How many fish to add when using TSS?

Hi, new here and looking for help.I recently bought a 75 gal. fresh tank. marine land 360 canister, marine land 300w heater. I am doing a fish in cycle. I was told by my Lfs 12 fish is just right for that size to cycle. I got 12 tiger barbs. I also told them in the end I wanted 2 schools of fish (tigers and cardinal tetras) and 5 discus. ya now I know now that's not gonna happen. they told me as long as I kept them in schools I would be fine. salesman, gotta love em. anyway I have 12 tigers that we love. very cool fish. now I am going to do a species tank of all tigers. its been 2 weeks since I set up and over a week for the fish. my levels have been zero's, including ammonia of course. I did a 8 gal water change 2 days ago and today I put in tetra safe start plus. once I get cycled when do I add more tigers? how many at a time do I add and how many is too many for 75 gal? I was hoping to get around 50. I am worried about bio load with that many going in. will my bacteria be able to handle that load or will I be fighting levels for awhile? sorry this is long winded but I want to get it right and my Lfs apparently doest know or care.

 

This is just a Hello and welcome. Even though I know how to do it, I will let more experienced members help. Dovah. TexasDomer.. Anders247. Aquaphobia.
There are many more helpful members here. As I tell other new members. .please come here first for any questions or concerns. It will save you time, heartbreak, frustration, most importantly. .MONEY!!! Kwig Aqua Hero.

 

While I appreciate the vote of confidence from BluMan1914, I am going to leave your questions to the experts. I am slightly surprised that you still have an ammonia reading of zero though. What size are your barbs? What test are you using? Anders247 is a good one to ask about stocking

I'll just bid you welcome and bow out gracefully

 

barbs are all about an inch. I too am surprised about the ammonia reading of 0. I am a little obsessed with testing water parameters since the tank is 75g. API brand ammonia, nitrite and nitrate kits. I even checked expiration dates. 2017

 

I would do 25-30, not 50, though that may work I see that being awfully busy.
Add 5 a week after it's cycled.

 

Agree with Anders247.

You will be needing another filter for your tank size. Recommended filtration for a canister filter is 5x your tank's volume per hour. So with the Marineland 360 you're just under the minimum. I'd recommend another canister filter. Even if you don't "need" the extra filtration you'll end up with using another canister, it definitely won't hurt. I hear good things about Sun Sun models and they're supposed to be on the cheap side. I personally use Cascade 1500s.

 

Thanks all. Anders247, I thought 50 may be too many. You say it will be busy, meaning a lot going on in the tank or maintenance will be on overdrive? or both. Just wondering. Dovah, do I need another filter regardless of 1 fish or 25 fish? what's your recommendation on size of filter if I do the 25 barbs? and should I do another canister or another type of filter? That may be a dumb question but I don't know

 

If you "understock" you may not need a second filter. I personally believe you can never have too much filtration. More filters = more surfaces for your beneficial bacteria to colonize = better nitrogen conversion. You'll also have better mechanical filtration. The reason I recommend a second canister is because they are so much more customizable than something like a hang on back style filter. I do use hang on backs as well. They're cheaper and should get you above your GPH filtration needs if you wanted to go that route. A lot of people like AquaClears, I have no experience with them. I'm using two Emperor 400s. If I bought another one I think I'd try the Fluval C4.

 

I love the HOB Aquaclears. Great filters!

 

Filters do break and accidents happen. Having a second filter is mandatory on my tanks weather one is enough or not. I actually used 3 filters on my 150 gal tank [eheim canister, aqua clear 110 hang on, and a under gravel] and even that didn't save me in storm Sandy. Both eheim and aqua clear are great filters running for many years without issues. I know ug filters are looked down upon here but work great and can house more bacteria than 10 other filters.

 

Thanks all. Anders247, I thought 50 may be too many. You say it will be busy, meaning a lot going on in the tank or maintenance will be on overdrive?

Well, I meant the first one but now that you mention it both.

 

Agree with everything said so far. Two filters are a great idea in case one decides it doesn't want to work anymore. And 50 tiger barbs would be fascinating to watch, but they are very active and get good enough sized that the recommendation of 25 to 30 would still be extremely satisfying to watch, especially at feeding time. Anders247, any good centerpiece fish that come to mind for this tank?

 

If it's just a bunch of tiger barbs I'd say you could have a convict cichlid or a firemouth, or something similar.

 

If it's just a bunch of tiger barbs I'd say you could have a convict cichlid or a firemouth, or something similar.

I was thinking a convict. The stripes would make a nice theme, and they have similar body shapes.

 

are all cichlids ok with tiger barbs?

 

Not all. There are thousands of species of cichlids. It depends on the exact species.

 

Not all. There are thousands of species of cichlids. It depends on the exact species.

the fire mouth looks cool. what others will work? I don't really like the convicts

 

What fish do you already have?

 

What fish do you already have?

right now 12 tiger barbs about 1'' each. 75 gal still in cycle

 

A fire mouth would be ok. Are there any other fish you like?

 

I was thinking a species tank with 25-30 as recommended from some helpful people on here. all due to the fact I am new at this, now I have tigers and they pick on everyone. don't get me wrong they are beautiful fish and we love how they school and follow us as we walk by. checking my options before I stock more after I cycle

I came a across these cichlids and they are growing on me. do you need a few of them or just 1

 

The fire mouths? Only one. I wouldn't do more than one.

 

I would do two at least two firemouths in a 75 gal. They're social, and having two is better than one. If they pair, the tiger barbs should be fine as long as they don't bother them.

There are lots of other cichlids that will work. As long as the barbs are in a large enough group, you're pretty open to stock on the bottom. You could do Bolivian rams, kribs, firemouths, convicts, jewel cichlids, etc.

 

Thanks Texas. I really like those bolivian rams. my 12 tigers right now are very calm, not chasing or nipping each other. they school together and just swim about the tank. how many rams with how many tigers would you or anyone suggest?

 

I have 14 with my ram and they leave him alone.

 

texas said bolivian ram, what about the german ram?

 

texas said bolivian ram, what about the german ram?

They won't work. There's not enough temp overlap between them. Max temp for tiger barbs is 79 F and I'd keep GBRs around 80 F. You don't want to keep fish permanently at the upper end of their range, so they're not temp compatible.

 

so do I go with 1 or 2 bolivian rams? still not sure what I'm doing but this seems like a good option. I've heard some fish you want as a pair, male female or just 2? not sure I'm into this whole having baby thing. this refers to any fish

 

You can just get one then!