-cAtFiSh-
Fish Herder
i have a 15 gallon (about) tank with 8 neons, 8 harlequin rasboras, 9 scissortail rasboras, 1 bristlenose catfish and 1 flying fox in it. is that too many?
Is my tank overstocked?
- Thread starter -cAtFiSh-
- Start date
Im afraid so, you have about double the ammount of fish that tank can hold without increased filtration and maintainance, the flying fox especially is too big for the tank as they grow to around 6" when adult.
lol snap,same boat here , like CFC said lot of work anf filtration. I do two water changes a week, and the filter is double the size needed for my tank.
You need to keep on top of your maintenance if you want to keep a heavily stocked tank.
You need to keep on top of your maintenance if you want to keep a heavily stocked tank.
cometcattle
Go Hawks!
Yep, join the club. I do exactly as RYO, 2 changes a week and double fitration. It can be alot of work, but my fish are well worth it. 
Pointy_kitty
i eat buttons
DEAR LORD CHILD! 
what a mess
i'm assuming this is your first tank?
welcome to the forum and the ever so addicting world of fish keeping
for newer fish keepers a good rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon
you use this rule by calculating the adult size of the fish (there are some fish that produce less waste and are cleaners, so they are acceptions to this rule)
you currently have 62" of fish in your 15gallon
thats ALOT of extra fish!
you should only have 15", or 20" tops since you have small schooling fish (the can be a bit more crowded)
my advice to you is to get another tank
try to get a bigger second hand tank rather then another small, new tank
something VERY important about the true flying fox (not the imposters) is that they are the sharks of catfish
i know this sounds odd but they have the same temperment as a red tailed black shark (a very territorial shark who does not live peacefully with anything that even resembles its own species)
firstly he will get to be 6" and is very active if healthy, so 15gallons (especially so crowded) is NOT enough room
secondly, he may be a peaceful little baby but as soon as they get to be about 3" they start to attack anyone in their "territory", especially around feeding time
and if fed any type of meat (blood worms, shrimp, etc) they usually get quite aggressive
he needs LOTS of caves and plants and if in a small enough tank will claim them all
people often mistake him for siemese algae eaters, chinease algae eaters, or other false flying foxes
the bigger the tank
the more peaceful these fish will be
the smaller and more crowded the tank
the more mayham will break out
some people think that due to their sucker type mouths that they cannot do harm to the other fish
this is wrong
although they rarely leave marks,
they will chase a fish constantly and bump it until it becomes stressed and disease ridded
sorry to be so negative but simple water changes will not do
its better that someone tell you the facts now, rather than have you find out later when your fish start to die
what a mess
i'm assuming this is your first tank?
welcome to the forum and the ever so addicting world of fish keeping
for newer fish keepers a good rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon
you use this rule by calculating the adult size of the fish (there are some fish that produce less waste and are cleaners, so they are acceptions to this rule)
you currently have 62" of fish in your 15gallon
thats ALOT of extra fish!
you should only have 15", or 20" tops since you have small schooling fish (the can be a bit more crowded)
my advice to you is to get another tank
try to get a bigger second hand tank rather then another small, new tank
something VERY important about the true flying fox (not the imposters) is that they are the sharks of catfish
i know this sounds odd but they have the same temperment as a red tailed black shark (a very territorial shark who does not live peacefully with anything that even resembles its own species)
firstly he will get to be 6" and is very active if healthy, so 15gallons (especially so crowded) is NOT enough room
secondly, he may be a peaceful little baby but as soon as they get to be about 3" they start to attack anyone in their "territory", especially around feeding time
and if fed any type of meat (blood worms, shrimp, etc) they usually get quite aggressive
he needs LOTS of caves and plants and if in a small enough tank will claim them all
people often mistake him for siemese algae eaters, chinease algae eaters, or other false flying foxes
the bigger the tank
the more peaceful these fish will be
the smaller and more crowded the tank
the more mayham will break out
some people think that due to their sucker type mouths that they cannot do harm to the other fish
this is wrong
although they rarely leave marks,
they will chase a fish constantly and bump it until it becomes stressed and disease ridded
sorry to be so negative but simple water changes will not do
its better that someone tell you the facts now, rather than have you find out later when your fish start to die
Flying foxes are a close relative of the labeo species (red tailed sharks etc) and neither are catfishes as they are members of the cyprinid family, also they do not have a sucker type mouth, just a underslung jaw.
Other than that all the infoand advice is correct
Other than that all the infoand advice is correct
Pointy_kitty
i eat buttons
no i mean the LOOK of their mouth,CFC said:Flying foxes are a close relative of the labeo species (red tailed sharks etc) and neither are catfishes as they are members of the cyprinid family, also they do not have a sucker type mouth, just a underslung jaw.
Other than that all the infoand advice is correct
and yes it looks remarkably simular to a suckermouth
as for the catfish/shark dilema,
well, my mistake
they have been called catfish so many times that it stuck i guess
i don't know what i was thinking cause i already knew that they were from the Cyprinidae family
blonde moment
i ment to say that they are just like sharks, only different
Another point to make is simply overstocking by that amount will definitely take a toll on the lives of the fish. No matter how often you clean the tank, the stress is sure to get to them and unfortunatly, they will have a shorter life span because of it.
A lot of people overstock their tanks, especially when starting out. Take your time and figure out what to move and where. Hopefully your LFS can take some of those fish back unless you can get a much bigger tank.
Oh, and by the way, you are definitely NOT the first person to overstock. I think a lot of people make this mistake. Good luck.
A lot of people overstock their tanks, especially when starting out. Take your time and figure out what to move and where. Hopefully your LFS can take some of those fish back unless you can get a much bigger tank.
Oh, and by the way, you are definitely NOT the first person to overstock. I think a lot of people make this mistake. Good luck.
OP
OP
-cAtFiSh-
Fish Herder
thanx for the advice. my parents keep saying that its fine and the fish look happy blah blah blah but then again they know NOTHING about keeping fish. so now that i have heard what u guys think im really thinking i should do something about it very soon. i dont want to get a bigger tank though because i dont have enough room to put it anywhere and i dont have enough money. do u think if i took say the scissortails back to the aquarium shop i got them from, then they would take them back? i dont really want to get rid of them coz they are great fish but now i feel i have to.
i also have noticed that my flying fox is a bit aggressive when there is food around so im thinking of doing something about it aswell.
thanx for all your help
forgot to add something:
yes this is my first tank. i just got so excited about it that i went a bit crazy lol
i could have bought every fish in the shop if that were possible.
i also have noticed that my flying fox is a bit aggressive when there is food around so im thinking of doing something about it aswell.
thanx for all your help
forgot to add something:
yes this is my first tank. i just got so excited about it that i went a bit crazy lol
i could have bought every fish in the shop if that were possible.
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