Unfortunately, a common practice in the saltwater trade has been
to encourage new aquarists to begin a saltwater tank by adding
damsels to it to see if they lived or died.
Before the importance of nitrifying
bacteria were understood, this was about the only method that
"worked" to prove that an aquarium was ready for "less
expendable" (read: "more expensive") fish. Today, much
more is known about the aquarium ecosystem and what is required
to get it started, so there is no need to "just see if fish can
live" in the aquarium.
In addition to the obvious ethical
problems, damsels are not generally very good tank mates for
most other fish. As a result, many of them are get flushed
down the toilet when they have shown that the tank can sustain
life. Leaving them in the tank can be just as bad,
however. Damsels very often cause the death of fish that
are added later on to the aquarium. Either way, it's not a
very good start to the aquarium.
Ok, so if not damsels, then what?
That's a very tricky question to answer in
specific here without knowing a great deal about the tank that
you are wanting to set up. But, there are a few pieces of
advice that we can give:
1. Make a list of what you would like to keep in the
aquarium, making sure
you are taking into
account fish that are acceptable for your aquarium size.
2. Always add the smallest, most docile fish
first.
3. Pick the hardiest of those fish to begin,
because the first fish are going to
experience some stress if
you run into a bit of ammonia.
When can I add fish?
Generally, it is best to wait a while before adding the
first fish to the aquarium. "A while" is determined by
several factors such as whether or not your temperature is
stable, and if you are showing no ammonia initially in the
system. It is important to take into consideration how
much living biological filtration such as live rock
initially went into the aquarium. The more living
bacteria, the better off the initial fish will be.
If you have little to no living biologicals when starting up,
such as a fish only with a wet-dry system, you might want to
wait several weeks. Adding a few hermits and a tiny amount
of food every few days will help get the system started up.
Also, live sand can help speed up this process.
If you put in 1 lb per gallon of fully cured live rock and your
temperature and ammonia levels are stable, then a few days wait
is generally sufficient.
What about adding more fish
after the first fish are in?
Once the ammonia and nitrite
levels are at zero, other fish may be added. A general
rule of thumb is a couple/few weeks after the first fish are
in, but you should follow what your ammonia and nitrite
tests tell you.
Once I can add more fish, how many
do I add at once?
Unlike freshwater, many marine fish
do well by themselves. Try adding one or two fish at a
time every couple to three weeks. Be sure to keep an eye
on your ammonia levels so that you don't have a major problem on
your hands.
As your aquarium becomes more populated, adding fish can be a
tricky business. Having some fish of the same type and
coloration can be a problem (i.e. tangs) so be sure to have a
game plan before you start to stock your tank.
NorthSide's expert staff can help you make this plan. Stop
in and bring us a list of what you would like to have, and we
will tell you what is and is not appropriate based on your tank
size and current inhabitants. We can also suggest a
general order in which to add those fish. Don't be
surprised if we tell you "No" on several of your choices.
We will veto things that seem like a bad idea. Sometimes
we make you pick one fish or another. All of this is in
your (and your aquarium inhabitants') best interest.
I
bought a bunch of damsels to cycle my saltwater aquarium.
I am now ready for "real fish". What do I do with the
damsels?
NorthSide Aquatics
recommends that you only put into an aquarium fish that you
intend to keep. There are no such things as "throw
away fish".
While it is not the policy of
NorthSide Aquatics to function as a fish rescue, we do take
in damsels to save them from the sewer. They reside in
our live rock vat when they get here, are not resold, and we
do not offer credit for them.
