Am I overstocked?

[knvb7741]

hey guys ,

I have a 60 us gallon tank and it currently holds....
7 albino pristella tetras
1 glowlight tetra
1 hatchet fish
3 cories julii and some other similar sized one
1 platinum gourami
1 gold gourami
1 swordtail
1 emperor tetra
1 pleco
3 leopard danios
1 keyhole chiclid
4 black phantom tetras

I'm taking a trip to the LFS tomorrow and i would like to get more of those guys that arent in shoals and should be so tomorrow i was thinking of maybe getting 3 danios and at least 2 cories would that be ok or am i overstocked already? Thanks guys.

 

[blue_ram]

Couple of things:

1) What type of pleco is it? If it's a commnon pleco, then you need at least 90gallon to keep it. Maximum size for a common pleco is 24", although I've never seen one over 14".
2) I don't know much about keyhole cichlid, but most cichlid get pretty big and agressive. If you want a community cichlid, get angel fish, discus, or dwarf cichlids.
3) I've never heard of pristella barbs. pristella tetra maybe, but not pristella barb.
4) Gouramis tend to get territorial, as are cichlid. In general, most gouramis make good community tank fish as long as there are no other gouramis.
5) How long has your tank been running? Has it been at least 3 months? If the tank is new, I would test it for ammonia, and nitrate before adding anymore fish. Otherwise, you may wind up losing quite a few fish.

 

[freshmike]

IMO you will be fine with any pleco, you need someone to do your dirty work for you, right? As for keyholes, they are calm, somewhat like rams and kribs from what I have read....not that rams and kribs are altogether calm or anything, but very docile compared to an african. I would say as long as your filtration and tank maintenence are up to par, then you shouldn't have too much to worry about.

Good luck.

 

[freshmike]

The cycling info on this site.

 

[jflowers]

Hi

If you have followed the above advice and find you can add more, [EDIT just re read your existing fish DOH! disregard the rest of this sentance] dont just add two corys, 4 would be better as they are social fish and like the company of thier own kind. I have a pair of keyholes and the only agresion I have seen is from the male to the female and then its only to chase her off now and again. Oh and your existing danios will love you for getting more. I started with three and they were pretty boring, after adding the others they are the clowns of the tank, they play tag all day long

Jon

 

[sylvia]

I would be more concerned with increasing the non-existant shoal size for the emperor tetra (though they don't realy shoal they like company), the glowlight tetra and deffinately the hatchet fish... they need a shoal. I don't think the pleco is a good idea as it will result in your tank being over-stocked once full grown. The keyhole cichlid is peaceful and with a max size of 4 inches should be ok. Watch the gouramies if they are both male - otherwise they should get along fine.

 

[knvb7741]

I have been keeping that tank for a year now. My filtration is an aquaclear 300 I know all of those fish have to be in shoals but what I was wondering if after I get them in schools I can get some new kinds of fish. Thanks for all your help though

 

[enchanted]

knvb7741,
The pleco is an issue to an extent. On average a common pleco gets to around 12" to 15" in an aquarium. Although this is fine for your tank in size it will create stocking problems for you overall in adding more fish and if you choose to plant the tank he will definitely tear up all the plants as he grows.

If your LFS will take him and give you a credit I would recommend looking into doing that and maybe getting a few otos or bristlenose plecs. This will open up a lot more room for you in the stocking area.

For schools you need to figure that 5+ is a small school and usually 6 to 7 is recommended. Based of what you have there you will be pretty much fully stocked even after removing the common pleco. If you are keen on other fish then you may want to consider changing your stocking a little and having less variations of schooling fish for the time. I noticed you only have 1 of two different tetra varieties, maybe your LFS would take one or both of them allowing you more options?

 

[knvb7741]

Hey guys,

I understand that my common pleco will get huge, I plan on taking him back when he gets too big. Well I went to the LFS and got 3 more cories and 3 more glowlights. Next time I go I will get some more hatchets and danios.

 

[sylvia]

If you want to add those hatchets and danios - take the pleco back before you do. I wouldn't wait for it to grow. You wont be able to add any other fish once you've increased all the school sizes.