126 litre stocking!

[labrakitty]

I have set up 126 litre tank. I did a fishless cyle. It is now cycled and currently has 4 pristella tetras in it.:D I am thinkning of also adding:
2 lace gouramis
6 panda corys
6 rummy nose tetras
6 cardinal tetras
1 peppermint catfish
and of course the 4 pristella tetras.
Ph: 6.2-6.4
GH:6
KH-2-4
Temperature:25
I have an AquaClear 200 and an Eheim 2213 classic running on it.
Will this be ok?

Thankyou!

[AngelMom]

Welcome to the forum!

I hate to be the one to give bad news, but your 10 gallon (40L) tank has about 3 times as many fish in it as it should. Also, you need to be aware that some fish, though small, need space to swim. Guppies need at least a 20 gallon tank (about 80L) Platies need 15 gallons minimum (60L) and the two Plecos need at least a 30 gallon (120L) tank. The two gouramis you have in there are fine for that size tank.

Why don't you consider moving the fish from your small tank to the new one and maybe getting some shrimp for the small tank? If you did that, it would stock the larger tank just about to capacity.

If you're not sure about the tank size requirements for fish, you can check them at www.peteducation.com. They have some pretty reliable information on a variety of fish.

BTW, if yoou were to add the fish you listed, that would overstock the larger tank by about 175%. The general rule of thumb is 1 inch (2.5 cm) of fish for each gallon (3.75L) of tank capacity, but you also have to take into consideration the minimum tank size for each fish as well as the shape of the tank.....this "rule" is only good for standard rectangular tanks.

[labrakitty]

I am not asking you about my current 40 litre tank. But just to say anyway it is running fine with 30 perecent formightly water changes, there hasn't been any diseases for ages or any deaths, the catfish are only small and Nitrates are low. The inch per gallon is not right, it tells me that I culd nearly have an oscar in my 10 gallon. things you need to take into acount are: filteration, i have a lot of over filteration in my tnaks, how offen you are changing the water, I will be doing weekly water changes, how aggressive the fish are, there is no aggressive fish apart from the guramis which are actually quite peacful,(I have them in my quarantine tank at the moment.) and their bio-load. All except the gouramis and plecos are tiny bio-loads. Since the tetras and corys are small bio-loads, I have a lot extra filteration and the tank is cyled. It is also going to be heavily planted and weekly water changes 30 percent with gravel siphoning.

[AngelMom]

I know you did not ask about the 40L tank, but the answer will still be the same.....it is overstocked. The fish also need more room to swim than they have in there. The folks here on this board are mostly concerned with the quality of life that our friends have so I doubt you will find anyone else here who would disagree.

You are correct that some common sense needs to prevail when using the 1" of fish per gallon rule, but you will note that I also stated you need to determine the specific needs of the fish you want to keep. If you check out the website I offered, you will see that most of the fish you have in that small tank need more space.

[labrakitty]

Why do you beleive that website so much? Why do you think that it is right about everything? If the fish need a bigger tank then why are they so happy? They bred, and all the water parameters are just to their liking. I feed them a varied diet and change their water. The guppies swim together, up and down the back of the tank all day, the pair of sparkling gouramis follow each other everywhere they go. They know their feeding time and when I walk into the room they come to the front of the tank, sometimes I even pat them. Teh tank dimensions are: 63cm long by 50cm wide by 40cm high. I got it specially made.:D I would like an opinio from other people too. Everywhere else I have asked said it would be fine with that much filterationa dn weekly water changes. Why do you believe in the 1" per gallon?

[AngelMom]

You came here and asked a question. The question was answered. You don't have to believe any one here if you don't want to and we will even help later if you have a problem.

[aquak]

Most of the people who stay at this site are speaking from experience and trying to help others so their fish won't get sick and die. When our experience agrees with what we find on a web site, we recommend it to avoid having to spend time giving you information that is already available elsewhere. As AngelMom stated, the inch/gallon is only part of the story. The size of the fish isn't even the main thing. You are not the first person to insist that their fish were very happy in an overstocked tank. People used to say their slaves were happy, too. What is happy? Alive and apparently well? If you kept dogs in a small cage and fed them well and kept them clean and they had puppies, would that mean they were happy? Is it possible that over time they would become less healthy due the stress of being overcrowded? That's what experienced fish keepers will tell you happens when you crowd your tanks. You won't find anyone here who has long-term experience that will agree with you, but if you really don't want to listen, you can easily find sites where they are less concerned about the fish and more about their own entertainment. I saw one where they laughed because the corydoras tried to school in a 10 gallon and ran into each other. I thought it was sad, not funny. Very few fish can live long-term in a 10, and even 20 gallon. 30 is the minimum for most. You are wise to ask and I hope you will listen instead of having to learn from having your fish get sick and die.

[oscarbartoni]

The one inch per gallon is just a guide line not something that you can use for every fish under one inch. Yes you might be able to put 10 ine inch oscars in a ten gallon tank (as long as they did not grow more than one inch but oscars do grow and a 10 inch oscar in a ten gallon tank woud be OVERCROWDED. What I like to tell people is to take the number of inches that a fish is long (not including the fins) and multiply by the height of the fish (again not including the fins) and that number in inches will give you the number of gallons that that fish shoud have. When people say that their fish are happy, have they actually asked them (the fish) and had the fish answer?