Too many fish or can i get more still?

[Tilmo2180]

I have a 75gallon flat back hex front tank, currently it has:
5 neon tetras
4 phantom tetras
4 glo lights
4 black neons
6 panda catfish
1 golden ancestris pleco (sp?)
10 ghost shrimps
1 red tail shark
1 aquatic frog
8 white clouds
4 "other" tetra type fish (they were rescue fish, woulda died had i not taken them)
and a few male guppys (bred some pretty male ones so i put em in there
I use sand as a substrate and have quite a bit of anacharis too

My question is...is that too many cause it looks empty and i want more in it. I count 48 fish and I figure they are all worth an inch so i can get 27 more given the gallon per inch rule, right?

Does the gallon per inch rule change when talking about larger tanks? what about with Smaller fish? Thanks in advance for answering my silly begginer questions

[dev]

I don't believe in the one inch per gallon rule, or the 1 cm per liter rule either for that matter. The underwater world is a little more complicated than that.

But if you feel there is room for more, the fish don't bug eachother, and the water quality is good then there's a good chance your tank can handle a little more.

The amount of fish that will be happy in a tank of a given size is all very individual for each tank setup.

[RobbieG]

What kind of frog is it? Some will eat anything that fits in their mouth.

I'd keep an eye on the shrimp a lot of sharks find them particularly tasty - especially when moulting.

Your tank may be a little warm for the white clouds - they are typically cold water fish.

1" per fish is just a guesstimate (and kind of a lousy one) some fish are long and skinny some are short and stout. Some are pretty clean and tidy some are just plain poop machines (plecos).

Most of your fish are pretty small and will stay that way so you could probably easily increase your school sizes or add something esle thats compatible - but you should check on the other things I mentioned before you do anything.

I'm mot saying that you are doing anything wrong or that you will have problems - just that there are a couple of things that I would check on if that were my tank.

[Fishguy2727]

What filtration is on the tank?
What is the water change schedule?

[Tilmo2180]

I have a Fluval 304 canister, and change 30% ish of the water every 3-4 weeks.

I have been missing a shrimp here and there, i figure they must be tastey for teh shark and they are cheap so oh well. I have been thinking of removing the shark though, he chased my Dwarf gourami out of the tank, and she is prettier than he is.

I will look into the cloud thing, my temp is 78*F right now. What temp should they be kept in?

[Drumachine09]

You need to do 30ish% every week.


BTW, this is my 7,000th post. You are welcome.


Lol, jk.

[RobbieG]

They like it under 70. I don't know that they are in any danger or anything I have never kept them so I am speaking from the book rather than from experience.

I found out the hard way about sharks eating shrimp - that part is experience not book!

Is the frog one of the dwarf species? Most of the ones I have heard of being kept in community tanks are and are usually fine with their tankmates.

I would second Drumachine on the water changes- I do at least 50% myself on all of my tanks every week.

[RobbieG]

You need to do 30ish% every week.


BTW, this is my 7,000th post. You are welcome.


Lol, jk.

Congrats Drumachine - that a lot of good advice!

[Fishguy2727]

I would up the filtration then the stocking. I would also up water changes to weekly.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Don't stock more fish unless you start doing more water changes.

[sergo]

I would up the filtration then the stocking. I would also up water changes to weekly.i completely agree. the 304 is maxed out on the 75.

[Tilmo2180]

Yeah, I didnt think the filter was big enough. I got the tank on Craigslist a few months back. Really good deal it came with that filter and I could not afford a new one. I will look into upgrading though, when possible. I will up my water changes too. I am learning really fast since being on here. I knew some stuff but I had no idea how in depth fish keeping is. Thanks for your help everyone

[RobbieG]

You could add a HOB like an AC 110 for under a hundred bucks (probably - depending on your LFS)

You should have excellent filtration using both

*** Make sure you have about 5-6 inches of space between the tank in the wall if you are considering a HOB ***

[minabird]

I have a 75gallon flat back hex front tank, currently it has:
5 neon tetras
4 phantom tetras
4 glo lights
4 black neons
6 panda catfish
1 golden ancestris pleco (sp?)
10 ghost shrimps
1 red tail shark
1 aquatic frog
8 white clouds
4 "other" tetra type fish (they were rescue fish, woulda died had i not taken them)
and a few male guppys (bred some pretty male ones so i put em in there
I use sand as a substrate and have quite a bit of anacharis too

My question is...is that too many cause it looks empty and i want more in it. I count 48 fish and I figure they are all worth an inch so i can get 27 more given the gallon per inch rule, right?

