To Add One More... Or Not To...

[Gankutsuou]

it could be argued right now that I am overstock.
I wouldn't disagree.

38 Gallon

Aquaclear 50 and Aquaclear 70 hooked up, 3 foot long

1x African butterfly Fish
1x Angel fish (VT koi)
1x Albino Senegal Bichir
1x Half-banded eel
3x peacock eel (2 striped.)
1x L260 Queen Arabesque Pleco
1x Clown pleco
5x Porthole Catfish

I plan to upgrade to a fluval 405 in the future. hopefully near future.

So the debate is, do I add a Synodontis flavitaeniatus?

These guys are elusive, and I see a few at a LFS. Although reported to grow up to 15.5 cm in the wild, S. flavitaeniatus is rarely if ever seen at more than 8 cm in the aquarium, as said by Planet catfish.

With the every 4 days or weekly water change, is this not viable?
The eels and catfish are constantly hidden, either in the plants or under the bogwood, and very rarely my eels will dig into the substrate to hide after I play our favorite game of "Rearrange the tank".

I also feel inch per fish doesn't apply to the situation. as mentioned with khuli loaches, eel's different shaped bodies make it hard to tell on bioload impact.
with aquaclear filters 70 and 50 hooked onto a 38 gallon, it think it should be ethical and okay. also, there hasn't been a quarrle over space yet. The Portholes are shoalers, the eels enjoy compnay (except the half-banded, who is slightly territorial, but has shown none yet.) The only quarrle is between the bichir and the ABF, during

 

[QuotheRaven]

I would say No to adding more fish at a glance it looks stocked...but I could be wrong

 

[kniesh]

Most people would say overstocked, however when asking stocking questions the main answer involves fish at their full size, i.e a common plec at its enormous adult size. This isn't always the case when purchasing the fish. If most of your fish aren't yet fully grown then the chances are, at this time period you are not overstocked but will be as they mature and grow. Therefore if you are planning on upgrading soon, and this is a definate not just a maybe I can't see any reason not to buy the fish as long as all your other fish aren't fully grown or are going to be so before the upgrade.

 

[Fate2006]

Looks like your almost perfectly stocked to me... just a bit over, but thats where the extra filtration comes in... also those eels get to atleast 1ft in length, you probably knew that... and if your going to get anything else, get 2 more Angles max... angles (IME) like to school and as long as they have enough room they're fine with eachother...

 

[CAC]

I wouldnt add anything else personally, as i think that your over-stocked, but if your defineately going to get this bigger (how many gals is it?) tank, and soon, then you should be ok. Its the same with my 38g, i have added 5 ottos to it, just for now whilst the planted tank gets set-up, but it puts me over-stocked...But not for long...

Mike

 

[corey01]

i would say you are just about stocked up to te limit iff your tank is well planted you could proberbly squeeeze in a few guppies/ platies

 

[Mystix212]

I hate livebearers for suggestions in large tanks. Just me. But guppies really give me the irrits. Like when a 5 yr old annoys you for a week.

Angels are fine in pairs. They do not need to be in schools.

 

[fishfishfish]

i say u caould add one but u would have have to have it overfiltered.

 

[Mystix212]

Have about 5x filtration or more.

 

[severum boy]

I would say you could add a syno: most of your fish, whilst long, are quite thin and have a small biomass for their length. However, from what ive heared about S.f., they like groups so I would get a couple for the bigger tank if you get it.

I hate livebearers for suggestions in large tanks. Just me. But guppies really give me the irrits. Like when a 5 yr old annoys you for a week.

Too right, they present too many problems: over breeding, poor quality stock and they would be eaten by the bichir.

 

[cane76]

gank if you yourself think your tank could be overstocked dont add anymore fish,you know your tank best
waiting for the upgrade is more sensible coz things dont always turn out like we want