Am I Overcrowding?

[Crossfire]

Please tell me if i'm overcrowdin my 20 US gallon tank!

4-6 Neon Tetras
2 Cockatoo Cichlids
6 GloFish (Zebra Danios)
2-3 Sparkling Gouramis
3 Otocinclus
1 Bristlenose Pleco

 

[Fish Guy]

I would take out the danios and BN.

 

[Crossfire]

The only reason i have danios is because i currently have a 5 gallon tank with two glofish and a otto and i want them to have a group to shoal with a to be secure. I wanted the bristlenose because the ottos only eat certain types of algae and the bristlenose eats all kinds of algae.......

 

[This Old Spouse]

You've got waaaay too many fish in a 20g! I'm not even sure what to recommend, except to start shopping for a 55g ...

And do you have 4, 5 or 6 tetras, and 2 or 3 sparkling gouramis??

 

[Crossfire]

You've got waaaay too many fish in a 20g! I'm not even sure what to recommend, except to start shopping for a 55g ...

And do you have 4, 5 or 6 tetras, and 2 or 3 sparkling gouramis??

i could always get rid of the cichlids and bristlenose. I was planning on getting 1 male sparkler and 2 female but if space is an issue i can get a male and female.

 

[Fish Guy]

Maybe go with: 6 Danios, 3 Sparkling gouramis, 3 ottos, 1 BN.

 

[Crossfire]

I think this is what i'll do.

6 Neon Tetras
6 GloFish
3 Ottos
3 Sparkling Gouramis

The sparklers are notoriously short-lived, about 2 years max. When I've had my fun with them and they've peacefully kicked the bucket, i'll get the pair of cockatoo cichlids. And I think once my danios start dying off I wont replace them. How's that?

 

[Crossfire]

I went to a site were they told you the maximum amount of inches of fish to be kept in the size of a tank given. I put in the dimensions of my 20 gallon (30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 12 3/4) and it gave me the results that my tank had a surface area of 378.125in and that my tank would be able to support a maximum of 32 inches of slender bodied fish (small tetras, small barbs, danios, etc) and a maximum of 19 inches of full bodied fish (goldfish, cichlids over 5 inches, etc) By going on what there standards are, the only fulln bodied fish i would have is the bristlenos pleco all others are classified as slender-bodied. Here's the site if you want to check credibility

 

[Tolak]

Standard 20 long, keep up on water quality & stocking should be fine.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Then why did you ask "Am I Overcrowding?"

You need to keep in mind that fish generally grow larger than the size you first acquired them. Just saying.

 

[Crossfire]

Then why did you ask "Am I Overcrowding?"

You need to keep in mind that fish generally grow larger than the size you first acquired them. Just saying.

I am aware of all the adult sizes of all the fish i want to get and i've taken that into serious concern. I asked if i was overcrowding because I am a sort-of beginner in keeping tropical freshwater tanks and I wanted the fish to live the happiest and healthiest they can be, not overcrowded and unhappy. The first tank i had was when i was 6 and it was my parents and its was about a 15 gallon tank with only neon tetras in it...like 30 neon tetras. I currently have a crappy little 5 gallon with my 2 glofish and otto cat and i decided that the poor fellows needed a bigger home and some friends. I just wanted advice from advanced fish keepers is all...

 

[This Old Spouse]

It helps to know all the facts!

From your OP it looked like you already had all those fish. I see now that you're doing the good research to find out who and how many would be happy together. For that, kudos! Please forgive me if I snapped a bit before.

Just seen too many posts from people who throw a whole bunch of fish into a tiny tank then wonder what's wrong.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do! And then of course, post lots of pics!

 

[Crossfire]

It helps to know all the facts!

From your OP it looked like you already had all those fish. I see now that you're doing the good research to find out who and how many would be happy together. For that, kudos! Please forgive me if I snapped a bit before.

Just seen too many posts from people who throw a whole bunch of fish into a tiny tank then wonder what's wrong.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do! And then of course, post lots of pics!

Don't be sorry, i understand that you have to handle with newbs like me I got this book from my library that is giving me week by week instructions on setting it up and making sure it has cycled 8 weeks without fish. It also gives you a list of what fish to introduce first and how many. I'm even planning on doing like 15-20% water changes every week. I've been researching this for like a year now, i just want to get it over with The only thing keeping me back is i need to buy a stand, and they're like $200... After that i have to see if my LFS even sells the fish i've chosen...and when its all done i promise to post lost of pics!

 

[Crossfire]

Hehehee....It's funny going back and looking at how miserable and confused I was as a beginner

 

[thereverendturtle]

Hell, I was wondering what was going on.