Quick question about my Fish Stock situation.

[dmoney87]

Hey so if im not planning on getting discus in my tank which is sad but someday I will for sure!! Am I still to overstocked on fish or how many more "smaller" nothing over 4inch could I go? Eg couple more cory cats, couple more different kinds of tets is what im thinking.

My current stock. In the 75g

- 5 congo tets
- 4 Aldolphoi Cory Cats
- 8 Cardinal Tets
- 10 Harlequin Rasboras
- 2 Albino BN plecos (one is so tiny and hasent grown at all compared to the other one I got at the same time and identical size)
- 8 Otto cats

Its fully planted and with regular 40% pwc a week.

thanks as always,

-davE

 

[bs6749]

In my opinion you aren't even close to being fully stocked. Since it's planted you can add a bit more as far as fish than what an unplanted tank would allow. How about some angelfish, apistos, German Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams, some sterbai cories, 7-15 more cardinals, 12 or so hatchetfish. Maybe a black ghost knife??? You have MANY options for that tank.

 

[mgamer20o0]

lol black ghost knife is one the of last things they should add. not only will it out grow that tank it will eat the smaller fish. angels might also eat the cardinals.... first i would add to your schools then find a med size fish you like. heck you can do a really neat small fish tank in 75. super active and all.

 

[bs6749]

I was under the impression that BGK's stay fairly small. I was thinking 9" max but upong doing a little research I found that it's pretty rare to get a BGK over a foot long in captivity. They can reach up to and over 20"...but not in captivity. I really think the BGK would leave the smaller fish alone. I have 8 angels in a tank with about 40 neons and they haven't even looked at them as food. I bet they would if I didn't feed them so well but they've never given them a second look. My discus on the other hand did go after several of the neons, but only initially. I even feed those guys 3-4 times per day and they STILL act like they are starving. I think it's in their nature to give chase regardless of their appetite level. Anyway, I still think a BGK would work in that setup, at least a 3-4" specimen (most common size in my area LFS's) would be comfortable in that tank for 5 years or so.

 

[mgamer20o0]

put a fish in a bowl it will stay small though the insides keep growing until it basically explodes. its called stunting. if kept in a tank thats right for them and fed they do reach their potential. there so many people who use that well it doesnt get that long often in a aquarium since they dont give it the space they need. also think its wrong to get fish that will out grow your set up then pawn them off on other people or let it suffer.

 

[bs6749]

I know what stunting is, and the fish doesn't explode. Fish secrete hormones into the water that prevent other fish along with themselves from growing if the levels build up to a certain level. That's why discus juvies need frequent water changes, not so much about the nitrates. Just because it doesn't get to 20" in captivity doesn't mean that it isn't healthy and fully grown at 12". Heck, a person could grow to over 9 feet but does that mean a 5' 6" one is less healthy? Many times it's the other way around. I never used that excuse either, just said that it would work for a few years. So what if you have to get a larger tank for the fish or give it up to someone can rehome it in a larger aquarium. I don't see how that's pawning it off.