New 55g tank

[phatchuck]

Hey guys -

I'm a newbie to the fish club, aside from having some guppies as a kid. I just bought a 55g tank and it has a filter for a 75g. I was using AqAdvisor and it is telling me my tank is 278% overstocked and the filtration capacity is at 24%. I was hoping to get some real feedback since I know that site is obviously just a guide. I have all juveniles of the following:

2 Dwarf Blue Gourami
2 Red Eye Tetras
2 Blue Paradise Fish
2 Red Fire Guppies
2 Iridescent Sharks
1 Synodontis Eupterus Catfish
3 Gold Zebra Danios
3 Mystery Snails


I know the sharks may have been a bad choice since they get really big, as well as the catfish. The other fish don't really get that big from what I can see. But aside from that and the territorial spats with the Paradise fish and the Gouramis, I think there is plenty of room in the tank for everyone. I'm done with getting any new fish for a while but i will be adding a few more plants to create some more desirable real estate on the other side of the tank. The fish really seem to congregate around the plants I have in there now. I have 4 or 5 plants on one end of the tank. Any advice/suggestions?

Thanks

[Hardy85]

Here are the issues I see

-only 1 dwarf gourami per tank this size (I have tried, it doesn't work)
-The blue paradise fish will be attacked by dwarf gouramis - remove them
-The SE Catfish gets very large, would not recommend that fish in this tank
-Iridescent Sharks also get very large

I am hoping the tank was cycled before you added these fish...

spread the plants out, go buy more zebra danios and red eye tetras. Return the catfish, sharks, paradise fish, and 1 dwarf gourami (or you can return both gourami and keep paradise fish)

If you want catfish get a group of corys, I like the dwarf corys since you can have a large school compared to standard corys

[steeler1]

Well you have a lot of aggresive fish for one thing. The Paradise and Gourami are both very territorial fish and will fight over what they think is their's. You should keep just one of these two spieces and only one of the one you decide to keep. The sharks will get to big for your aquarium down the road. Yes the fish will stay in the area with the plants because they make them feel secure so spread out your plants and the fish will spread out.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[Hardy85]

Hey guys -

I just bought a 55g tank and it has a filter for a 75g.

To me, this statement says that you bought a new tank, and added these fish at the same time. If that is the case. Return ALL the fish and read up on cycling. I am no expert and have made similar mistakes, but you will probably lose most of those fish if the tank is not cycled

[phatchuck]

Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it. It's just so tempting to buy that cool looking fish without doing some research about it and take the advice of the aquarium store guy that apparently has no idea what he's talking about. Lesson learned for sure.

And BTW - the tank has been cycled. All levels are good.

[Hardy85]

Ok good to hear. I don't know about the paradise fish, but I know DG's don't like anything that looks similar to them (hate each other, almost like a betta)

Yea I have been lied, or given bad info from LFS a few times, I hope they will take the fish back, most places will. Also, I do recommend adding each a species at a time rather than all at once. Prevents any major spikes in water params.

[Goes to 11!]

And BTW - the tank has been cycled. All levels are good.

Partially for our comfort but mostly for your fish. Can you give us an idea of the cycling process you used? We have seen it defined in ways that are far from effective before and It's good to be sure.

BTW -Paradise fish are gouramis. Dwarf Gouramis are too territorial to house 4 of them in a 55 & your tetras are schooling fish and would be far more comfortable with 6 more as a minimum.

I do recommend adding each a species at a time rather than all at once. Prevents any major spikes in water params.

Depends entirely on how you cycle, You can stock a tank entirely if you have fishlessly cycled and have an adequate BB colony built up.

& It's not that people lie on purpose, They just don't know any better. It's our job to research what's required because if WE are informed it is not possible for anyone to blow smoke into uncomfortable places if you know what I mean.

[phatchuck]

Second question -

Despite the not optimal species I have in the tank now, is it overcrowded? What guidelines do you guys use? I have read 1" of fish per gallon. Is that a good guideline?

Thanks

[Hardy85]

Partially for our comfort but mostly for your fish. Can you give us an idea of the cycling process you used? We have seen it defined in ways that are far from effective before and It's good to be sure.

HEY hey hey, don't go using my attempts to teach other ppl on how not to do it ;) lol

But the 1" per gallon is no good. I personally use aquaadvisor as a rough guideline, and then determine from there what looks doesn't look too crowded in the tank.

I know others *cough850Rcough* will mention to keep the # of species down, while you should keep it limited, I would say pick how you want to do your tank first, then decide on what and how many species you would like

Do you want:
-a few big fish
-1 Big fish, lots of little fish
-a few large schools
-1 larger school

Pick what you want, and I'm sure we would all love to help you when it comes to stocking ideas

[Goes to 11!]

Despite the not optimal species I have in the tank now, is it overcrowded? What guidelines do you guys use? I have read 1" of fish per gallon. Is that a good guideline?

The 'inch/g rule' IF it could be effectively applied at all would only work on small tanks with small fish and even then it fails [IE: two gourami in a 10g works according to that 'rule' but that will not work]. But it's so ingrained in the myths of the hobby that you always hear it.

Stocking has more than just the size of the fish to be taken into consideration, I wouldn't put more than one dwarf gourami in a 55 unless it was heavily planted to keep them from seeing each other.

This is because [as I mentioned] they are territorial and if the space is too small for the non dominant one to get out of the Dominant ones claimed territory he will just keep getting beat on until he dies. Their conspecific aggression is a far more relevant aspect wrt your stocking than their size.

How active a fish is figures in also: Danios for instance are 2" fish but require at least a 2' tank IMO because they are very very active fish.

Then there is compatibility with other species [& the fact that big fish eat small fish]

There's more than size to consider is what I am taking far too long to say.

To answer your question one adult shark would overstock your tank lol but..

If you loose the sharks and catfish and pare down the gouramis that leaves you with:

Tetras, guppys, a gourami, and some danios. You could up the numbers of the tetras and danios to proper schools and still have room for another school + some cory cats if you wish.