Effect of too many fish

Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden, the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded. This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been removed.

Jim

My freshwater tanks are constantly above the one fish-inch per gallon
density. I change 20% of my water weekly. I keep the bottom full of
live plants and scavangers. I change filter bags rarely, but once a
month or two I clean out the bulk of the captured stuff with tank
temperature water. I change charcoal maybe in 3 months.

In short by not over feeding ( I feed all my fish with "Tetra Min"
flakes), having healthy live plants, regular water changes and keeping
the water temperature between 78 and 80 degrees.

I am very happy with my fish. They sometimes bunch up in swarms and
other times I have to look for them as they swim in the vegetation.
No bullying, good color and too many fry.

I really question "common knowledge" but do keep a close eye for signs
that I am being too careless. I have 5 tanks ranging from 10 to 75
gallons. The 75 gallon I have had over one year, the others around 9
months. The tanks went through the cycling woes, a bit of early ich,
but nothing bad in the last 6 months.



On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:03:39 +0800, "Jim Morcombe"
wrote:

Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden, the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded. This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been removed.

Jim

"Jim Morcombe" wrote in message
...
Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish
are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead
quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria
that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish
and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't
are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in
anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and
produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts
Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from
Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be
dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering
the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it
oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and
killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead
at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over
the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the
excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly
begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden,
the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia
level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded.
This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the
increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been
removed.

Jim

I think you have this reasonably correct. There are also bacteria
seeding products, ammonia locking products and aquarium salt will help
fish deal with nitrites. I'd add that the amount of nitrifying bacteria
is directly functional to the amount of food being dropped in (the fish
are just a middleman, processing it to their waste products), so if you
double your fish load, but still feed the same amount, your nitrogen
chain is still very stable. Also the nitrites are being processed into
NO3 (nitrates). Beware that NO3 is a 'silent' killer. Fish exposed to
water shock of greater than 40ppm NO3 will exhibit varying degrees of
discomfort, and the smaller the fish, the more likely the shock will be
fatal, either directly, or indirectly through Ich or some other disease.
Nitrate shock is what kills new arrivals (when the rest of your fish are
fine). IME, death occurs on or before the 3rd day.

NetMax

Dick

I have firmly reached the opinion that a stable over-stocked aquaroum is far
better than an aquarium that has a variable level of stocking.

I think that if you slowly raise the number of fish, the tank will slowly
grow to cope with it.

I also think that it depends on why you keep an aquarium.

If you are trying to breed something, then you need to be careful on
stocking levels.

If you want a good-looking and fun aquarium that is interesting to watch,
then over-stocking is sometimes a good idea. It forces fish to interact in
ways you may not see otherwise.

Jim

Dick wrote in message
...
My freshwater tanks are constantly above the one fish-inch per gallon
density. I change 20% of my water weekly. I keep the bottom full of
live plants and scavangers. I change filter bags rarely, but once a
month or two I clean out the bulk of the captured stuff with tank
temperature water. I change charcoal maybe in 3 months.

In short by not over feeding ( I feed all my fish with "Tetra Min"
flakes), having healthy live plants, regular water changes and keeping
the water temperature between 78 and 80 degrees.

I am very happy with my fish. They sometimes bunch up in swarms and
other times I have to look for them as they swim in the vegetation.
No bullying, good color and too many fry.

I really question "common knowledge" but do keep a close eye for signs
that I am being too careless. I have 5 tanks ranging from 10 to 75
gallons. The 75 gallon I have had over one year, the others around 9
months. The tanks went through the cycling woes, a bit of early ich,
but nothing bad in the last 6 months.



On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:03:39 +0800, "Jim Morcombe"
wrote:

Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria
that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in
anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from
Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it
oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead
at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over
the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the
excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly
begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden,
the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia
level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded.
This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the
increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been
removed.

Jim

"Jim Morcombe" wrote in message
...
Dick

I have firmly reached the opinion that a stable over-stocked aquaroum
is far
better than an aquarium that has a variable level of stocking.

