Am I Overstocked?

[ccg]

Hello everyone,

I am considering picking up 3-4 yoyo loaches but I am not certain I have room for them, currently I have:

35 Gallon Tank
6 Golden Barbs
6 Cherry Barbs (small)
2 Tiger Barbs (very peaceful pare, never nip or chase etc)


All of the above fish are fully grown and about 2 years old.

I would like to add 3-4 yoyo loaches to the tank.
The tank is and always has been healthy. It is running 2 seperate filters whch are both rated for over 40 gallon tanks, and I am also using an undergravel filter. There are some nice rocks, plants, and pots for hiding places, along with lots of swimming room. Will I be pushing my limit with 3-4 loaches? I have never had a fish die and I have never had a diesease in the tank so I must be doing something right.

I raelly only would like about 2 yoyo loaches, but Ive been told to keep no less then 3, and 4 would be better, which is fine, as long as I don't over stock my tank.

What do you all think? Thanks for all opinions and suggestions.

PS: Don't tell me to add more tiger barbs, I raelize they are calmer when there are more, but these guys are fine how they are.

Thanks everyone,
Take care,
Colen.

EDIT: I do 2 water changes weekly, each time is somewhere between 20%.

 

[ravekiss]

Yoyo loaches are great but they get to be 5 inches. Right now you're not overstocked in my opinion but with 4 adult yoyos, you may be a little overstocked. On the plus side..you do have good filtration. I absoloutely adore clown loaches but due to my tank size, I cant have any...
I'm not an expert, so lets wait to get other opinions.

 

[ccg]

ravekiss, thanks for the post!

As I said, I would like 2, but I have been posting in the loach forum, and I have been told, 3 is good, but 4 would be even better and 6 would be ideal.

I am not certain what to do, but 3 seems like a good number to me. I'll have to wait and see what some of the experts say. I am on top of maintaining the filters and cleaning/changing the water.

The tank has some large fake plants, some nice rocks, and a clay pot, lots of nice hiding places for the fish along with lots of swimming room.

 

[ravekiss]

Do you plan on getting a larger tank in the future?

 

[ccg]

Right now I have a 45 gallon tank setup, it has tons of platties and guppies along with all there fry.s I like the lookof my 35 gallon better, and for the 10 gallon difference I would rather not transfer all of them over. I also had a custom oak stand built for my 35 gallon, which looks amazing and completes it very nicely. Anyhow, I do not plan on getting any bigger tanks within the next 2 years (finishing college right now, so thats where all my money has to go).

Transfering tanks is really not an option I guess as this one is so much nicer and I am worried to change anything as it has been going for about 6 years, and 2 years with not a single problem (same fish for 2 years).

 

[ravekiss]

If I were in your shoes I would go ahead and add 3 of them and keep up on top of the filtration and water changes.

 

[ccg]

When I look at the tank it doesn't seem crowded at all. The cherry barbs are not very big fish, and just hang our in the plants and by the flowing water from the filters. The tiger barbs are always just wiming from end to end, and the golden barbs just swim close together and explore the tank all day.

I guess another option could be cory cats in place of the loaches, but I am not to crazy about them as I already have my heart set on some loaches.

 

[ccg]

Thanks ravekiss,

I'll have to wait and see what some others say and suggest before I make any decisions. I am in no hurry.

I am not new to caring for fish, but all the years I have kept fish I have never got anywhere near the limits of my tanks, and I believe now I am, or will be.

Also, I have a 3rd filter I could try adding to the back of the tank, although it is pretty packed back there. It isn't possible to over filter my water is it?

 

[foty89]

Considering the amount of filtration you have on this tank, I would say that you could add the loaches with no problem at all.

On a side note, do your tiger barbs school with the gold barbs at all?

You might also consider the clown loach, they have the added advantage of hanging out with tiger barbs. They don't really school all the time, but they will go up and take a few laps now and again with the tiger barbs.

The problem with the clowns is that they do grow to decent size. You will frequently see descriptions of them reaching 12 inches. This is not the case in the home aquarium, they generally only get to maybe half of that.

They would still be a big addition to your tank, but again, based on your filtration, I think you could do it.

 

[ccg]

Thanks for the advice foty89.


I am not going to go with clown loaches as I fear they may get to big and I will not beable to provide them with the right amount of space.

The tiger barbs are usually near the gold barbs, but will often take off together and just do laps around the tank. They appear to be very peaceful and I don't believe they will bother the loaches much.

I am just worried if I add to many fish I will cause an outbreak of diesease or lose some fish etc. Another concern that just crossed my mind is making sure the loaches get the proper amount of food. The barbs will eat off the bottom as well if / when they can find food, not so much the cherry barbs, but the tiger/golden barbs pick at the gravel after meal time.

Anymore thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks guys!