Bitten Off More Than I Can Chew?

[wonkster_1]

hi there,

i have bin given a 125 ltr tropical tank with 2 18 watt lights, submersable filter, heater and air pump that work perfectly and everything is hunky dory.

all i was wondering is..
have i gone mad all at once to get:
12 male guppies
10 neons
4 dwarf guarmies
2 firemouths
1 male fighter
5 penguin tetras
2 red claw crabs
2 plecos
1 figure 8 puffer
in a matter of 7 months
now i know you are going to gasp with all that stock, but there hasnt been any deaths for over 6 months and no sign of fin nipping. my nitrite indicates everything is pure and all is good.

jus taking a step back and thinking is this too many

whats the verdict

 

[Davo86]

hi there,

i have bin given a 125 ltr tropical tank with 2 18 watt lights, submersable filter, heater and air pump that work perfectly and everything is hunky dory.

all i was wondering is..
have i gone mad all at once to get:
12 male guppies
10 neons - will usualy nip at bettas and guppys
4 dwarf guarmies
2 firemouths - when bigger will eat neons and other small fish, if they pair up 99% of your other fish will get killed
1 male fighter - may suddenly turn on guppys/gouramis
5 penguin tetras
2 red claw crabs - need brackish water for their long term health
2 plecos -which species? most commonly sold species get to between 12 and 24 inches
1 figure 8 puffer - need brackish water for their long term health
in a matter of 7 months
now i know you are going to gasp with all that stock, but there hasnt been any deaths for over 6 months and no sign of fin nipping. my nitrite indicates everything is pure and all is good.

jus taking a step back and thinking is this too many

whats the verdict

 

[wonkster_1]

hi there,

i have bin given a 125 ltr tropical tank with 2 18 watt lights, submersable filter, heater and air pump that work perfectly and everything is hunky dory.

all i was wondering is..
have i gone mad all at once to get:
12 male guppies
10 neons - will usualy nip at bettas and guppys
4 dwarf guarmies
2 firemouths - when bigger will eat neons and other small fish, if they pair up 99% of your other fish will get killed
1 male fighter - may suddenly turn on guppys/gouramis
5 penguin tetras
2 red claw crabs - need brackish water for their long term health
2 plecos -which species? most commonly sold species get to between 12 and 24 inches
1 figure 8 puffer - need brackish water for their long term health
in a matter of 7 months
now i know you are going to gasp with all that stock, but there hasnt been any deaths for over 6 months and no sign of fin nipping. my nitrite indicates everything is pure and all is good.

jus taking a step back and thinking is this too many

whats the verdict

so im screwed in other words!

 

[Davo86]

not exactly,
The Firemouths will definitely cause problems in the future and the puffer and crabs both need brackish water to survive so rehoming them is your main issue
secondly you will need to id the plecs, if you can upload them here i'm am certain myself or someone else can id them for you
As for the others if its been 7 months without problems then leave them for now, but be vigilant that you might have to move 1 or 2 if problems occur in the future

 

[wonkster_1]

jus a regular brown pleco and an albino regular pleco

theyre only bout 1" at the mo so not a problem, i had a plec in a cold water tank and i had no problems with sizes. most of the fish have 8 or nine aquatic plants to hide behind and a few orniments. the plecs love feeding off it all

 

[Davo86]

jus a regular brown pleco and an albino regular pleco

theyre only bout 1" at the mo so not a problem, i had a plec in a cold water tank and i had no problems with sizes. most of the fish have 8 or nine aquatic plants to hide behind and a few orniments. the plecs love feeding off it all

well regular plecos Should be growing to around 18inches in length so aren't really suitable, by keeping them in confined spaces you ultimately cause them to die a painful death as their internal organs will outgrow their outer bodies

 

[rdd1952]

I think dave has covered most thingsbut just wanted to add a few. The puffer will also end up attcking the smaller fish as will the crabs, especially at night when the lights are out (for the crab that is). And it's almost certain the betta will eventually kill the guppies (you are also looking at a LOT of fry if you have a normal 2 female to 1 male mix) as they see the ornate tail as another betta and will attack. The plecos are huge waste producers even when small. That coupled with the fact that you have a very large number of fish in roughly a 30 gallon tank means you will need to do water changes probably twice a week and will need very good (extra) filtration. Apparently you are keeping up with water changes and conditions since you say you haven't had any problems. One thing that does stand out is that you mention the nitrite and not the ammonia. Based on that, I would guess that you are using a 5-in-1 strip that doesn't test ammonia which is the first toxin to appear. I would ditch the strips for a good liquid master test kit. Liquid is actually much cheaper and immeasurably more accurate.

As far as the plecos being in a small tank, the thought that they die because their organs continue to grow is actually a myth. Stunted growth comes from different things but from the best I can surmise, fish emit hormones and as the number of hormones in their surroundings increases, their growth slows, apparently because they think they are over crowded. If you keep up with water changes as needed, then the fish will most likely continue to grow until it has no room at all. Plecos can grow to 6"+ in a relatively short time so it won't be long before they are definitely too big for the tank. It is best to return or rehome them while they are still small as finding a home for a large fish is extremely difficult.

 

[nosoup4you]

The crabs need to be able to get out of the water...

 

[waterdrop]

I'm not particularly good at figuring out all the stocking problems, but my own rough calculation before even looking at the other posts was that you are way overstocked. I agree with RDD that you need a good liquid test kit.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gruffle]

Not to be a pain in the #### but presumably after 6 months, with such a plentiful supply of waste, any cycling issues will have been long gone and a liquid test kit at the minute will be pretty superflous, definately not NEEDED?

Anyway, back on track, you are pretty overstocked, the main problems you will face in the future are probably the Firemouths, which will, as stated previously, kill everything else in the tank if they pair up and the plecs, which if they are common plecs will outgrow your tank in a year or so.

 

[waterdrop]

Not to be a pain in the #### but presumably after 6 months, with such a plentiful supply of waste, any cycling issues will have been long gone and a liquid test kit at the minute will be pretty superflous, definately not NEEDED?

Anyway, back on track, you are pretty overstocked, the main problems you will face in the future are probably the Firemouths, which will, as stated previously, kill everything else in the tank if they pair up and the plecs, which if they are common plecs will outgrow your tank in a year or so.

My concern was not -initial- cycling, it was that any time a tank is way overstocked and has heavy waste producers and an internal filter (implying limited media volume possibly) then the fishkeeper should be concerned about reaching the point of underfiltration and subsequent appearances of ammonia and nitrite. Occassional stats will tell you if you've crossed that point a lot sooner than will fish with bad symptoms.

I agree that the aggression concerns are primary for this thread and I didn't mean to topic hijack or appear to be pushing tests, it was just a concern I saw and was thinking how with stocking you can keep adding bit by bit and start to feel immune from the basics!

~~waterdrop~~