Is my tank too small?

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bregirl

Aquarium Advice Newbie
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Mar 6, 2017
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Can I fit anymore fish in my tank?

Hey there!
I currently have a 38 gallon bow front tank with a African cichlid, two female convict cichlids, a upside down catfish, and one small algae eater. Now, I have twin boys and one one them loves my tank and my fish, I ordered some blue shrimp to go in it and I was wondering if my tank is too small and crowded for a small school of tiny tetras or something? I just know my baby boy would love a small school of fish! What do you all think? Thanks in advance!
 
Hey there!

I currently have a 38 gallon bow front tank with a African cichlid, two female convict cichlids, a upside down catfish, and one small algae eater. Now, I have twin boys and one one them loves my tank and my fish, I ordered some blue shrimp to go in it and I was wondering if my tank is too small and crowded for a small school of tiny tetras or something? I just know my baby boy would love a small school of fish! What do you all think? Thanks in advance!



Would not mix the cichlids with the others also just depends on how much work you want to put in if you like water changes every night lol
 
Haha actually my cichlids are fine with any type of fish, they do not bother small fish
 
I had 14 Mbuna Juveniles in my 38 bow front using a Marineland magnum 350 convertible canister filter until I just recently moved them to a new 55. And guess what, I did 50% water change only once a week. Eventually they will outgrow the 55. I too would not recommend anything but cichlids in that tank, they will become dinner for the Africans at some point.

Good luck!
 
Do you know what type or species of African cichlid you have? Most Mbunas, and a majority of other smaller growing Rift Lake cichlids aren't piscavorous typically, but I wouldn't make a guarantee for the safety of shrimp. Central Amer cichlids, like your convicts usually like a bit more meat in their diet, and may very well eat your shrimp.
It isn't really that your tank is too small, so much that you want to have a stock mix that just won't fit well together. IMO, rehome the cichlids (all of them), and go with your tetras or other schooling fish, and shrimp. Or, if you want to keep the cichlids, I probably wouldn't want to chance the longevity of tetras or shrimp.
Also, your upside down catfish would prefer a couple more of it's kind as companions. They usually prefer to be in groups. Not sure how well they'll fare with cichlids though. Since you have 2 female convicts, aggression from them may not be an issue. Many African cichlids have an undeserved reputation for aggressiveness; some have reputations that are well-deserved. If you could give us an idea what you have, we could hopefully offer a better answer.
 
There are multiple issues with your existing stock. For one African cichlids cannot be mixed with Convicts, for many reasons, 1) diet 2) water parameter needs 3) aggression levels
An upside down catfish shouldn't be kept with mbuna or Convicts
Lastly cichlids will absolutely eat those shrimp, and quickly.
Also, no you cannot keep tetras with those cichlids, they will kill them.

So, in order, you should
A) decide if you want to keep African or central/south american cichlids, choose wisely, you need to pick either or.

B ) decide if you want to keep tetras with them, if so choose central/south american cichlids.

Shrimp will likely be out of the question with either.

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There are multiple issues with your existing stock. For one African cichlids cannot be mixed with Convicts, for many reasons, 1) diet 2) water parameter needs 3) aggression levels
An upside down catfish shouldn't be kept with mbuna or Convicts
Lastly cichlids will absolutely eat those shrimp, and quickly.
Also, no you cannot keep tetras with those cichlids, they will kill them.

So, in order, you should
A) decide if you want to keep African or central/south american cichlids, choose wisely, you need to pick either or.

B ) decide if you want to keep tetras with them, if so choose central/south american cichlids.

Shrimp will likely be out of the question with either.

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Thank you for your advice, but your actually wrong in my situation. I have had my Blue African Cichlid and my Two Convicts for over a year now and they are perfectly fine with each other. Also, I have had guppies and mollies that all died from natural causes like ick or tail rot and was never picked on by my African. I actually had a mollie fish with all of my cichlids for at least 6months before he got tail rot that I couldn't treat. Also, my cichlids and catfish are fine together, I have had my catfish for at least 6months now and he shares a stump with my African.
 
Do you know what type or species of African cichlid you have? Most Mbunas, and a majority of other smaller growing Rift Lake cichlids aren't piscavorous typically, but I wouldn't make a guarantee for the safety of shrimp. Central Amer cichlids, like your convicts usually like a bit more meat in their diet, and may very well eat your shrimp.
It isn't really that your tank is too small, so much that you want to have a stock mix that just won't fit well together. IMO, rehome the cichlids (all of them), and go with your tetras or other schooling fish, and shrimp. Or, if you want to keep the cichlids, I probably wouldn't want to chance the longevity of tetras or shrimp.
Also, your upside down catfish would prefer a couple more of it's kind as companions. They usually prefer to be in groups. Not sure how well they'll fare with cichlids though. Since you have 2 female convicts, aggression from them may not be an issue. Many African cichlids have an undeserved reputation for aggressiveness; some have reputations that are well-deserved. If you could give us an idea what you have, we could hopefully offer a better answer.

I actually do not know anymore about my cichlids except that he is a Blue African, over a year ago I purchased him and four other cichlids to go in a 30gal I had while I had gouramis, mollies, and guppies in a 20 gal. Two African cichlids got picked on and was moved to the smaller tank with the other fish and they have always been fine with little fish since then, however, the orange bully fish to this day cannot be paired with anything else. But I have had mollies and guppies with my african on and off since I've had him and he's fine with everything I put in there. When I first bought my catfish the lady only had two so I bought both of them but within that next day the other got ick or something related to that and died, I've never been able to find anymore of these catfish without having to order them or I would get another one maybe. I was just wondering about the tank size wise about the schooling with how many fish I have now.
 
Thank you for your advice, but your actually wrong in my situation. I have had my Blue African Cichlid and my Two Convicts for over a year now and they are perfectly fine with each other. Also, I have had guppies and mollies that all died from natural causes like ick or tail rot and was never picked on by my African. I actually had a mollie fish with all of my cichlids for at least 6months before he got tail rot that I couldn't treat. Also, my cichlids and catfish are fine together, I have had my catfish for at least 6months now and he shares a stump with my African.

Yep, you are right, good luck!

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As I said, depending on the species of African, it may not be interested in fish as part of it's diet at all. Many Rift Lake cichlids, particularly those from Lake Malawi, need omnivorous diets heavy in vegetable matter. Also, not all are aggressive, and some that are show only conspecific aggression. I've seen several instances where normally non-aggressive cichlids suddenly turned into killers however, so keep a close eye on it. Convicts should have a higher protein diet. It's possible that you got lucky with convicts that aren't interested in eating fish. Stranger things have happened. You may also get lucky with shrimp; however, I personally wouldn't chance it. They may just turn into expensive fish food.
If your tank is working for you, I'm glad. It isn't a mix that I would choose, but sometimes fish who would never cohabitate in the same natural waters work in an aquarium for whatever reason. I still wouldn't add any more fish into the mix ATM. Adding new fish could very well trigger aggression from your cichlids.
Your catfish should really be with others of its own kind, however. I would still advise you to rehome it. If you can take it to a LFS, they may give you store credit for it. It may seem ok, but being the only fish of it's type in the tank, it's probably a stressed and unhappy fish.
 
There are multiple issues with your existing stock. For one African cichlids cannot be mixed with Convicts, for many reasons, 1) diet 2) water parameter needs 3) aggression levels
An upside down catfish shouldn't be kept with mbuna or Convicts
Lastly cichlids will absolutely eat those shrimp, and quickly.
Also, no you cannot keep tetras with those cichlids, they will kill them.

So, in order, you should
A) decide if you want to keep African or central/south american cichlids, choose wisely, you need to pick either or.

B ) decide if you want to keep tetras with them, if so choose central/south american cichlids.

Shrimp will likely be out of the question with either.

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You made several excellent points sir,you must have decades of experience in fishkeeping!
 
What a shame to buy fish and believe and have their 'natural life span' be 6 months ?
Clearly any good advice offered to you in the past was overlooked as it was in this thread...You just don't see the forest for the trees huh?:ermm:
Your stocking is all wrong ,but you can feel free to correct me ALSO ..
What do I know I bought some fish with 10 + year life spans..:whistle:
We must live in different States ? I am from the real world , where you from ?:confused:
You have been offered solid advice by good keepers.:nono:All the NATURAL disease your fish have passed from are brought on by poor quality fish or stress from improper stocking and POOR animal husbandry ..
Just because the fish survived for as long as it did does not mean it was being properly kept....
Not many good keepers are going to care to offer you advice with your disposition.. Just saying get used to your tank like it is or worse or listen a little?....Not my tank so ?(y)
Like the one who tried to tell you earlier...
Good luck. :banghead:
 
*in ms. Doubtfire voice* oooooooo dear.. you're doing it all wrong...

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Tmrc nailed it, your tank though

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You made several excellent points sir,you must have decades of experience in fishkeeping!

Thank you, about a decade of experience and personal experience with each species involved. However the OP instantly dismissed my advice, so like I said, good luck.

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Not everyone wants to hear what doesn't agree with what they want. When we started this adventure I hated hearing I couldn't mix Cichlids from different areas together but I wanted to do what was best for the fish. I have 20 African Cichlids, 6 Cuckoo catfish and 2 plecos happily living in a 120. Oh and they are doing so well that we've had eggs 3 times now. The moral of the story is listen to those who know what they are talking about. Your fish will thank you for it.
 
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