Is My Tank Overstocked?

[VulpuixScyther]

Hey guys! I've been having a problem with my nitrates lately. They've gotten pretty high. Right now they're at 20 ppm. My ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm as well.

I have;
12 neon tetras,
5 long finned rosy barbs,
1 heart shaped blood parrot,
5 black skirt tetras,
7 platies,
5 yoyo loaches,
1 danio and 1 minnow.


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[VulpuixScyther]

Oh, my tank is a 60 gallon, I am using black diamond blasting sand for substrate, I have a mix of live and plastic/silk plants, and I have one 70 gal Fulval filter and another 70 gal Penguin filter.


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[VulpuixScyther]

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[Fresh2o]

I'm not too good at stocking levels but it looks fine for that volume.
As for the 20 ppm nitrates, that is fine if you can keep it from going higher. You can always try feeding less, increasing water changes, or a combo of both to bring it down.



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[VulpuixScyther]

Thanks Fresh2o
I might just be over feeding them.


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[Jason7894561230]

i think youre tank is fine! You might be able to put some more in there really. Maybe more of the black skirt tetras to boost up that school, or of the dannios Nice looking tank also!

 

[lunch]

Whenever I want to add fish, I go to aqadvisor.com to answer my stocking queries

 

[RedDevil83]

37 fish is pushing it In a 60 but I have 15 in a 60 which are way different besides the yoyos you have, but I'll bet that there is a lot of bio load going on and what most would say on here is keep up with water changes.

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[ImACoolguy]

Be on you guard with the parrot. I have one with cichlids and he is getting meaner by the day. He's to the point now he chases a JD twice his size for her food.

Some do great in community tanks while others become an annoying nightmare.


Caleb

 

[Gillie]

37 fish is pushing it In a 60 but I have 15 in a 60 which are way different besides the yoyos you have, but I'll bet that there is a lot of bio load going on and what most would say on here is keep up with water changes.

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Pushing it? Nah. It's stocked, but definitely not pushing it. Pushing it is my 20 long which is a temporary hold until the 55 is ready,
6 half dollar size angels
2 apistogramma allpahuayo
1 hypancistrus Gurupa 3"
7 lemon tetras
1 lone oto
This tank is filtered with a sun sun 304b and has a bit of a hygro jungle, but with a 50 wc weekly, my nitrates are just a touch below the OP's.

 

[Gillie]

Hey guys! I've been having a problem with my nitrates lately. They've gotten pretty high. Right now they're at 20 ppm. My ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm as well.

I have;
12 neon tetras,
5 long finned rosy barbs,
1 heart shaped blood parrot,
5 black skirt tetras,
7 platies,
5 yoyo loaches,
1 danio and 1 minnow.


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Heart shaped? Do you mean tailless? I had one come with a used tank, he got on surprisingly well for a fish with no tail.

 

[VulpuixScyther]

Well, the reason why I was asking is because I've been noticing my fish disappearing one by one. It started with my neon tetras slowly disappearing. I had started with 21 and now I only have 12. That didn't start happening until I had bought my tailless parrot! I thought he might be eating them, as well as my danios. Then, yesterday morning when I woke up I saw that my yoyo loaches were munching on a neon tetra and had stuffed one of my minnows in a hole in my driftwood and when I shook the minnow out it looked like they'd been snacking on it, too. And then one of my black skirt tetras died the very same day, and I began to notice one of my neon tetras beginning to struggle to stay upright. So I did some water tests and found that my nitrates were higher than usual.

I can't tell if my Yoyo loaches suddenly just became really aggressive after I added the parrot and barbs or if there something in my water that's causing my fish to die.


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[VulpuixScyther]

I went on aqadvisor and it said my tank was at 145%, which, according to the site is overstocked. And, the website also told me that loaches tend to have neon tetras for lunch. So I suppose it could be both. Or it could be something else entirely! Something I'm overlooking.


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[Gillie]

Is it just tetras dying off?

 

[VulpuixScyther]

No, so far it's been my neon tetras and danios. Yesterday it was one black skirt tetra and a rosy red minnow.


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[Gillie]

Ah a rosey red, that would be my suspect, since they are sold as feeders and don't get the same care as other fish, they play host to a wide variety of nasties. Since your parameters are fine I would say that it isn't a matter of stock levels or maintenance, just a matter of what was stocked. Since the whole tank could be effected I would do a blanket treatment and if that doesn't work, then it's likely the bp.

 

[VulpuixScyther]

I've had those guys in there for 8 months now. They were the first fish I put in the tank, so why would they be affecting it now?


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[VulpuixScyther]

What should I use for the blanket treatment?


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[RedDevil83]

Pushing it? Nah. It's stocked, but definitely not pushing it. Pushing it is my 20 long which is a temporary hold until the 55 is ready,
6 half dollar size angels
2 apistogramma allpahuayo
1 hypancistrus Gurupa 3"
7 lemon tetras
1 lone oto
This tank is filtered with a sun sun 304b and has a bit of a hygro jungle, but with a 50 wc weekly, my nitrates are just a touch below the OP's.

Well I didn't say it was too much lol

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[RedDevil83]

Parrot fish is probably eating them, as for having them for 8 months? The parrot probably grew in aggression and anything that can fit in its mouth it will eat.

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