Spikes normal after stocking?

I added two clown fish and two small hermit crabs to my new (but well cycled tank) today. There had been nothing in it previously.

Right before putting livestock in it, it's levels were sitting at darn near perfect. I put the stuff in it this afternoon and this evening there has been a spike in nitrites and nitrates, although the ammonia level seems to remain unchanged. Is this pretty normal and will it likely level out on it's own or should I be keeping a very close eye on it? At the moment i'm only using 5 in 1 test strips to test levels (and a separate one for ammonia) According to the strips, the levels are not quite yet dangerous/unsafe but they seem to be real close.

This is the first time I've done this so I'm nervous. Any advice or calming words of wisdom? lol thanks!

 

I should add that at this point (and as far as I can tell) the fish seem to be happy and showing no signs of discomfort. They are in a 12 gal nano.

 

There's normally a small spike when you put in the first fish. I would hold off on feeding for a couple days, to give the bacteria a chance to catch up.

 

the spike is normal. as long as the nitrites don't get too much higher, you'll be fine. don't add anything else for a while.

 

You say that your tank is well cycled, what did you use to cycle your tank and for how long?
With nothing in your tank, your tank really won't cycle, unless you use uncured liverock or a dead shrimp etc.
You will experience elevated levels in ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, eventually with the increased bioload. You Clowns should do fine, but I am worried about your hermit since they are more delicate to changing levels associated with the nitrogen cycle.

 

First. Yes you will get a small spike. This is the reason we only add one fish at a time several weeks apart. Particularly in the beginning when the tank is not well cycled (well cycled takes about a year - at which point I'd be surprised if any new addition caused a spike).

Second. You are not testing your parameters at all. Not even a little bit. Test strips are slightly less accurate than guessing.

Based on that, I would think you don't know if you're cycled and you don't know if there was a spike. Not really.

Throw the strips away and get a liquid test kit. Search API test kit for some good suggestions there.