Is This 16 Gallon Aquarium Overstocked?

[Jkxng05]

Is my 16 Gallon Aquarium overstocked?

My current stocking is:
Upper-Middle Region:
3 Ballon Mollies (1 Male 2 Female)
6 Balloon Molly Fry (0.5 Inches)
7 Ember Tetras
1 Male Betta
1 Neon Tetra (Moved the rest, this dunce won't give up)
Bottom Feeders:
6 Albino Corydoras
4 Tailspot Corydoras
2 Golden Algae Eater (No where to put it. Brother hates it)
3 Otocinclus Catfish
1 Royal Farlowella
Plants:
Large Amounts of Java Fern
Lot of Driftwood
Water:
Soft and acidic (For Otos and Royal Farlowella)
and light yellow tinge, like urine.


Side Note:
AqAdvisor.com said it's not overstocked without the Golden Algae Eater in the Community Aquarium.

[Slaphppy7]

What kind of filtration is on this tank?

First issue that stands out to me is the whiptail catfish, which can grow to almost 8" long, much too big for this size tank, as well as the algae eaters, which can grow to 12" or bigger.

[angelcraze2]

Lol, urine is a funny thing to describe the color of your tank water, I prefer to use tannin stained, or amber haha

Your tank looks to be pretty stocked yes. But most of your fish are small and very docile. As mentioned the SAEs are not a good fit in there and perhaps you could rehome them. Even some chain fish stores or LFS will take them to rehome, especially if they are nice and healthy. Might as well rehome the whiptail catfish if he's too large because I believe they like more of their own kind as well.

If the other fish have enough room with the decor, I would make sure to keep nitrates under 20ppm at all times with enough water changes if you want to keep all the fish that fit.

[BluewaterBoof]

Tank is a bit full, but I've seen worse :) I think most of us, if being 100% honest, would admit to making stocking follies when first starting out.

As Slap and Angel suggested, the farlowella and algae eaters are not a good fit for that tank and deserve bigger homes. If for some reason you can't get a shop to take them, search on FB for local aquarium groups and you shouldn't have too many issues finding someone with a setup that is better suited for the animals.

Other than that, you should be ok provided you watch your nitrates and do water changes accordingly, as stated above. Just keep an eye out for signs of aggression, especially from the betta. If your parents are ok with you getting another tank set up, you can get a small bare 10gal tank from Walmart for $13 and one of their little filters for around $10. Grab some cheap pool filter sand from Home Depot for $6 and you got yourself a nice big home for the betta to stretch his fins. Add some driftwood and some plants and he will feel right as rain.

Welcome to the Community and happy fishkeeping!

[bpete]

how big is your Royal Farowella right now? also your mollies may not be a good fit for your acidic water conditions.

[Slaphppy7]

Also consider that the mollies are livebearers, and they breed readily and often.

You could potentially end up with dozens of them.

[SueD]

I think you have a couple of problems besides the Royal Farlowella and Golden Algae Eaters that people have already mentioned. What are your plans for dealing with all of the mollies breeding in there? They may very well eat many of the fry, but if any survive those will start to breed within a few months. The balloon mollies can reach 3 inches which is rather large for that tank in the numbers you will soon have. Additionally, for me the albino cories are too large for that tank in a group of 6 considering all of the other fish you have. The tailspot (hastatus) cories are more appropriate.

[angelcraze2]

Oh wow, didn't know mollies were so huge!

If it were my tank, I'd stick with just the ember tetras and oto cats, I'd get 3 more embers and 3 more otos. The betta if he's ok with the tetras. But I understock my tanks. As BluewaterBoof said, I've seen worse.

But since it was pointed out your water is better suited for tetras and catfish, it would make sense to rehome the mollies if you can.

[Slaphppy7]

Just an FYI on "balloon" fish

https://allnaturalpetcare.com/blog/2012/05/20/welfare-weekend-3-fish-cruel-to-keep-in-aquariums-dyed_tattooed_balloon_monster/

[RiversGirl]

That was a sobering article. Thank you for spreading the information.