Overstocked or Not?

[177ichael]

Hello all, I am new to the hobby and the board. I recently purchased a 36g corner bowfront tank with a Rena XP2 canister filter. I have been to my LFS and have had mixed opinions on what to stock it with. So, I've come here to ask your advice. I'm planning on stocking with the following:

2 Angels
2 Dwarf Gouramis
6 Cardinals
6 Rummynose
2 Otocinclus

Will this be overstocked and will these varieties get along?

I also uploaded some pictures of my tank. Click the link below.

http://mjchen54.home.comcast.net/index.htm

Thanks.

Michael

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya Michael and welcome to Aquariumadvice

Nope, not overstocked at all, in fact, the stocking amount sounds perfect. The only thing I'd be a little concerned about is the angelfish and the neons. Neons are natural prey for wild angels, and the angels may try to eat em; no guarantees, but it is a possibility as the neons are the right size for a mouthful, especially when small, and angels are carnivores. However, they MAY get on ok if the angels are young and small, and the neons larger then an inch. This way the angels grow up with them and MAY not eat em.

Also, do you have a handle on the nitrogen cycle and its importance to fish health (not sure if you're new to all this)? If so, let us know and we'll fill you in.

 

[Enki]

Tank looks good, so does your list IMO, barring issues Alli already covered. nice to see someone asking about overstocking before it happens

Good luck!

 

[Endgame319]

I see theres some angels already in your tank, If your tank isnt cycled, you should return them NOW. They are very untolerant of ammonia/nitrites.

 

[177ichael]

Good observation. I have two Angelfish and six Cardinals in my tank and they seem to be doing very well. When I added the fish, I also added BioSpira to the tank. I've been checking water quality daily and my Ammonia levels are very low at about .10 ppm. It's been about 4 days since adding Biospira and if I don't see any significant nitrite readings I will start doing daily 10% water changes. I hope the stuff works.

 

[Allivymar]

Give it a week Michael, as long as the ammonia levels remain that low; it may just take a little time for enough nitrites to register. Obviously if ammonia jumps up to .5 ppm or more, a water change is necessary.

 

[Endgame319]

Yeah looks like the bio-spira worked. The angels should be fine as long as the readings dont get any higher. If you dont have any nitrates then you might have a problem.

 

[177ichael]

Wow that was strange.. Just did a test after posting for Nitrites and i now have a reading of .25 for Nitrites. I guess it's working! Took a few days longer than what I've read, but it's certainly better than 30+ days of fishless cycling with pure ammonia.

 

[Allivymar]

*smirks*

Its cause you joined Aquariumadvice; we're amazing.

 

[dralarms]

Its cause you joined Aquariumadvice; we're amazing.

Alli you kill me.

 

[177ichael]

Excellent advice so far. I can get comfortable here

 

[177ichael]

Excellent advice. I can get comfortable here

 

[trenac]

Your tank looks really good. I like the arangment of plants and rocks. Your list of fish will not be over stocking. The only problem I see is once the angels mature they may see your cardinals as food.