30 gal setup -- overstocking?

[Zeugirdor]

I'm currently at 4 tiger barbs and one male red velvet swordtail after losing a few fish this past week due to overfeeding and high nitrates

Thinking of getting 3 more tb's and two female swordtails. After that am I fully stocked, or would I still be able to get a bottom feeder or two? I feel so imbalanced with all of my fish in the middle (I'm pretty sure it's a tall tank, so it really looks awkward).

I was thinking two bristlenose plecos, but my LFS didn't have them last time I was there. Is there any small bottomfeeder that likes to be alone? All the ones under 5 inches I looked up had to be kept in schools and I definitely don't have room for that.

Any ideas?

 

[jasurf21]

Check out www.aqadvisor.com it is a good resource for this information.

You can enter in your tank size and put all the fish in and it will tell you your filtration and stocking levels.

There will be plenty of responses debating the integrity of this website, but it has always steered me in the right direction and proven accurate for my needs. Good luck take it easy!

 

[Bettababe1011]

Check out www.aqadvisor.com it is a good resource for this information.

You can enter in your tank size and put all the fish in and it will tell you your filtration and stocking levels.

There will be plenty of responses debating the integrity of this website, but it has always steered me in the right direction and proven accurate for my needs. Good luck take it easy!

Not sure what they go by for figuring the levels, but Aqadvisor has always helped me. Just remember that it's an approximate.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[Zeugirdor]

Thank you so much, this wesbsite is really fun to tinker around with!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Thank you so much, this wesbsite is really fun to tinker around with!

It sure is. And IMHO, that's all it should be used for. A very rough guideline. I would wait and see what some of the people with experience with these particular fish say.

Your tanks footprint will have a big determining factor in your stocking. Is this a 30 long or a 30 tall? Or is it a 29g?

 

[Zeugirdor]

It's a 30 gallon tall (not my personal choice, but I got it for free so I wasn't going to complain). I think I'm gonna add the three tiger barbs first so they have each other to play around with and won't mess with the swordtails when I add the females. After a little more research I don't think my filter can handle the waste from bottom feeders anyways, especially because I don't do weekly water changes (the bathroom is a hallway away and the buckets get annoying).

 

[mfdrookie516]

Buckets? What are those? What part do they play in a water change?

Ok, I'm kidding. You really need a python! I can't imagine doing water changes with buckets!

 

[Fdsh5]

+1 on the python. All my tanks are way overstocked but I do weekly 40-50%water changes and with the python all five tanks are done quick. In my daughters thirty gallon she has 3 Angelfish, 7 tetras, a bn pleco, 2 nerite snails, 2 hatchet fish, and just added 2 crayfish. Never had any ill effects and it's been running just about a year. Weekly changes are the key. Oops forgot 4 golden clams too. Never see them though they hide in the gravel.

Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium

 

[Zeugirdor]

Can you guys explain what exactly the python does differently than a gravel vac? Cause that's what I have now. From what I've gathered you connect it to a sink? But the nearest one for me would be my ma's bathroom and that's kind of far..

 

[Fdsh5]

It hooks right up to a sink faucet. You drain and fill through it. The end that goes in the tank is the same as a gravel vac. It comes in 25 and 50 foot lengths. Well worth the investment. I can get to all my tanks with 50 feet from the same faucet.

Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium