Too many fish for a 55 gallon or not?

[Wolfairious]

I have:
1- Pleco
1- Silver Dollar
2- Dwarf Gourami
1- Striped Raphael Catfish
2- Oto Cats
3- Cory Cats
1- Blue & Gold Gourami
1- Opaline Gourami
4- Giant Danio
1- Eclipse Cat
9- Glofish (new additions for the kids)

Was wondering if the 9 new Glofish make it too much for my tank. They also want more new fish.

[fishmommie]

I have:
1- Pleco Depends on the type of pleco. If it is a common, then it's way too big. you need to find out what you've got and how large it is going to get
1- Silver Dollar silver dollars should be kept in a school. they are much happier that way. so if you were to get 2 more (minimum), then yes, you'd have too many fish because these guys get quite large.
2- Dwarf Gourami 2 dwarf gourami is 1 too many. they will eventually fight. one will end up hiding all the time or injured and dead. sorry.
1- Striped Raphael Catfish Minimum size tank for this guy is 75 gallon. He's going to get up to 9 inches.
2- Oto Cats otto cats prefer a school also. you should have at least 6. very little bio load so no problem upping the numbers. if this is a fairly new tank, you need to add algae wafers so they'll have enough to eat. only a well established tank that has algae could sustain them without additional food
3- Cory Cats again, this is a schooling fish. 6 at a minimum - all the same species.
1- Blue & Gold Gourami I don't know anything about this fish but I looked up the profile: "This gourami is considered a good community fish when small, but that can change as they mature. Some will remain peaceful while others can become belligerent, sometimes attacking smaller fish. Among themselves the males are territorial and will squabble. The best tankmates are other fish that are of similar size and temperament.They can get quite large, up to 6 inches
1- Opaline Gourami - again, you should google the profile for this fish. You have a lot of labyrinth fish in one tank, 2 of which could get up to 6 inches.
4- Giant Danio again - this is a schooling fish. 6 at a minimum
1- Eclipse Cat I believe these are sometimes called suncatfish. if so - it could get up to 18 inches long. way to big for your tank
9- Glofish (new additions for the kids) this is in essense a zebra danio that has been genetically engineered to glow with color

Was wondering if the 9 new Glofish make it too much for my tank. They also want more new fish.

So I guess in answer, the glofish are not the problem but you do have a few other problems in the making. were I you, I'd spend some time on the web researching each of the these fish. See if they are compatible, how they should be stocked, if they need the same water conditions, food etc. Right off the top, I'd return the raphael, the eclipse, one of the dwarf gouramis and do so extensive research on whether or not you can house those other 3 larger gourami together. Also, if you are keeping the large gourami, then I'd return the silver dollar because to stock it properly, you need 2 more and that would definitely stress the tank.You also need to find out what kind of pleco you have. if you can post a photo, we might be able to ID it for you. At least it's a place to start

[Wolfairious]

My 2 Dwarf Gourami's are a male and female pair. The Opaline Gourami is a Female while the Blue & Gold is a male.
I did look them up and thought that they would all be ok together as the dwarfs stay lower in the tank most of the time while the other 2 are at the upper half. But doing more reading, it looks like I should have a 2 female to 1 male ratio instead.

The Eclipse Cat (Max size 6" at petsmart info) I am going to take your recommendation and try to return and get more Cory / Oto's to replace as that one was only added just before the Glo Fish. My Glo fish are more like Tetras than the Zebra Danio kind.

I have had the single Silver dollar for over 2 years as he is the only one left from the last "lifetime" of my tank. Same with the Rapheal Cat. He has never seemed to grow though. Stayed around 3-4" for 2 years now. So really can't bring those back.

Pretty sure my Pleco is a common one.

You don't think if I got 4 more oto's, 3 more corydora's and 2 more Giant Danio and returned the eclipse Catfish I would have too many?

[fishmommie]

My 2 Dwarf Gourami's are a male and female pair. How unusual. it's very rare to find female dw gourami. you must have a great fish store! :o)The Opaline Gourami is a Female while the Blue & Gold is a male.
I did look them up and thought that they would all be ok together as the dwarfs stay lower in the tank most of the time while the other 2 are at the upper half. But doing more reading, it looks like I should have a 2 female to 1 male ratio instead.I'm not much help on the larger gourami. maybe someone else can chime in

The Eclipse Cat (Max size 6" at petsmart info) I am going to take your recommendation sounds like a good call.and try to return and get more Cory / Oto's to replace as that one was only added just before the Glo Fish. My Glo fish are more like Tetras than the Zebra Danio kind.

I have had the single Silver dollar for over 2 years as he is the only one left from the last "lifetime" of my tank. Same with the Rapheal Cat. He has never seemed to grow though. Stayed around 3-4" for 2 years now. So really can't bring those back.we do get attached.

Pretty sure my Pleco is a common one.I'd return the pleco then. see if you can't get a smaller bristlenose pleco - they only get around 4 inches.

You don't think if I got 4 more oto's, 3 more corydora's and 2 more Giant Danio and returned the eclipse Catfish I would have too many? if you return the cat and the pleco you should be okay. just watch your water parameters for a while. if you start showing nitrates over 20ppm by water change time, you maybe need to do an additional W/C each week or a larger weekly water change. The ottos and corys will add very little to the bio load. check out a site called aquaadvisor.com. plug in your tank size, filtration and fish and it will give you a fairly good idea what your stocking % (over or above) is. it's not an absolute but is a nice guide.

[toddnbecka]

I'm feeling sorry for the lone silver dollar. They're social/schooling fish, and really need other silver dollars (species doesn't matter, just same general shape is fine) and a larger tank than a 55 for a group. I started with 3 small ones in a 75 with cichlids, added 2 more to increase the size of the group, then moved them into the 220 when we moved into this house last February. Size doesn't matter, little ones mix with larger ones just fine, and last week I added 6 more that are roughly half the size (actually silver dollar size) of the 5 that I've had for a couple years now. The largest is almost the size of a CD, and there are 4 distinctly different species among the 5 larger ones, but the new ones appear to be the same species as the largest of the group. There is a fish called a counterfeit silver dollar that has the right shape but doesn't grow as large, a few of those would be a good compromise to accompany your single.
Common pleco's simply shouldn't even be sold for aquarium fish because most people don't know what they're getting into or have a large enough tank to keep an adult properly.
Oto cats are social fish, and really only thrive in a heavily planted tank from what I've gathered. If you're going to swap off the pleco for a bristlenose the Oto's will likely get starved out.
The glofish would be the genetically engineered black skirt tetras, they also come in a white (though not actually albino) morph that are often painted. Generally hardy schooling fish there.

[Wolfairious]

Brought the Elipse Cat and pleco back and got more Corydora, Oto and Giant Danio to make 6 each. I too feel a little bad about my silver dollar, but since I have had him so long, not sure what else I can do. He is just a little smaller than the size of my fist. Can't get 5 more with the load in my tank.

(you had one too many 'a's in aquadivsor)

[fishmommie]

good for you. sounds like things are rounded out nicely. And I understand about the SD. IMO it would not be good for the fish to rehome it at this late date since he's the last of your group and you've had him so long.

[Wolfairious]

Advisor says I am way overstocked as I thought. Guess I will be doing frequent water changes.

[fishmommie]

the Raphael and the 2 large gourami most likely put it over. Aquadvisor isn't the be all end all. it does it calcs based of full grown estimates. Still, I rely on it to a certain extent
Could your filtration be a problem? Would another canister or a HOB help the situation? You should have enough filtration for 150 gallons - double your tank size.

[Wolfairious]

Have had the Raphael for a few years now too. Kinda like the SD, too late to change now. I thought I was over doing the filter with both Whisper 60's. I try to change out/clean 1 every few weeks and let the other one build the bio up. Then I'll change over/clean the other.
I think my female dwarf Gourami has fallen to the "dwarf gourami disease". Have had him for a month. if it is DGD then maybe the other will be right behind it. If not at least, as sad as it is, my load will be less.