Nitrite in my 55 gal picture
- Thread starter k9blackshepherd
- Start date
If you still have ammonia or nitrite it is not ready to add more fish. Your bacterial colonies are still trying to catch up to the first fish. Once a tank is fully cycled adding fish is no big deal at all as they adjust quickly but until that has happened adding anything (especially large bioload fish like plecos) will only add bioload to a system that is not ready for it and cause necessary harm to the current fish in the tank.
You can cycle without fish but it takes longer than if you had some in there. You need some ammonia build up to start your bacteria growth. Cycling with nice and expensive fish is not advised. It is possible lol, Ive done it before but I was doing daily 70% water changes for like a month.
