Is my tank over populated?

[TropicalChica]

Hi! I am really new to fishkeeping, I have only had my tanks for 1-1.5 years and I just joined this community.. since joining I read so many things that lead me to think my larger tank is over stocked but I am not sure bc sometimes the gallons to fish ratios are species specific and I get co fused if that means just that type in your tank... the tank I am concerned about is a fluval flex 32.5 and the creatures that live in it are: a german blue ram and gold ram couple that cant be separated, a blue dwarf gourami, 5 panda cories, 2 snails, 5 ghost shrimp and 3 cherry shrimp... am I overstocked?

Also, how many guppies is only for a 20 gallon tank bc I also have 8 guppies in that tank and a clown pleco.. week all my tanks might be overstocked!

 

[fishingBuds]

In the 32.5 gal you can even add small fish like those with schooling behavior.
Funny you say "they can't be separated"...lol
My blue ramn lost her pair and they really change behavior when their friends go away, and they have a nice character for aquariums cause look like they truly love each other..lol

You are good with the 20gal, because u can add up to 10 guppy for each 20g, however you have some more fish in there

Also you have different species, so they have different water parameters, try to equalize things as well, like blue rams enjoy warm water like 76-80, while cories tends to feel better in water with 67F-70F, not counting the ph

 

[TropicalChica]

Thank you! And yes I have been learning that I may have to get a separate tank bc my cories I think are way too hot bc I keep my tank at about 78-80.. I was thinking of doing a tank with just cories bc they are so cute. I feel really bad realizing they dont like being warm.. it's weird bc I looked up all my fish but I remember with the cories I found so many different things but I should have listened to the main sites about that.. thank you so much for your help!.. and yes! The rams in their little couple are so cute, I hope nothing ever happens to either of them.. they also do these cute wiggle dances then the girl lays eggs after they both do the dance, I think to make a spot in the sand.. it's so cute. They always get really excited when they see me too. I feel so much better that at least I am not overstocked... I feel really bad about my cories being so hot all this time. I think maybe that's why mine dont school as much as the ones I see in videos do.

 

[fishingBuds]

Remember that rams are territorial, so u cant actually add lot more fish, some tetras maybe or zebras i guess

 

[TropicalChica]

Do you think that once I move the corys my tank would be big enough to get a swordtail? I always see them at our aquarium store and love how unique they are but they look pretty big.. I heard they are friendly.. I'm so worried about ever stressing out my rams because they are my favorites ha.

 

[fishingBuds]

If you remove thencatfish you will have a lot of space for swordtail i guess, do the experiment, but always research if parameters are the same

 

[earhtmother]

Removing the Cories WILL give you more *space* but keep in mind you are removing fish that mainly live at the bottom of the tank, so adding fish that live in the middle or top of the tank could DEFINITELY cause a problem with the Rams who live in the same space

 

[Enchantress]

For future reference, here is a helpful site: AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

 

[TropicalChica]

Thank you! Yes true.. thinking of this I actually think adding some kuhli loaches might be good! I moved my cories yesterday and they actually do seem happier

 

[TropicalChica]

Oh thank you so much!