If all of your fish are about 1 inch, they still have some growing to do, especially the red-tail shark - at least 4 inches. The tetras will be at least 1.5" for the neons to 2+" for the glolites, blacks, and phantoms as adults. I wouldn't get any more fish until all of your fish get to their adult sizes, unless you have another tank to move them into as they get older to reduce the crowding in your 75g.

Does the gallon per inch rule change when talking about larger tanks? what about with Smaller fish?

The 1" / gal rule was developed as a wag rule for beginning aquarists to give them some guidance on stocking their new tank. Most experienced fishkeepers tend to agree that this is a crummy rule and that observing the behavior of your fish is a more accurate way to stock your tank. Fish that are overcrowded tend to either get really nippy or hide all the time.

[sergo]

You could add a HOB like an AC 110 for under a hundred bucks (probably - depending on your LFS)

You should have excellent filtration using both

*** Make sure you have about 5-6 inches of space between the tank in the wall if you are considering a HOB ***hell for that much you can get a brand new 305 shipped on ebay.

[Tilmo2180]

Once again thank you all for your insight. I really appriciate the knowlage base to pull from on here. There are many many very expirienced fish keepers on here. Thank you all again.

I have to deal with financial hurdles right now, but slowly I am making my tank how I want and how the fish will want it.

[Fishguy2727]

One of the models in the Freshwater Aquarium Models book I have has a 75 gallon neon tetra setup. The filtration is described as canister, the fish include 5 cories and 200 neons.

If done right (which is always the pre-requisite for any tank), you can easily blow the 1"/gallon 'guide' right out of the water.

[gm72]

You could add a HOB like an AC 110 for under a hundred bucks (probably - depending on your LFS)

You should have excellent filtration using both

*** Make sure you have about 5-6 inches of space between the tank in the wall if you are considering a HOB ***

FYI on pricing for the AC110:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Tilmo2180]

WOW 200+ tetras huh? What book is that in I would like to look through it.
Im sure that the type of tetra would not need to be ONLY neons, so thats basically perfect for what I want for this tank. I have other plans for other tanks in the future but I like tetras for this tank.

[Fishguy2727]

It is titled 'Freshwater Aquarium Models' by John Tullock. It is on amazon.com. The bioload is the bioload, so ti doesn't have to be neons. The best source for max size (and other information) for fish is probably fishbase.org.

[salman]

No one can judge if your tank is overcrowded except for you or if you can post some pictures of it.

Fish can die really fast if you overcrowd your tank. There wont be enough oxygen for all of the fish or space for them to swim around. If you think that the tank has enough oxygen for the fish and they are swimming freely, then they should be fine.

[RobbieG]

FYI on pricing for the AC110:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Thanks man - I was just trying to point out the worst case. I hate telling someone something is going to be X and having it really cost X+++++

Always makes me feel like a jerk

[gm72]

Partly agreed, but if the poster doesn't check water parameters regularly then he/she also won't know if it is overcrowded.

As a tank becomes more heavily stocked, surface agitation (for increased gaseous exchange), filtration (for mechanical, chemical, and biological), and tank maintenance become far more important. The aquarist must decide how intensive he/she wishes to be with the tank to determine how high a stocking level will be acceptable.

This is given however, that stocking levels don't pass into the "there is no way it is going to work" level, like having 50 goldfish in a 75 gallon.

[Tilmo2180]

Thank you fishguy, I will have to go check out that book and ima check that site now too. Thanks again!

There is a TON of room for them to swim in now, I would post pics but im not happy with how it looks now and am too poor to get everything i want. I will post some pics soon though. I will also increase water changes as was suggested. Thanks again guys