is my 29 overstocked?

[forrestcook]

I currently have:

2 angelfish (a pair from a larger group I bought a while back)
1 three spot Gourami
5 yoyo loaches (one of them is a baby and currently lives in my 10 gallon until he plumps up a bit)
3 otos
8 silvertip tetras
and there might still be an amano shrimp hiding in there somewhere if it hasnt been eaten yet (failed compatibility test w/ my angels)

Currently I think the tank is a bit busy and I am planning on returning the 8 tetras and getting 2 more otos.

As for my 10 gallon, might as well ask about that one, too.

it is currently an african dwarf frog and a baby yoyo loach. it will soon be:

2 african dwarf frogs
3-4 fancy guppies (all male... no babies here!)
possibly 2-3 otos to clean the plants

what do all you experts out there say? And for the record, I do at least a weekly water change for both tanks, twice on the 29 this week as I overfed and had a nitrAte spike.

[Dancin Mike]

Someone more experienced may be able to say different and explain, but I dont think that is over stocked. to busy depends on items you have in there. not t omention bottom dwellers surfice dwellers, taritorial items and what have you. and how does everything get along? do they seem stressed out, and or anti social.

my first tank was a 10 gallon. with 19 items. everyone said that that was aweful. they was the Best darn tank i had. Listen to the wize, but some things you will have to learn through trial and error.


I dont think your tanks or over stocked, the question is the items that you do have, do they get along ok? that also is a big factot to consider

[Kaga's Kritters]

i think the 29 is overstocked. angels get big and can be very mean. your larger gourami will end up pretty territorial too....so probably not a good combination. the angels will probably end up eating the tetras or at least picking them to death. considering yoyo loaches get about 6 inches, you have way to many of them also. you have to think of the adult size of the fish when you are stocking a tank. just because they are smaller now doesn't mean they won't eventually outgrow the tank. angels get decent size and need a good bit of room and can be very nippy and mean, so you have to be careful what you put with them. i personally would only have 2 angels and 2 yoyos and the ottos in the 29g. that will give the angels plenty of room to swim around without anyone getting in there way.

[cocoa_pleco]

if you have a heavy filtration schedule and good filtration, you should be fine. else, youre overstocked

[stunner]

I would think that your 29 is overstocked...but it depends on your maintenance routine.

[smaug]

I dont have any of the other fish you list,i do have experience with angels.Angels when full grown are very power hungry.A 29gal tank is not big enough for them unless that is all you have in it.There are some exceptions such as cory cats and smaller plecs as well as some of the bigger tetra that are fast enough to not make an easy target.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Yur 29 sounds okay, but is kinda pushing the limit. How often do you change the wate, and how much?

the 10g is okay though.

[gm72]

I'm going to say that the 29 is overstocked. We need to remember that it is not just bioload to be concerned with but also space. I mean, I could live in a closet with 2 other people given adequate ventilation and a toilet that automatically flushed every 15 minutes, but I wouldn't be particularly happy.

[Nautilus29]

I would keep the yoyo loaches they do a good job at cleaning up if you overfeed and they like it in larger groups. If you take some back They will become less active and alot of times they wont school with each other anymore.

[Kaga's Kritters]

I would keep the yoyo loaches they do a good job at cleaning up if you overfeed and they like it in larger groups. If you take some back They will become less active and alot of times they wont school with each other anymore.

only problem with that is they get 6 inches long, that is way too much in a 29g.

[Kuli_Loach]

It's overstocked unless you have like 50g worth of filtration.

[forrestcook]

My filter is rated to 75gal, I do at least a 15-20% water change weekly, sometimes 40%. So far the fish seem to get along great, the yoyos have no concept of personal space as they nose around every other fish in the tank, but they don't chase aggressivley. As far as how big the adult sizes are, I did research that prior...

I figured 2 angels wouldbeokay in the tank, and the source that I read about the yoyos said they only grew to 3 or 4 inches. I'll admit, the gourami (while reasearched individually in the past) was an impulse purchase with my wife for this tank.

All my fish are filled with color and no nipped fins to speak of... I'm going to be taking the tetras back, however.

I think I may eventually go to a 55 gallon, though if I do that I might be tempted to sell these fish and start with something completely different.

If it matters at all, this tank is planted to give the fish places to hide and have some security.

[forrestcook]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

liveaquaria, which I have been doing much of my fish research on, says my yoyo gets 3 inches...

[Kuli_Loach]

Actually that is only about 30g worth of filtration, divide the filter rating in half, my 55g has 2 75g rated filters so I have about 75g worth of filtration.

[Lady Hobbs]

Without the angels your tank would be fine.

[forrestcook]

how do you figure dividing the filter rating in half? aren't they rated for a specific gallon amount for a reason?

[Kaga's Kritters]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

liveaquaria, which I have been doing much of my fish research on, says my yoyo gets 3 inches...

check this out on loaches.com

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[forrestcook]

okay - so now I have one website telling me 3" and one telling me 6". Could the 6" loach be wild and not captive? My understanding is that fish generally stay smaller in captivity...

Tetras are back at the LFS and three uppies are now in the 10 gallon. The 29 is much more peaceful now. And note that I did consider an angel's full grown size when I put them in here... as I said, I would like to go bigger eventually, so if I keep these angels through till adulthood (about 2.5-3" right now) I certainly have the option of moving them.

Regardless, I feel much better about the tank now that the 8 tetras are gone... it frees up a lot of room visually and gives the remaining fish more "alone time".

[gm72]

how do you figure dividing the filter rating in half? aren't they rated for a specific gallon amount for a reason?

The ratings are usually over-inflated. I mean, consider this. A 1986 Ford Escort can go 100 miles per hour but it will HATE doing so. The ratings aren't usually terribly accurate.

[zackish]

I think the tank sounds fine. I wouldn't add any more.