Overstocked

[loafybones]

I posted a bit of a frantic topic the other day because all of my fish were dying. I haven't had any more casualties since thank god!
Someone suggested that my tank might be overstocked so I was just wondering, firstly if I still have too many, and secondly, how do you know when you do have too many? Sorry if that sounds a bit loony!!

 

[Ava_Banana]

There are a number of factors when considering stocking levels of fish...........including size (length/width/height).........and filtration......and also what fish you have and how big they are likely to grow.

There is a calculator here which could help......http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10675 (last one will give an idea of "inches of fish" that MIGHT be suitable).

....to be honest....I am no expert......but adding up the length (not including tail) of the fish you have....that 13.8 gallon looks a little busy......

 

[gadazobe]

Yes you are still overstocked. Is there any possibility of upgrading to a (much) larger tank. If not you must be very very diligent with water changes and also if you have a very good filter it will also help to keep things stable until you can upgrade.

 

[sinistral]

Hi loafybones,

I believe I may have suggested you were overstocked. It's a very good question. As Ava suggested, the inches-of-fish-per-gallon functions as a very rough guide, but since it's an approximation there are a number of factors it doesn't account for.

I think a better way of figuring out how you are stocked is to keep track of your ammonia/nitrogen levels, monitor how much maintenance you are performing, and by observation and rationally looking at your fish and their individual requirements. If you are doing a lot of maintenance to keep the tank clean and your levels under control, that's one sign of overstocking.

By observation I mean watching the behavior of your fish and noticing anything that's aberrant. If they are listless, lethargic, sick, dying, etc those could be clear signs. If they are behaving in ways that are unusual for that species, you might have a bad combination of fish, or the fish might be stressed by their environment.

Another thing to consider is the adult sizes of fish. The red tail black shark is a lovely fish, but it'll eventually grow to 5 or 6 inches or more, and typically becomes quite aggressive and territorial. It would eventually need a much larger tank (on the order of 40 or 50 gallons or more would be best).

Those are a few of the things imo that go into thinking about overstocking. Hopefully that's helpful and not too confusing.

 

[loafybones]

I was considering upgrading to a vision 180 tank as I have spotted a bargain £275.00! http/www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk/index.html (based in Oxford so quite a treck to collect it!) but was considering starting up a cichlid (is that spelled right?) community because they're really nice! but was thinking that I could put my Rams angel and shark in there along with a few more. would that be a good idea and how much do you reckon i could fit in a tank that size?

 

[smithrc]

hi,

Just as a comparison, the 15gal (12UK) in my sig is quite low on fish BUT the bio load on the tank is quite big and I daren't have much more in there as the bristles (now 3x) are quite messy

however, looking at your list - i'd say your very heavily stocked.

as a guide - i'd suggest 2" of adult fish per gallon if your prepared to maintain the tank regularly.

all of this does depend on filtration though - if you can add more filtration, you can never have too much.

 

[ferrikins]

I'm always over stocked, as you can see below.

I fun 2 filters and a airtration system in my tank, not realy had a problem, even when I was unwell and they where slightly negleted for a few weeks I hardly lost any. Got things back on track now.

I now have one filter helping to cycle my new Fry Tank's undergravel. (another good reason to have to filters running.) So I just up the water changes.

 

[yhbae]

I posted a bit of a frantic topic the other day because all of my fish were dying. I haven't had any more casualties since thank god!
Someone suggested that my tank might be overstocked so I was just wondering, firstly if I still have too many, and secondly, how do you know when you do have too many? Sorry if that sounds a bit loony!!

6x Zebra Danios OK
2x Clown Plecostomus These guys grow to 5 inches. Probably too big for this tank.
4x Blue Rams 4 of them will be too much when they mature. A pair maximum.
1x Red Tail Black Shark This one doesn't belong in a 15g tank. Grows too big and too aggressive.
2x Upside Down Cat Fish
2x Flying Foxes These guys can also hit 5+ inches. Too big.
1x Black Angel This tank is not tall enough to handle fully grown angels.

As you can see, you should really re-think on your stock plan for this tank. As for your larger tank, cichlid tank is a good idea - I've gotten into it as well...

Good luck!

 

[loafybones]

We have decided to definately get the bigger tank, it's about 40gal. I was going to cycle it with some danios and then move them into my smaller tank once it's finished.
I was going to start up a cichlid community, consisting mainly of the mbuna species which like quite hard PH 7.6 - 8.6 water. but i'm not sure if i could move any of my existing fish because of the difference in water conditions. i thought i could move my plecs though because i would imagine they are quite hardy, am i right?
I'm not getting to my point very quickly, sorry!
Basically all i need to know is would all of this be a good idea or would i be best to cycle the tank with another type of fish, or would danios be ok? also are cichlids going to be more difficult to keep what with the higher ph levels and water hardness?

 

[yhbae]

Since you have a mature tank already, the easiest way to cycle the tank is to put your new filter on the old tank and let it run for a week or so... This will allow new bacteria to grow in the new filter media and then you can add new fishes in the new tank with the filter transferred back to the larger tank...

What is your tap water pH like? If it is anything above 7.4 or so, you will not need to adjust pH for mbuna...

 

[lizard]

2x Upside Down Cat Fish

USD Cats like to be in groups of at least three or four, I believe. I think I've seen a 20 or 29 gallons (US) suggested as a minimum tank size for them, as well.

Plecos tend to be *quite* messy

Angels, since they're so tall, need lots of swimming room.

So many excuses/reasons to get a new tank (or few!)

A *rough* guideline for beginners to use when determining how many fish they can fit in their tank is to plan for one inch of fish per gallon of water (remember to consider the fish's adult size, not the size they are when you get 'em!). That's a very rough guideline. I'm probably overstocked, or close to it, following that rule, as are many other people on this board. Like they've mentioned, the number and kinds of fish you can keep in the tank depends a lot on filtration, whether or not you have live plants, how often you change the water, the surface area of the tank, and so on and so forth.

Ask if you have more questions!

Good luck

Pamela
aka Married Lizard