Taking over work aquarium. WAaaaaaaaaaay overstocked.

[annielauri]

Ok, so the aquarium at work is a shambles. I never really looked at it before because I couldn't stand the person who took care of it. She quit and OMG the poor fish! #1 - it was FILTHY. #2 - it is severely overstocked.

It is a 29 gallon tank. Here is a partial list of the fish in there, I can't remember the correct names of all of them.

2 Plecos - 1 approx. 4 inches, 1 approx. 6 inches.
4 Bala Sharks - about 3 inches each
1 Redtailed Shark about 3 inches
1 bolivian Ram
about 30 or more endlers guppies
4 various larger tetras?? Like bleeding hearts or something
2 dannios about an inch and 1/2 each.

Here are my questions:
Wanting to get rid of the Bala Sharks, Redtailed Shark, already got rid of the larger Pleco and plan on getting rid of the guppies. I would like to add more color to the tank. What are some good fish to add to the tetras and Ram???

 

[Zagz]

First thing to do is to check the water parameters. In order to not shock the fish if the water quality is not good, small water changes to bring the water to good water will be required.

You could get some another Bolivian ram. Many tetra species are colorful. Some smaller rainbowfish perhaps. You should get rid of the smalller pleco as well and get a bristlenose pleco which would stay small. Depending on what kind of larger tetras, adding more of them would be a good idea. Serpae's for example do better in groups, less aggressive that way. What kind of filtration is on the tank? A general rule of thumb to follow is 1" of grown fish per gal. Obviously other factors come into play, such as filtration and water change schedules.

 

[LandGhoti]

Cherry barbs are excellent for adding color to a tank, and they only get to be about 2".

 

[annielauri]

Ok, here is where we are at now.

1 pleco 4-5 inches
2 penguin tetras - one of which I think may be preggers
1 bolivian ram
4 tetras??? I think 3 serpae and one other
8 bazillion endlers guppies

Got rid of:
1 pleco
4 bala sharks
1 redtailed shark

Added couldn't help it
5 emerald corycats

Is that ok for stocking?? I would still like something brighter and more colorful in there. It is very silvery. I think a lot of the endlers - maybe all will be leaving the tank shortly too.

Oh, and the tank has been cleaned 3x. 1st time about a 25% water change and the last 2x 50% changes a week apart. The tank still smells though. My tank doesn't smell fishy when I open the lid, but the one at work reeks. Maybe the hood needs to be taken off and cleaned too? Oh, and the heater didn't work in there either, so I bought a new one and am keeping it at about 74. It is a 29 gal tank

 

[theotheragentm]

If the tank smells, you can try an active carbon filter. That should remove some of the smell.