Could My Tank Take Any More Fish?

[Marclau]

I am wondering if it could take perhaps 2 more Bristlenoses and perhaps 2 -4 something else?
I've had Bristlenose before but can remember them as good cleaners but also make lots of excrement themselves......is this correct?

If no Bristlenose, what would make a good good hardy fish? Perhaps more Gouramis or Angel and if so, stick with the types I have in my signature perhaps?

I try and maintain a reasonable low maintenance tank and this includes fortnightly 25% water changes.

My filter is a Fluval 305 with an internal AquaOne 100 as backup......

 

[Johng89]

im sure one of the others will come along and answer this a bit better but as a newbie having trawled through lots of posts the general concensus on this one is

1 inch of adult fish per US gallon not UK

you have approx 70 USG tank

some say you can do 2 inches if overfiltered but i wouldnt chance it

based on my limited knowledge and a bit of surfing your inch totals are listed below

4 Angels (Midnight, Yellow, 2 Black/Silver stripped) = 28 inches
4 Gouramis (2 Blues, 2 Yellows) = 15.5 inches
2 Flying Foxes = 7 inches
2 Pakistani Loaches = 6 inches

you have approx 57 inches plus the flying foxes so i would think you should have another 1o - 15 inches of Adult fish in there with no issue if my calculations are correct, im sure others will confrm this for you

 

[arobinson1984]

If you are going to add more fish I would certainly consider upping your maintenance to every week rather than every fortnight

Andy

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes likewise, you have room for a pair of BN's but would definately suggest you need to be doing weekly water changes particularly as the BN's are heavy waste producers.

 

[Marclau]

thanks heaps.......O'K, I will then leave it as it is....this way I can easily get by on current fortnightly changes.......so I assume that 20-25% wayer changes fortnightly is suffice or should I top this up to 30%.......

Keeping in mind that due to condensation I usually top up the tank with water of about 5%...........

 

[Princesscoral]

yes likewise, you have room for a pair of BN's but would definately suggest you need to be doing weekly water changes particularly as the BN's are heavy waste producers.

i would go with another type of small fish like fancy guppies so you dont have to wrorry about the weekly water changes.

princesscoral
age 9

 

[Marclau]

I was thinking perhaps of adding a single centre piece type of fish.......something different from the others.........would a Black Ghost Knife be maybe appropriate??

 

[arobinson1984]

I'm afraid the tank isn't anywhere near big enough for a black ghost knife fish, they grow upto the region of 20"

The water change procedure is up to you, you will find many on here would recommend weekly water changes however many fish are in the tank. You've got to remember that the fish live in the water 24-7 so its only fair that it is kept clean and fresh. I do a 50% change every week even though I don't have to do that much, I find my fish are alot happier.

Andy

 

[Marclau]

umm thanks Andy....

I read on a few other forumsand that the preferred minimum for a BGK is 60 UK gallons.........and that the males get to around 20" and females less then that.......LFS mentioned that as long as I had enough hiding places and caves, and no fishies under 2-3" (would eat them in most instances it would be O'K.......

Dont know now..............had eyed out a nice one in another LFS over the weekend.........

 

[arobinson1984]

Hopefully others on here will give their opinion but from what I understand, 60 UK gall is no where near big enough, they would need a 100 US gall+

On a 60 gall they would struggle to turn around when they got to adult size.

Andy

 

[Marclau]

O'K any other suggestions on a 'special' fishy that could be the centrepiece?? Maybe an Long Nose Elephant......?? Any other suggestions??

 

[arobinson1984]

How about angels? There are many different species and designs you can get and most look stunning.

Edit: I noticed you already have angels.

Have you looked at blue german rams? They look stunning

Andy

 

[Miss Wiggle]

theres a bit of a formula for large fish tank sizes, it doesn't work in every instance but can give you a rough idea of the size tank you'd need.

the tank should be 4x the length of the fish and 1.5x the width and height. this gives room to turn around and minimum swimming space. the BGK gets to 24" full adult size so you would need a tank in the region of 96" long. they are also extremley predatory when they get bigger, your loaches would be a target and they may even have a pop at the angels.

in addition to this they are nocturnal and very shy, to be honest most people who have them never see them anyway, they're a much less attractive proposition as an adult fish than they are as a juvi, i would steer well clear.

 

[Marclau]

thanks heaps, this too makes sense i guess..........ummmmm off the list they are then............any suggestions on another fishy??

 

[meguro]

blue acara?