I've been duped!

[Tleyton]

So here's the scoop: I bought what I was told was a 55 gallon pentagon corner tank off craigslist ( I believe this lady really thought it was) and have had it for a year now and only a few months ago switched from goldfish (they died ) to tropical fish. Upon doing water changes and such I had my suspicions all along that it was not in fact a 55 gallon, but wasn't until today I decided to find out for sure. I put my dimensions into a calculator and it's a 46! My current and future stock has been planned around a 55! Any suggestions?

I currently have:
1 Molly, 5 guppies, 1 BN pleco, 1 angelfish, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 snail, 1 bamboo shrimp, 3 julii Corys, 3 albino Corys

I wanted to have:
2 angelfish, 2 dwarf gourami, BN pleco, 10 tetras of some sort ( my hubby's pick), my 6 Corys, 2 snails, 2 bamboo shrimp. And probably move he gups to my 5 gallon and rehome my Molly because she gets picked on.

Not so sure my preferred stock will work anymore. Oy! What to do?

 

[Rivercats]

Your stock will still work IMO.

 

[Tleyton]

So you think I can have my preferred stock minus the guppies and Molly?

 

[Rivercats]

Yes I do. I have 2- 55g tanks so I know their size and your stock of:

2 angelfish
2 dwarf gourami
BN pleco
10 tetras of some sort

will work just fine. The snails unless they are large apple snails and 2 bamboo shrimp aren't going to add much at all to the bioload.

 

[Tleyton]

I thought it was a 55, it's actually a 46. I also have 6 Corys that I would like to keep. Still think it's possible?

 

[Rivercats]

Yes, without the guppies and especially the molly.

 

[Tleyton]

Ok. Awesome. Thanks for your help! I'm always crazy worried about overstocking and messing up my whole tank

 

[Mebbid]

I would suggest either dropping one of the dwarf gouramis or going with 1 male and 2 females because 2 males will tend to quarrel. Other than that i think the stock sounds just fine.

 

[Tleyton]

Great. Thanks for quelling my worries guys!

 

[mistersprinkles]

I would suggest either dropping one of the dwarf gouramis or going with 1 male and 2 females because 2 males will tend to quarrel..

Two females fight just as much. I've tried it. Doesn't work. Keep a pair. JM2C.

 

[Tleyton]

Like a male and a female? I have no experience with gouramis. I'd like 2 if possible. Percy (my male) seems lonely.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Your tank is shaped like this right?

That's less ideal than a regular shaped tank but your plan should still work.

I suggest you get a male and female gourami. Why not try the less disease prone and mellower honey gourami? They're about the same size as dwarf gouramis.

They also come in solid yellow and solid red

For your angels either buy an obvious male and female adult pair or just get 3 or 4 babies, grow them out, wait for a pair to form and remove the other(s)

 

[Tleyton]

If I can't find a female dwarf could I add a single honey gourami? Just curious... I'm find with sticking with the one I have if needed. Thanks for the advice. My current angel is only quarter size right now so I'll probably add another of equal size and see how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[mistersprinkles]

If I can't find a female dwarf could I add a single honey gourami? Just curious... I'm find with sticking with the one I have if needed. Thanks for the advice. My current angel is only quarter size right now so I'll probably add another of equal size and see how it goes. Thanks again!

Don't add one angel add at least two so you have odds of getting a pair. If you just buy one more they could both easily be the same sex. Doesn't make sense to just get 2 angels in there. Get at least 3, grow them out, pick the pair.

You can't add 1 dwarf gourami and 1 honey gourami. Either a pair of honeys or a pair of dwarfs or a single specimen of 1 or the other.

 

[Tleyton]

Gotcha. I'll just stick with my one dwarf. I don't have to have another. Perhaps I'll just wait for the sex of my angel to show before adding an additional one. Thanks.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Gotcha. I'll just stick with my one dwarf. I don't have to have another. Perhaps I'll just wait for the sex of my angel to show before adding an additional one. Thanks.

The sex doesn't show. At least not to most people. You have to really know what you're looking for. Not only that, if you have an angel alone for a long time, and it is an adult, then add another one, the pre-existing angel will attack it 99 times out of 100. It's much smarter to get all your angels at once. Please take my advice on this.

 

[Tleyton]

I have no problem taking your advice...I'm just saying that I already have an angel and I may add another one shortly if I can find out the sex. It's not a do or die for me to pair my angel up. I'm not married to the idea. I might just leave it as is as not to disturb my current peaceful balance. I am an intelligent individual and I do very much understand what you are saying. Thanks again.

 

[Rivercats]

Angels are my favorite fish and I've been keeping them since the 70's. Right now I have 12 adults in my 220g tank. When you get another angel or two try finding one/s that are close in size to the current one. Then when you bring them home, remove the old angel into a container, rearrange the tank, acclimate the new angels and add them into the rescaped tank. Next re-add the old angel. What this does is tricks the old angel into thinking it's been put in a new tank where it has no set territory which usually helps keep territory aggression down to a minimum. It doesn't always work but the success rate for using this method is pretty good. Now all the new angels will bicker for a while because they will have to form an hierarchy or pecking order and this is normal.

Angels mature and can breed at 8 months BUT you will not know 100% for sure what their sexes are until they are ready to spawn. When this occurs their breeding vent drop. In a female it is blunt, resembles a pencil eraser, and is very easy to see. The male's is smaller and looks like a sharpened pencil tip. Often people take calculated guesses at an angels sex by looking at things such as forehead bumps on males. Just remember these are just guesses and may or may not be correct.

 

[Tleyton]

Great advice Rivercats! I might try to introduce now while my current one is still small and still fairly new to my tank. Like I said, if things don't work out, I won't be heartbroken. I don't want to add for breeding purposes necessarily, but just because I have really cone to like angels. Appreciate all the advice.

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

This happened to me too! I bought what I was told was a 40 gallon long tank but when I got it home and added fish I was suspicious. So I measured my tank and entered the dimensions online and found out it's actually only 29 gallons! Apparently people on craigslist don't know how to measure their fishtanks lol