live pods to feed it, and feed them often. But him going back to the LFS for a while is probably your best move

[Origami2547]

Can it throw off your levels? Yes, and it can create a cycle that feeds off of itself. Ammonia is poisonous and when it climbs to toxic levels, it begins to kill off life in the tank. That life, in turn, decays leading to more ammonia, and so on, creating a disaster if you don't get it in check fast enough.

Ammonia can be toxic to some fish at levels below 0.1 ppm, though 0.1 ppm is often used as a "trigger point" for action. That action can include large water changes (along with frequent monitoring until the crisis has passed), or chemical binders (such as AmQuel) which can "tie up" free ammonia into less toxic forms. If doing water changes, take care to mix and "age" the saltwater for a day or more so to stabilize the pH. Otherwise you may get unintended wild pH swings when doing your water changes.

The first step is to check your levels, though, and to act if they're high, and to watch them carefully until you're comfortable that things are stable.

There's a good article on Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium in February 2007's online edition of Reefkeeping magazine that would be good for you to read. The link is: Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

As for the mandarin, I agree with the others. Your first best option is to ask the LFS you bought it from to take it back. They really should have told you that this species generally requires a mature tank to thrive. If you don't have one already, I recommend getting a decent book on marine aquarium fish that gives you information describing the environmental, food, species compatibility, and other needs to care for these creatures and to refer to it so you can plan your purchases in advance, or at least take it with you with you when you walk into a LFS (so you can make an informed decision).