Is my tank overstocked?

[snailsareboring]

Hello all,

I'm a novice fish keeper with a stocking question. I was following the 1" adult fish per gallon rule, as advised by an associate at my LFS. I did some research after buying my 2 new dwarf gouramis, and aqadvisor.com says my tank is 135% stocked.

I have a 20g high heavy/moderately planted tank. I have 2 filters, a Marineland Penguin 150, and Tetra Advanced Filtration 20-40.

Currently I am stocking:
3 Platies (and I think I found a baby in there today...not sure)
2 Mollies
3 Ghost Shrimp
3 Flying Foxes
2 Dwarf Gouramis

LFS told me that the Ghost Shrimp should cut down on bioload, therefore didn't count when stocking. Also, I know the foxes aren't recommended for my tank but right now they are very small, and LFS says I can bring them back when they get too big for the tank.

Is LFS right about the ghost shrimp? Am I overstocked? What can I do to help maintain the health of my fish and my tank?

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Other than the foxes I wouldn't say you're overstocked at all. I'd trade them in for a Siamese Algae eater or maybe a bristlenose pleco. You're okay, just don't overfeed the tank. You could easily have a few more ghost shrimp. They are part of the bio-load but a very tiny part. They may hunt down your baby fish. It's a good way to control the population.

 

[Wyomingite]

I'd have a few concerns 'bout the dwarf gouramis, not due to overstocking (I think overall yer not too bad), but due to aggression issues. I haven't seen a female offered for sale in years and if ya have two males, they could start gettin' purty nasty with each other.

WYite

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

I'd have a few concerns 'bout the dwarf gouramis, not due to overstocking (I think overall yer not too bad), but due to aggression issues. I haven't seen a female offered for sale in years and if ya have two males, they could start gettin' purty nasty with each other.

WYite

The sell females at wally world and some lfs

 

[Wiggles24]

They readily sell females at Walmart where I live! Lol

 

[snailsareboring]

I got the gouramis from Walmart and I think they're females based on online descriptions but I'll keep an eye out for agression. I also noticed another platy fry hiding out in some of my plants so now I'm watching shrimp bellies for platy parts lol

 

[Wiggles24]

Female dwarfs are very easy to distinguish from males. They are very small n have VERY little color.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Female dwarfs are very easy to distinguish from males. They are very small n have VERY little color.

So true. They're also much more well tempered, still lovely and have a smaller bio-load. Great choice for small community tanks. Love the ladies.

 

[Wyomingite]

The sell females at wally world and some lfs

That's too much. I haven't seen a female at Wally World, a big box chain store, or an LFS in southern Wyoming or northern Colorado in years. Which sucks, 'cuz I'd like to try my hand at breedin' 'em again. Used to see honey gouramis all the time too, but haven't been able to find 'em at all, either, in stores or on-line. Probly just hittin' the wrong sites.

If they're females, then ya should be okay.

WYite