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5 Responses to “Should I let my fish tank dry before returning fish and water?”
I think you can put them in immediately, because I used to have some fish and I was told to even keep some of the old water and mix it with tap water. But since your tank was really dirty, it probably needed some newer liquid.
you can put them back in, but don’t be surprised if some of your fish die soon. You should really only do partial water changes, no matter how dirty, in order to keep the water cycle steady and healthy. Your tank will have to re-balance itself now, which can be really stressful for your fish.
As to how many – it depends on the size of the fish when fully grown. The general rule of thumb for freshwater fish is one gallon per inch of adult fish – 2 gallons for goldfish and saltwater fish. So for example, you could have a school of about 10 tetras (2 inches each), a mix of 2 gouramis (4 inches) and 5 or 6 mollies/platys/or danios (2 inches)….or one goldfish!
Uh-oh…no matter how dirty your fish tank, you should NEVER clean it all out completely. You should only ever do partial water changes with a gravel siphon.
Your tank has beneficial bacteria growing in that de-toxifies fish waste, and by cleaning your tank like that, you’ve killed a lot of this bacteria. Most of this bacteria lives in the filter, however, so hopefully you haven’t cleaned this out. If you have, you have an even bigger problem. You need to read up on fish tank cycling ASAP. Unfortunately, you may still lose a few fish.
You should never allow your tank to become that dirty, either–it’s not good for your fish, and it’s not fair to make them endure poor conditions.
As to how many fish you can have, it depends on the fish. For example, you could keep one fancy goldfish by itself…or you could keep 20+ neon tetras. The adult size of the fish and how much waste it produces are the main characteristics to look at when deciding what fish to keep in your tank.
First thing…What did you clean your tank with? If you cleaned it with ANYTHING besides just plain water the tank is trashed. If you clean your tank with any chemicals or soaps it will kill the fish you put back in. Second, You never have to completely empty a fish tank to clean it.You are suppose to use a vacuum hose to clean the gravel and remove a third of the water (filling it back up with fresh water) then use a water conditioner, wait about 45 minutes letting the water cycle and the conditioner to remove most of the chlorine from the water.Third, It all depends on what type of fish you already have (how many) and what type you are wanting to buy. If you need help, feel free to hit me up! Hope I helped! =)
Amanda w/ Bert’s Pet Center
New Boston, Ohio
Unfortunately no matter how dirty you think the water is, the tank should NEVER be totally emptied. You just destroyed the beneficial bacteria that helps keep the water stable for your fish. Now you will need to reset the tank and allow it to cycle for around 2 weeks. I would advise a test kit since you and your fish are going to go thru ammonia spikes. Here is a good link that will explain cleaning and cycling of your fish tank.
Remember only 25% of the water using a gravel syphone to remove the debris once per week. Keeping to this schedule your tank won’t become over dirty. No sense letting it dry.
As for how many fish that would depend on the types of fish you plan on keeping.
March 12th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Bryan Wheatley
I think you can put them in immediately, because I used to have some fish and I was told to even keep some of the old water and mix it with tap water. But since your tank was really dirty, it probably needed some newer liquid.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Bernice Matherne
you can put them back in, but don’t be surprised if some of your fish die soon. You should really only do partial water changes, no matter how dirty, in order to keep the water cycle steady and healthy. Your tank will have to re-balance itself now, which can be really stressful for your fish.
As to how many – it depends on the size of the fish when fully grown. The general rule of thumb for freshwater fish is one gallon per inch of adult fish – 2 gallons for goldfish and saltwater fish. So for example, you could have a school of about 10 tetras (2 inches each), a mix of 2 gouramis (4 inches) and 5 or 6 mollies/platys/or danios (2 inches)….or one goldfish!
March 17th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Josephine Dorr
Uh-oh…no matter how dirty your fish tank, you should NEVER clean it all out completely. You should only ever do partial water changes with a gravel siphon.
Your tank has beneficial bacteria growing in that de-toxifies fish waste, and by cleaning your tank like that, you’ve killed a lot of this bacteria. Most of this bacteria lives in the filter, however, so hopefully you haven’t cleaned this out. If you have, you have an even bigger problem. You need to read up on fish tank cycling ASAP. Unfortunately, you may still lose a few fish.
You should never allow your tank to become that dirty, either–it’s not good for your fish, and it’s not fair to make them endure poor conditions.
As to how many fish you can have, it depends on the fish. For example, you could keep one fancy goldfish by itself…or you could keep 20+ neon tetras. The adult size of the fish and how much waste it produces are the main characteristics to look at when deciding what fish to keep in your tank.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Shelly Mackinnon
First thing…What did you clean your tank with? If you cleaned it with ANYTHING besides just plain water the tank is trashed. If you clean your tank with any chemicals or soaps it will kill the fish you put back in. Second, You never have to completely empty a fish tank to clean it.You are suppose to use a vacuum hose to clean the gravel and remove a third of the water (filling it back up with fresh water) then use a water conditioner, wait about 45 minutes letting the water cycle and the conditioner to remove most of the chlorine from the water.Third, It all depends on what type of fish you already have (how many) and what type you are wanting to buy. If you need help, feel free to hit me up! Hope I helped! =)
Amanda w/ Bert’s Pet Center
New Boston, Ohio
March 20th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Celia Weber
Unfortunately no matter how dirty you think the water is, the tank should NEVER be totally emptied. You just destroyed the beneficial bacteria that helps keep the water stable for your fish. Now you will need to reset the tank and allow it to cycle for around 2 weeks. I would advise a test kit since you and your fish are going to go thru ammonia spikes. Here is a good link that will explain cleaning and cycling of your fish tank.
Remember only 25% of the water using a gravel syphone to remove the debris once per week. Keeping to this schedule your tank won’t become over dirty. No sense letting it dry.
As for how many fish that would depend on the types of fish you plan on keeping.