Am I stocked?

[norcalg]

Current stats:
55 gal tank
cycled, one week with fish after fishless cycle
eheim ecco 2234 filter (rated for up to 60 gallons)
penguin 170 sort-of. It's too tired to spin the biowheel so I'm just running it with the media in the HOB box part.
not planted but plan to upgrade lights and do a low-light planting in a few months

stock:
6 albino cherry barbs
9 dwarf neon rainbows
3 dwarf blue gouramis (2f 1m)
6 cories - 3 peppered, 3 something else - like Schwartzi but not quite

Do I have room for anything else? I had wanted to add some dwarf loaches/botias but haven't yet. A bristlenose pleco? Another small school of cherry barbs?

Thank you,
~g

[Zagz]

IMO you can add to that stocking. Have you any pics of the tank yet? Another small school of cherry barbs would be good, and I love BN plecos. But I would wait another week or two and keep testing your parameters first to make sure you have no ammonia or nitrite spikes. You may need to upgrade your filtration a bit. The manufacturer's ratings IMO are for very low bioloads.

[JustOneMore20]

I also think you could add more, but I'd concentrate on the bottom level. You could definitely add more cories (4-6 more or so) and maybe a pleco or two. You could also add a pair of dwarf cichlids....like Apistos or Rams.

[norcalg]

Originally Posted by Zagz

IMO you can add to that stocking. Have you any pics of the tank yet? Another small school of cherry barbs would be good, and I love BN plecos. But I would wait another week or two and keep testing your parameters first to make sure you have no ammonia or nitrite spikes. You may need to upgrade your filtration a bit. The manufacturer's ratings IMO are for very low bioloads.

No pics yet. I've spent too much time checking out the galleries and I'm not ready. I'm having trouble dealing with the tubes/wires as the tank sits perpendicular to the wall rather than against it. That, and lighting? Ugly. Mismatched hoods on mismatched lids. My rocks and wood are pretty though.

I plan on waiting at least a week before adding more. I'll keep testing the water, I actually enjoy that part, and provided things don't go wonky, look at increasing the population in a week or two.

Originally Posted by JustOneMore20

I also think you could add more, but I'd concentrate on the bottom level. You could definitely add more cories (4-6 more or so) and maybe a pleco or two. You could also add a pair of dwarf cichlids....like Apistos or Rams.

Ooh, cichlids. Given my water's pH, I do think a cichlid tank is in my future. I have only barely started looking at them though. I'd love to add more cories - mine are so *busy*. What about 3 more cories, a BN Pleco and 4-6 cherry barbs? Would that overload me? I may want something other than the cherry barbs though. They're fun but don't really hold together as a school, do they? Tetras? Yoyo loaches?

Thanks!
~g