Advice sought on stocking...

[Sandman]

See my sig for the current community composition. My dilemma is this: I had been planning on rounding out the tetra school to 10. However I'm now recognizing that I may be pushing 'overstocked' already once these guys get older.

What do you guys think - would it be better to have a better sized school of tetras, or leave it the way it is? I just want each type of fish to be happy (obviously)

[annageckos]

I think you may be able to up the barbs and tetras to 8 or so. There are other factors at play here too. Like what kind of filtration you have, and plants too. Quick growing stem plants will use up more of the fish waste than things like java fern and anubias.

[Sandman]

I have some Cabombas, ludwiga, and something shaped similar to the ludwiga. The filter is an Oheim canister designed for 160 gal. Substrate is sand.

The plants seem to be keeping up with the nitrates fine (ammonia and nitrite @ 0). Last I checked a couple days ago, nitrates were at 10 using the drip test.

[Northernguy]

I see no problem with making the schools a bit bigger.
Your tank will maintenence will need to be increased as well.

[VoidParadigm]

In my opinion, you're right that you're overstocked. Don't up the schools unless the tank is at least 6 months mature/you're willing to up maintenance.

What temperature have you been keeping the tank at anyways? Your Odessas prefer colder water than the rest of your species.

[Sandman]

I'm at 76 right now. Originally was at 78 but I wanted to find a better happy medium for the barbs. I have 74 as a target, but I'm not sure if my house temp (71 deg) coupled with the aquarium lights will let it drop that far. We'll see.

[rothenb1]

I see you have silvertip tetras. I was thinking of adding a school of 8 to my tetra tank, but I've heard they are nippy. How are the silvertips with your other fish?

[Sandman]

The silvertips in my tank are very peaceful. They barely even chase each other around. They are very active though!

[rich311k]

I do not see why you can can't add a few more tetras. They are not high bioload fish.