I think that if you slowly raise the number of fish, the tank will
slowly
grow to cope with it.

I also think that it depends on why you keep an aquarium.

If you are trying to breed something, then you need to be careful on
stocking levels.

If you want a good-looking and fun aquarium that is interesting to
watch,
then over-stocking is sometimes a good idea. It forces fish to
interact in
ways you may not see otherwise.

Jim

oooh, forcing fish interaction....controversial stuff. I'm a firm
believer in that as soon as you get the basics down, research &
experiment, with discretion.

On overstocking, I once filled a 135g with a box of Platys. These are
fish which didn't mind being a little crowded. The tank was aged, lots
of petrified wood (keeping the water a little hard just like Platys
prefer), Java ferns and I kept a bit of salt in the water. Filtration
was with two 404s, connected to UGF plates covered by river stones
(always vacuuming the bottom that way). Platys were about 1-1/2 inches
long when they went in. I lost about 4 to Ich (and they were the only
ones who ever showed any symptoms) and about a dozen to bacterial
infections they brought with them (over about 4 months, symptom was
wasting away). The rest of them were fine, excellent activity, appetite
and tons of babies. Because my change in stocking level was abrupt (I
went from zero to emptying a box of fish in there), we did do a lot of
water changes, and we were testing the water twice a day for a month.

There are 900 Platys in a box, do the math ;~) We emptied the tank when
the Platys were becoming too difficult to catch to sell (there were about
80 left).

ps: this was a commercial tank, under almost continuous observation,
don't try this at home.
NetMax

I worried early on when the tanks grew in population, some due to
surviving babies, some due to stupid ordering. (I buy everything over
the internet) I haven't ordered new fish for over 6 months, so I
think this is part of my tanks' stability. The fry increase in size
slowly probably helps.

Glad to have your view.

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 12:13:38 +0800, "Jim Morcombe"
wrote:

Dick

I have firmly reached the opinion that a stable over-stocked aquaroum is far
better than an aquarium that has a variable level of stocking.

I think that if you slowly raise the number of fish, the tank will slowly
grow to cope with it.

I also think that it depends on why you keep an aquarium.

If you are trying to breed something, then you need to be careful on
stocking levels.

If you want a good-looking and fun aquarium that is interesting to watch,
then over-stocking is sometimes a good idea. It forces fish to interact in
ways you may not see otherwise.

Jim

Dick wrote in message
.. .
My freshwater tanks are constantly above the one fish-inch per gallon
density. I change 20% of my water weekly. I keep the bottom full of
live plants and scavangers. I change filter bags rarely, but once a
month or two I clean out the bulk of the captured stuff with tank
temperature water. I change charcoal maybe in 3 months.

In short by not over feeding ( I feed all my fish with "Tetra Min"
flakes), having healthy live plants, regular water changes and keeping
the water temperature between 78 and 80 degrees.

I am very happy with my fish. They sometimes bunch up in swarms and
other times I have to look for them as they swim in the vegetation.
No bullying, good color and too many fry.

I really question "common knowledge" but do keep a close eye for signs
that I am being too careless. I have 5 tanks ranging from 10 to 75
gallons. The 75 gallon I have had over one year, the others around 9
months. The tanks went through the cycling woes, a bit of early ich,
but nothing bad in the last 6 months.



On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:03:39 +0800, "Jim Morcombe"
wrote:

Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria
that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in
anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from
Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it
oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead
at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over
the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the
excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly
begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden,
the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia
level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded.
This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the
increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been
removed.

Jim

--

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Jim Morcombe" wrote in message
...
Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish
are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead
quickly.

Once comment: if you keep the pH below 7.2 or so, almost all
the ammonia is present as ammonium (the NH4+ ion of ammonia) instead
of as "real" ammonia (NH3). Ammonium is much less toxic than ammonia.
But, of course, once the ammonium (or ammonia) get converted to nitrite,
the fish will die of the nitrite spike...

