Is my aquarium overstocked?

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amateuraquaria

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
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5
Hi everyone. I found this forum by googling aquarium help for new fishkeepers so I thought I'd give it a go.

I dont have an aquarium yet, but after quite a long period of pondering whether i should get a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium, i think ill go with a 10 gallon :ermm:

So the tank is a Top Fin 10 Gallon Aquarium Kit (12x20x10in) and i plan on stocking it with 1 male crowntail betta, 3 platies, 5 neon tetras, and 1 or 2 mystery snails. Would this be overstocked or difficult to manage? all suggestions appreciated :)
 
I didnt buy the tank yet, but i planned out my aquarium via aqadvisor.com and it said my tank was only 88% stocked. However I was doubtful because it seemed as though it might be overpopulated. I dont really want to get a big 20 gallon tank though (ik its not that big compared to other tank sizes lol)
 
It might be...lol!

I have a 35 gallon with 2 loaches, 2kissing gouramis, 1 catfish, and 1 blue ram and I figure it is around 75% stocked.
 
Maybe a 15Gal? And yes it's over stocked...The bata and neons might nip fins realy bad...but you can always still try it
 
Hi everyone. I found this forum by googling aquarium help for new fishkeepers so I thought I'd give it a go.

I dont have an aquarium yet, but after quite a long period of pondering whether i should get a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium, i think ill go with a 10 gallon :ermm:

So the tank is a Top Fin 10 Gallon Aquarium Kit (12x20x10in) and i plan on stocking it with 1 male crowntail betta, 3 platies, 5 neon tetras, and 1 or 2 mystery snails. Would this be overstocked or difficult to manage? all suggestions appreciated :)

Hi there! I like your choices of fish! Really pretty colours. Here's some things to take into consideration
Betta- they sometimes can be really nice, or really nasty! If you brought the 20g I'd up the number of neons so they felt more comfortable and prey they didn't nip his fins :)
Platies- if you went for a ten gallon, I'd most probably skip these :) you could maybe try a trio of endlers in a ten gallon :)
Whatever you choose, good luck!
 
Samzter said:
Hi there! I like your choices of fish! Really pretty colours. Here's some things to take into consideration
Betta- they sometimes can be really nice, or really nasty! If you brought the 20g I'd up the number of neons so they felt more comfortable and prey they didn't nip his fins :)
Platies- if you went for a ten gallon, I'd most probably skip these :) you could maybe try a trio of endlers in a ten gallon :)
Whatever you choose, good luck!

Yeah I'll have to agree. Skip the platies. If you want something interesting and different, look up scarlet badis. Neat little fish
 
Thanks for all the help!

I really like my fish choices so i guess I'll purchase the 20 gallon version instead. I'm worried it might be too big for a beginner like me though.
Thx again for the feedback :)
 
Thanks for all the help!

I really like my fish choices so i guess I'll purchase the 20 gallon version instead. I'm worried it might be too big for a beginner like me though.
Thx again for the feedback :)

The bigger the tank the better for beginners, less chances for things to go wrong
 
no itz not overstocked whoever says he needs a bigger tank than get lost cuz hes just gonna spend money for no reason... anyways the rule is 2 inches per gallon so u can hav a 2 inch fish in a gallon. and unless u get a lot more fish than u can get a bigger tank
 
I'd say platy in a 10g is a little challenging, but not what people make out of it. I'm new to the hobby myself, and have 2 females in a 10g.

They are pigs, really. They readily eat anything you feed them, and they make a decent amount of waste. I do water changes almost everyday (because it's still in cycle) but I would say to do at least 2 water changes per week. Many say that platy will overstock the tank because of their bioload, I find that it is easy to manage if you're willing to put up with water changes, or feed them lightly. I don't feed them twice everyday, there are days when I only feed them once a day, and on rare occasions, I don't feed them at all; I only do this once a week, though.

