Is My Tank Over Stocked?

[Tooombsy]

Hi guys. Was sat watching my tank today after feeding, and although all the fish look happy and healthy, I was wondering if there are too many in there.

I have a juwel trigon 190. With the 3d background, internal filter, substrate, wood and plants, I'm guessing there is about 150-160 litres of water?

Here's my stock list:

2 x bristlenose plec ( mated pair )
4 x german blue ram ( 2m/2f )
4 x siamese algae eater
4 x red coral platy ( 1m / 3f )
4 x white Molly ( 1m / 3f )
8 x Cardinal tetra
6 x amano shrimp
10 x red cherry shrimp

All of the fish seem healthy, and all enjoy swimming round the whole tank and never see any aggression between species.

I love all of my fish, but I'm afraid I may have too many in the tank for them to thrive.

Does this sound overstocked?

 

[fluttermoth]

I would class that as slightly overstocked, but what's important is how it's affecting your water quality, if at all. What do your nitrates get to, before a water change?

I think your main issue is incompatibility. You have fish that need warm, very soft water to thrive (the rams and cardinals) and fish that prefer it cooler and harder (the mollies and platies). One of those groups is not going to be very happy.

 

[Tooombsy]

My water is 26C , I use a mix of RO and tap water as the water from my tap is very hard and ph 8.4. I mix it for a ph of 7.
Ammonia is always 0
Nitrite is always 0
Nitrate ranges from 10-20ppm between changes

I have a fluval 206 external filter running alongside the internal filter to keep the water in a better condition than it would be with the internal filter alone.

I also have a good flow around the tank and plenty of surface agitation.

 

[the_lock_man]

On that basis, then, it sounds as though your maintenance regime is keeping things ticking along nicely, so no need to worry, but equally I wouldn't suggest you look at anything else.

 

[Tooombsy]

I don't plan on getting anymore fish (although I do plan on getting another tank with some zebra pleco when I persuade the mrs)
My maintenance regime is pretty good. I do a 25litre water change once a week, plus 3-4 5litre a week also. The smaller ones are mainly just to hoover any waste up that's on the gravel. My plecos are poop monsters.

Would I get away with adding a few snails in here? I heard Malaysian trumpet snails are good at digging through substrate and helping with the cleaning

 

[Ch4rlie]

I don't plan on getting anymore fish (although I do plan on getting another tank with some zebra pleco when I persuade the mrs)
My maintenance regime is pretty good. I do a 25litre water change once a week, plus 3-4 5litre a week also. The smaller ones are mainly just to hoover any waste up that's on the gravel. My plecos are poop monsters.

Would I get away with adding a few snails in here? I heard Malaysian trumpet snails are good at digging through substrate and helping with the cleaning

 
25 litres a week on a 190 litre tank is not enough
 
Good practice for weekly water changes is at least 50% of water volume, in your case at least 80 litres would be much better imho.
 
And Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) are very good for substrate and hoovering up leftover food and debris in substrate, also they help to eliminate gas pockets in substrate. I have MTS in my main tank

 

[Tooombsy]

With my smaller changes included I do between 40-50litres a week, but I'll up my 25 litre change to a 50 litre change and keep up the 5 litre Hoover up 4 times a week.

I use 25 litre bottles for my water change, one full of clean water and one empty to drain into. I'll start draining two bottles then refilling.

I'll get some snails then if they are good for the tank. Are they fun to watch too when they tunnel around? Also will they be happy in my substrate, I have tetra plant substrate on the bottom with a 2 inch layer of small gravel and sand mix.

 

[Akasha72]

the only fish that I'm worried about in this tank is the SAE's. I have 3 in my Rio 240 and if I could I'd get a larger tank purely for them. They've got seriously HUGE and I just worry they've not really got enough space.
 
Your tank is smaller than mine and you have an extra one. I'm a little concerned that they need more room. Sorry if that's not what your wanting to hear 

 

[Tooombsy]

the only fish that I'm worried about in this tank is the SAE's. I have 3 in my Rio 240 and if I could I'd get a larger tank purely for them. They've got seriously HUGE and I just worry they've not really got enough space.
 
Your tank is smaller than mine and you have an extra one. I'm a little concerned that they need more room. Sorry if that's not what your wanting to hear 

I was told when I got them that they would grow to 3 or 4 inch, I later learned they could grow in excess of 6 inch

At the moment they are between 2 to 3 inch, would they be ok with my zebra plecos when I get them in a 240litre tank? Or are zebras better in a species only tank if I want to try breed them?

 

[Akasha72]

I don't know anything about zebra's I'm afraid. 
 
here's what my SAE's look like now and I think they're still growing
 

 
 
They measure about 15cm and are also seriously fat

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Species tank for zebras.
 
SAE will hit 6 inches.

 

[Tooombsy]

Looks like in a few months time I'll be looking for a new home for them then
I'll be sad to see them go but I wouldn't want to keep them in unsuitable conditions.

 

[Byron]

Looks like in a few months time I'll be looking for a new home for them then

I'll be sad to see them go but I wouldn't want to keep them in unsuitable conditions.

 
Sooner rather than later will be best for the fish.  As fish grow, which is a continual process, the tank size plus the water conditions are affecting them along the way.  It is not easy to know when a fish has reached the limit for the tank it is in before physiological damage occurs, so it is always suggested that the tank be larger all along the way than what one might assume is needed.  Once the physiological implications of too small a physical space and/or water conditions resulting from this are present, the fish cannot recover.
 
You have four, which is a good step as this is a highly social shoaling fish, but ironically this too is being affected more by the smaller space.
 
I gave myself a maxim some years back which is well worth keeping: Never acquire any fish for which you do not now have a running aquarium completely suited to its needs at its full mature size.  This can save a lot of grief for the fish and the aquarist.
 
Byron.