Beware that NO3 is a 'silent' killer. Fish exposed to
water shock of greater than 40ppm NO3 will exhibit varying degrees of
discomfort, and the smaller the fish, the more likely the shock will be
fatal, either directly, or indirectly through Ich or some other disease.
Nitrate shock is what kills new arrivals (when the rest of your fish are
fine). IME, death occurs on or before the 3rd day.


Interesting -- I didn't know that. Might help to explain why I had the
odd inexplicable death among new arrivals. (My tank was at zero nitrates
for quite a while before I wised up and started dosing nitrates -- I
now keep nitrates at around 10-15ppm.) I suspect that 40ppm or more
wouldn't be unusual in many fish shops. I think I'll test the water I bring
the fish home in next time. Might learn something new that way.

Now, here is the real question: say I just bought a bunch of fish
and they are swimming in 60ppm nitrate. Now, how do I get those
into my 10ppm tank without killing them? I normally acclimatise
new arrivals over about an hour, gradually adding small amounts
of tank water to the bag and then transfer the fish. But I suspect
that an hour is too short to overcome a 50ppm change in nitrates...

Cheers,

Michi.

"Michi Henning" wrote in message
...


--

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Jim Morcombe" wrote in message
...
Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most
fish
are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead
quickly.

Once comment: if you keep the pH below 7.2 or so, almost all
the ammonia is present as ammonium (the NH4+ ion of ammonia) instead
of as "real" ammonia (NH3). Ammonium is much less toxic than ammonia.
But, of course, once the ammonium (or ammonia) get converted to
nitrite,
the fish will die of the nitrite spike...

Beware that NO3 is a 'silent' killer. Fish exposed to
water shock of greater than 40ppm NO3 will exhibit varying degrees of
discomfort, and the smaller the fish, the more likely the shock will
be
fatal, either directly, or indirectly through Ich or some other
disease.
Nitrate shock is what kills new arrivals (when the rest of your fish
are
fine). IME, death occurs on or before the 3rd day.


Interesting -- I didn't know that. Might help to explain why I had the
odd inexplicable death among new arrivals. (My tank was at zero
nitrates
for quite a while before I wised up and started dosing nitrates -- I
now keep nitrates at around 10-15ppm.) I suspect that 40ppm or more
wouldn't be unusual in many fish shops. I think I'll test the water I
bring
the fish home in next time. Might learn something new that way.

Now, here is the real question: say I just bought a bunch of fish
and they are swimming in 60ppm nitrate. Now, how do I get those
into my 10ppm tank without killing them? I normally acclimatise
new arrivals over about an hour, gradually adding small amounts
of tank water to the bag and then transfer the fish. But I suspect
that an hour is too short to overcome a 50ppm change in nitrates...

Cheers,

Michi.

Good question. A lot depends on the cost of the fish, the size of the
fish and the difference in water parameters. The smaller or more
expensive, or the greater the difference, the slower you want to
acclimate them. Also the conversion from hard water to soft water is
harder than the reverse.

If I'm buying a $100 fish, I show up with a styrofoam box. Inside the
box they put 1 bag of water with the fish, and 3 or 4 bags of only water.
The extra water bags helps keep the temperature uniform while travelling,
and I use it to fill a small aquarium about 50%. This quarantine
aquarium has a small submerged filter, and a small submerged heater (this
allows me to have the water level as low as I like, which often happens
when I'm using partial LFS water to acclimate. Be sure to water test the
LFS water when you get home (from the bag with no fish, as the fish bag
will be skewed due to the CO2 and ammonia released). For 2-3 days, I try
to do nothing, then over the next few days, I start adding my tank/source
water. Your % of tank/source water depends on your tank conditions and
where you want to eventually end up. Laborious.. yes, and it needs the
patience of a saint, but it is very successful. I hope this gives you
some ideas.

cheers
NetMax

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

If I'm buying a $100 fish, I show up with a styrofoam box. Inside the
box they put 1 bag of water with the fish, and 3 or 4 bags of only water.
The extra water bags helps keep the temperature uniform while travelling,
and I use it to fill a small aquarium about 50%. This quarantine
aquarium has a small submerged filter, and a small submerged heater (this
allows me to have the water level as low as I like, which often happens
when I'm using partial LFS water to acclimate. Be sure to water test the
LFS water when you get home (from the bag with no fish, as the fish bag
will be skewed due to the CO2 and ammonia released). For 2-3 days, I try
to do nothing, then over the next few days, I start adding my tank/source
water. Your % of tank/source water depends on your tank conditions and
where you want to eventually end up. Laborious.. yes, and it needs the
patience of a saint, but it is very successful. I hope this gives you
some ideas.

Yes it does, thanks! Now all I have to do is work out whether I'm enough
of a saint to actually to this... :-)

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

I always keep as many plants in a tank as I can. This seems to help with
the nitrates, but not with the nitrites.

I do this because I like plants and the fish like the plants.

I have bought fish from people that call themselves breeders and they have
completely empty tanks except for the fish. I couldn't ever do this.

Mind you, its pretty hard to catch fish in my tanks. It becomes quite a
game with many people involved everytime we want to catch something.
Invariably someone gets excited and destroys a plant or something just to
catch the fish.

Jim


NetMax wrote in message
.. .

"Jim Morcombe" wrote in message
...
Comments invited. Do I have this right?

I am "often" forced to have too many fish in a tank for a while.

When you add a heap of fish, the ammonia level increases. Most fish
are
quite tolerant of high levels of amonia, while others drop dead
quickly.

After a while, the additional ammonia provides nutrition for bacteria
that
convert amonia into nitrites. This causes these bacteria to flourish
and
for the levels of nitrites to increase.

Most fish drop dead at the appearance of nitrites. (Those that don't
are
the type of fish that are very cheap, just because they thrive in
anything).

When fish or plants die and are left in the tank, they decay and
produce
ammonia.

If fish die from Nitrite poisoning, then this means there are plenty of
bacteria present for converting ammonia into nitrites and not enough
bacteria that convert Nitrites into Nitrates. Hence the decaying fish
quickly add to the over-abundance of Nitrites, killing more fish.

As the Nitrite level grows, the amount of bacteria that converts
Nitrites
into Nitrates also grows. As it grows, the rate of conversion from
Nitrites
to Nitrates also increases. Unfortunately, most of the fish will be
dead
before the Nitrite to Nitrate conversion process can beging lowering
the
Nitrite levels.

All we can do to help is frequent water changes and remove dead fish.

Now, when you add extra fish for a dew days and then remove them, it
oftens
appears that you have escaped without upsetting your aquarium and
killing
fish. However, two weeks later, your remaining fish start to drop dead
at
an incredible rate.

This is because there has been a build up in the level of ammonia over
the
time the aquarium was over-stocked. This ammonia remains after the
excess
fish are removed. The bacteria to convert this into Nitrites slowly
begins
to flourish and to convert the ammonia into Nitrites. All of a sudden,
the
Nitrite levels reach the point of toxidity - well before the ammoinia
level
has dropped to normal - and death strikes.

The solution (other than not over-stocking) is:
1. severely underfeed the fish during the time they are over crowded.
This
means less fish poop and no leftover food to decompose. Hence the
increase
in Ammonia levels is kept to a minimum.
2. daily water changes while over stocked
3. continue water changes for two weeks after extra fish have been
removed.

Jim

I think you have this reasonably correct. There are also bacteria
seeding products, ammonia locking products and aquarium salt will help
fish deal with nitrites. I'd add that the amount of nitrifying bacteria
is directly functional to the amount of food being dropped in (the fish
are just a middleman, processing it to their waste products), so if you
double your fish load, but still feed the same amount, your nitrogen
chain is still very stable. Also the nitrites are being processed into
NO3 (nitrates). Beware that NO3 is a 'silent' killer. Fish exposed to
water shock of greater than 40ppm NO3 will exhibit varying degrees of
discomfort, and the smaller the fish, the more likely the shock will be
fatal, either directly, or indirectly through Ich or some other disease.
Nitrate shock is what kills new arrivals (when the rest of your fish are
fine). IME, death occurs on or before the 3rd day.

NetMax