One advantage of platy to a beginner, is that they are hardy. Well, in my case they are. For example, there was a time when my heater broke down and I was worried because I couldn't get one right away and it got cold at night. 4 days later I got the heater and they were still fine, not the slightest bit stressed or ill. Also, their colors are really vibrant when they're in good health. They make quite a nice pop to the tank. ;)

But yeah, if I had the chance the first time, I would definitely get a 20g to start off, especially with the rest of your stock! :)
 
no itz not overstocked whoever says he needs a bigger tank than get lost cuz hes just gonna spend money for no reason... anyways the rule is 2 inches per gallon so u can hav a 2 inch fish in a gallon. and unless u get a lot more fish than u can get a bigger tank

no no no no you can not put a 2 inch fish in 1 gallon how would you like to live in a closet for the rest of your life? i bet you believe that goldfish can live in bowls too?
 
no itz not overstocked whoever says he needs a bigger tank than get lost cuz hes just gonna spend money for no reason... anyways the rule is 2 inches per gallon so u can hav a 2 inch fish in a gallon. and unless u get a lot more fish than u can get a bigger tank

I don't think he's going to spend money for no reason. His stock is going to do some overstock to the tank, and I believe there's no general rule of how many of ____ can be in a tank because there are many other factors to consider rather than size. 20g would actually be perfect, if you saw a 10g side by side with a 20g, you'd know how small a 10g is for fish. It's actually a good spend. I have a 10g, and let me tell you, it's not easy stuffing fish in there because they are "small" or 1-2 inches.
 
Maybe a 15Gal? And yes it's over stocked...The bata and neons might nip fins realy bad...but you can always still try it

My Crowntail and Neons get along great! I don't see a problem with putting Neons and Bettas together.
 
My Crowntail and Neons get along great! I don't see a problem with putting Neons and Bettas together.

+1 I agree I had a male and female betta and 6 neon tetras and 3 albino corys in my 10 and everyone behaved but it might also depend on the betta mine is very lazy and laid back cares less about all the other fish all he cares about is food
 
no itz not overstocked whoever says he needs a bigger tank than get lost cuz hes just gonna spend money for no reason... anyways the rule is 2 inches per gallon so u can hav a 2 inch fish in a gallon. and unless u get a lot more fish than u can get a bigger tank

Anyone who still uses the inch per gallon rule should get lost :facepalm:
 
no itz not overstocked whoever says he needs a bigger tank than get lost cuz hes just gonna spend money for no reason... anyways the rule is 2 inches per gallon so u can hav a 2 inch fish in a gallon. and unless u get a lot more fish than u can get a bigger tank
Absolutely HORRIBLE advice. So you can put a 12" oscar in a 6 gallon tank?
 
The inch per fish rule is so outfated now. There are just too many variables in technology and fish species to adhere to such a general rule. The aqua advisor web site is a good beginning guide to start with. You will find you can adjust from there as you gain experience.
It is a common misconception that a small tank is easier than a big one. It may be true as for as 55g plus tanks because of bigger filters and more water to deal with, but as far as keeping water at healthy levels the larger is easier to do. A good compromise from a little 10g could be a 16g bowfront, a 20g high, or 20g long. The 16g bowfront is an especially showy tank with a small footprint. It is the same width as a 10g but is a little deeper and higher. Hope this helps, good luck. OS.
 
Yes I would also reccomend the 16bow or the 20long the footprint on the 20long would probablly help you a lot when mixing fish with bettas it might be your best choice for this setup you wanna do. Also when you buy all your fish put everything but the Betta in and give it a week then add the betta. And I would reccomend doing a fishless cycle. It builds a very strong benifical bacteria colony.
 
I agree with the other posters to go a little bigger if you can. A 16 bowfront or a 20 are nice size tanks for a beginner. Another thing to consider too is that if you start with a 10g, most likely, you will quickly realize how small it is, and wish you would have gotten bigger. I started with an 8g biorb, and had upgraded to a 20g within a month. It may not be that way for everyone, but I think most people would be happier with a 20g over a 10g in the long run. :)
 
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