am i overstocked?

[Johnny V]

hiya, i was just wondering if i was overstocked, i have -ahem- 1 baby black ghost knife, 1 african butterfly fish, 1 mosaic gar, 3 angels, 6 tigerbarbs, 1 betta, 2 otto cats, 2 snails, 1 dragon goby, 1 albino cory cat. its a 55 gallon tank that is wayyyy over filtered. The filter is huge. My nitrates/nitrites are negligible. There is absolutely no aggression in the tank, i keep everybody well fed on toughies and flake food and spirulina.

 

[canarsie11]

What kind of filter?

What is exact water results?

 

[Johnny V]

I dont know the name of the filter, or how many gallons runs through it per hour, but the water is pushed through 2 carbon pads, 2 filter pads, 2 one gallon jugs worth of bioballs, a sponge, and another sponge. It's a pain in the butt to clean

The amonia and nitrites are at 0, i haven't tested for nitrates in 2 weeks or so but I assume they are at zeroish as well.

 

[Johnny V]

hahaha, i guess it would have been easier to say its a large wetdry trickle filter

 

[wetwetwet]

The amonia and nitrites are at 0, i haven't tested for nitrates in 2 weeks or so but I assume they are at zeroish as well.

Hello mate,

Nitrate is the final product of the cycle and is only removed by water changes and used to a small extent by plants - so worth keeping an eye on the ammount in your tank...

As far as being overstocked - no - but how long has the tank been set up?



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[STEVIE00]

just keep a eye on u water chemistry

 

[Johnny V]

i check the nitrates once a monthish... i know im lazy, but seeing as I change the water by hand (still havent bought my python yet... ) every week, i figure im entitled to slack on the nitrate checking . I've had it set up for 3 and a half months now. The only deaths (besides my gar eating 15 neons in one night... ) have been a 'freshwater eel' that turned out to be brackish, and by the time i realized and switched him to another tank, he was already stressed and not eating. But it's good to know that it's not overstocked. Do you think there is room for any more fish...? As in... 5 more tiger barbs?

 

[wrs]

i am supprised no one has said anything, but you have a terrible selection of fish.

that butterfly fish should not be kept with the cory, angels, or tigar barbs. The ghost knife either. No idea about the gar, and it could have been the angels that ate the neons, they eat them in the wild.

You really should have resurched the fish you got before you purchased them. And that cory needs to be in a school of 6 or more. Same with the ottos. And that poor betta! those barbs are fin nippers and will rip it to peices! Just like the angels, and tetras, and soon i bet that gar will as well. And a 55 gallon is way to big for a betta! that will shorten its life! Get it a small 5 gallon tank or something.

You should really return some fish.

Sorry, but someone had to tell you. In the long run you will be overstocked because the fish get big, but then maybe not because they will all get eaten

 

[Johnny V]

Imho i think you are wrong. Now, im not being aggressive or anything, but... the ottos (from what ive been told by my lfs owner and my own experience) do not have to be kept in a group of 6 or more. It was the gar that ate the neons, the angel fish are really small. The african butterfly fish shouldn't be kept with them? Thats news to me, I dont see why not. I've never seen him attack the other fish, infact, he'll sometimes swim side by side with the betta and gobble up fish food together. The barbs never leave their little forest, they never nip anyone but themselves. The betta is king of the small fishes and chases the angels and barbs around like nothing. His tail is huge and unnipped. (I wish i still had my digi camera) There is absolutely no aggression in my tank. Except for the gar eating the toughies i feed him, and the betta occasionaly chasing the barbs and angels from the food i drop in. Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning your fishy experitise, in fact, quite the contrary. thanks for your opinion. But I have done extensive research as too which fish I was going to put in the tank. Research, and my own fish keeping experiance told me that the fish in the tank would be very compatable. And they are. btw, Personally, I dont believe in the whole, bettas need to be by themselves in a tiny tank, theory. I've kept bettas as community fish before and they do perfectly well as far as im concerned. But again, your opinions are very welcome, and it's good to know that people on this website are so forthcome with their own seperate opinions. And dont waste any time on meaningless tact jk thanks tho

 

[Cossack1977]

Each tank is different.

In my tank i have:

Angels
Goramis
Hatchets
Ornate tetras
Black widow tetras
siamese flying foxs
rainbow shark
brisstle nose
cory's
Pictus catfish
black ghost knives
upside down catfish.

They all get along fine.
Have done for over 4 months in this tnak and 12mths in my older smaller tank

Alot of people jump up and down and say you cant put this fish with that without ever trying. They read one or two articles and take it as the truth.

The only prob i can see is the betta with the barbs and the lonly cory. The Gar is prob not the best choice of fish with those tank mates either. Your better putting in more cory's than barbs otherwise you will have alot of fin nipping issues

I still have a betta in a different tank with angels and gouramis and he has beeen fine for over a year. No fin nipping. no aggresion and no he doesnt hide he probably rules the roost.

 

[sylvia]

"a 55 gallon is way to big for a betta! that will shorten its life"

wrs, though I agree with most of what you have said, I just have to comment on this.

No amount of water could be 'too big' for a betta. Bettas don't spend their lives in 5 gallon puddles in the wild. I often see people say large volumes will shorten a bettas life. The issue here is not the tank size - it is the tank-mates. I am certain that extra room to stretch your fins and get a chance to actualy swim around is not going to cause harm to a betta. (Of course things like a very strong current or difficulty in finding food could be associated with a larger tank, but these things aside, the volume of water in itself should be a good thing for the betta as it makes for a more stable, more natural environment and a chance to use its fins as it evolved to do in the wild.)

 

[wrs]

actually sylvia, it takes the betta so much energy to get from side to side because of they are so slow, it makes them die quicker as it stresses them out.

and Johnny V, just wait, sooner or latter what I said will happen. I have more experiance and know that it is true. I did make a mistake on the ottos, it is a school of 3 they need,

Cossack1977 your tank has non of the things wrong with it that Johnny V's does. But I do have a question for you, what kind of gourami is it? If a honey gourami or a dwarf, it is not the same as a larger gourami, like a blue or gold.

 

[Skylar]

wrs, Although I have only started fish keeping a year ago, I do know that there is no tank that is 'too big' for a betta. If the betta gets tired of swimming, it stops and rests. Nothing makes it keep swimming. Bettas don't need to live in a tiny tank. A larger tank is much more stable than a smaller aquarium.

"I have more experiance and know that it is true."

That is rather snobby.

-Skylar-

 

[Johnny V]

how do you know I haven't been keeping fish for 20 years, or that I don't own a fish store. just cause you spend lots of time posting on an internet fish forum (dont get me wrong, im not knocking the forum [i love this place]) doesnt mean you know more, it just means that you spend more time on a internet fish forum. It just so happens that -I- have more experiance and know that it is true

 

[Cossack1977]

The tank the better is in is a 76gallon

I had the betta for 2 years before putting him in the bigger tank. he is in perfect condition.

Just because the tank is big doesnt mean he swims from one side to the other mainlt stays in the middle. A larger tank will not shorten there life span.

He's in a tank with 3 lace gouramis, and 2 blue gouramis. With heaps of plants.