Am I Over Stocking?

[Spacecloud]

I've just been browsing through the posts on this site and it seems that a lot of people have commented on making sure that the tanks aren't over stocked.

I have a 55lt (2') Aquarium. (Sorry I don't know what that is in gallons, if someone could convert it I would appriciate it)
I have 18 fish, most are only small:
7 Neon Tetras (4 Neon, 3 Gold Neon)
3 Platys
3 Black Widow Tetras
1 Plec (4inches)
1 Striped Dora
1 Clown Loach
1 Danios
1 Guppy

I have had aquariums for over 10 years and always been successful in keeping fish. The fish in this tank are perfectly happy, feed well and look healthy.

I was just wondering what your opinions are?? Weather people think my tank is over stocked, and what size tank you would recommend. If I had the choice I would have a much bigger tank but unfortunately living with the parents and lack of space means another bigger tank is out of the question.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Gosh, I misread that, didn't I? I thought it said 55 gallons, not litres. Previous comment withdrawn

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

you probably arnt over stocked but i dont really know when to draw the line, however i can tell you a couple of problems with you tank.

black widow tetras need to be in a shoal, about 6 or seven should be fine,
the plec is most likely a common and will grow to big for your tank,
ive never heard of a striped dora,
you need more than one clown loach and they will grow too big for your tank,
what kind of danio is it and it also needs to be in a shoal,

how long has the tank been set up?

 

[paul_219]

well i guess its overstocked and some fish must be in groups i guess like the clown loach. What type of pleco do u have in the tank.

 

[Spacecloud]

Ok....The Plec is a SailFin Plec,
The Clown loach is my second one, I had my first (on its own) for 3 years. This one is fairly new and I've had him for about 6 months. He seems really hapy and has his own hiding place in the tank.

I would prefer shoals. However the danio, guppy and black widows are older survivers of a shoal, I then buy different fish to replace them so I've ended up with random, single fish!!

The 'striped dora' is the name my lfs used for a stripy catfish. I have no idea if this is its correct name (it is a catfish with horizontal brown stripes).

I used to have a 3ft tank but my parents smashed it (by accident, the book case fell onto it and smashed the cracked the glass) when I was away doing my student thing!! Most the fish survive the ordeal though!!

 

[SamUK]

clown loaches need a tank of about 90 gallons minimum altho they do take a couple of years to get a good size.


there also alot happier when in a group.



your sailfin plec will grow to 2ft in length and should be in a 180g.


get rid of those and u mite have space to get the shoaling fish's numbers up.

 

[Spacecloud]

umm....Theres no way I could get rid of my plec!! He's great and I need an algae eater. If he gets too big he'll go in a 6ft tank at college.

Thanx for everyones comments

 

[Darkmoon Bettas]

umm....Theres no way I could get rid of my plec!! He's great and I need an algae eater. If he gets too big he'll go in a 6ft tank at college.

Thanx for everyones comments

1) You NEVER "need" an algae eater. The ONLY 100% reliable, works-for-everyone-guaranteed way of getting rid of algae is this:

You can try all the notions, potions, fish, snails, and shrimp you want, but the only surefire way to control/prevent aglae is by managing your water chemistry, and the only equally surefire way to remove it is good old "elbow grease", scrubbing it off yourself. Your plec will eat less and less algae as he gets bigger (he'll start going for fish food, etc), particularly algae on plants and fixtures, and produce more and more waste, and eventually he won't be "worth it" in terms of bio-load to the tank.

2) Clown loaches need to be in groups of at LEAST 5, more the merrier. And they get, well, HUGE.

This particular loach is 11.5 inches (29cm) long. A school of 5 of those monsters wouldn't fit in anybody's average tanks.

3) I understand the "leftover" fish being parts of schools where their mates died. This happens to all of us. But if you're unable or unwilling to replace their shoalmates, it would be more humane for you to find another fishkeeper with that species, or a LFS that takes fish in (for donation) and take your animals there so they can be in an enviornment more suitable for them.

 

[Spacecloud]

They are happy, healthy fish so they will stay in my tank. I was just curious as to weather I am stocking the correct amounts of fish for future referance.

That clown loach is very impressive. If my loach, plec or any other fish got even half that size I would re-home them!

 

[ant0]

55 litres is around 14US gallons, you are way overstocked there

Get rid of the single danio - i had a single one of these and it was fin nipping constantly - had to euthanise in the end poor thing

the numbers of tetras you have arent ideal - you want 5 of each ideally more so i'd get rid of one group of them, that tank isnt big enough for 3 schools

keeping a clown loach firstly on its own and seconly in a 14 gallon tank is cruel. Needs rehoming asap i'm affraid. You could consider replacing him with 4/5 small corydoras

The plec will need to go too, they get huge

Just my opinion, i'm sure others will agree though...

 

[Spacecloud]

Yeah, I see your point and definately appriciate the advice but these fish seem fine as they are, they all feed well, look healthy, active, get along well. The only trouble I have had is with an aggressive sucking loach which has now been re-homed.

I don't have a high mortality rate and considering all the above pionts the only reason I would be getting rid of the fish is to follow the 'official fish keeping rules'

My point is that I think every fish keeper 'knows' their own fish, and can instantly tell if a fish is unhappy and behaving unusually. The clown loach has its own little home in the tank and seems fine being there on it's own. Although obviously i can't say 100% that my fish are 'happy' (who can?) but I can look for the signs like everyone else does and I don't think moving them and stressing them will be beneficial at this stage.

Don't get me wrong, it is great to have all this advice for when I eventually may need to re-stock!! And If I ever see signs that my fish are stressed then I will do something about it.

 

[oddball_lover]

Striped dora = is this the little fella?

Planet Catfish - Striped Dora

 

[vancouver]

People aren't going to be very willing to help you again when you ignore everyone's advice.

There is no way the danio or clown loach are happy being by themselves, and realistically the black skirts are probably not too comfortable either.

If your tank really is only 14 gallons, you are overstocked.

 

[Spacecloud]

Striped dora = is this the little fella?

Planet Catfish - Striped Dora

Yep, thats him. Nice isn't he!

 

[gsta13]

People aren't going to be very willing to help you again when you ignore everyone's advice.

There is no way the danio or clown loach are happy being by themselves, and realistically the black skirts are probably not too comfortable either.

If your tank really is only 14 gallons, you are overstocked.

aye i think he is right mate, im not telling you what to do but the people here are giving there advice and trying to help you and your fish out, i doubt you would have asked the question if you didnt care about yor fish however being told you need to lose some fish isnt easy, you need to get rid of some mate.
Greg