Over crowding question

[Chilly Willy]

I've been doing alot of reading of posts so I can get upto speed on whats whats here.

I noticed one question that caught my eye that I actually understood the terms. The Question was...

Do you think I have too many fish for my size tank?

So I pose to you this question I have 28 fish in a 55 Gal tank. 10 Tiger Barbs - 6 Albino Tiger Barbs - 12 (6 each) of 2 other types of small tetras.

Is this too much or am I ok? So far all my fish have survived under my watch although I'm still very green so I'm not sure if I over loaded the bios of this tank.

I take well to harsh words so feel free to scold Chilly if he is wrong.

I'm sure I'll be bugging this community with several other newbie questions.

 

[zero2dash]

Seems like most people say that you should only have 1 inch of fish = 1 gallon of water.

While this is a general framework 'guideline' so to speak, I think it more or less has more to do with 1) the amount of open space in your tank and 2) how often you do water changes.

I personally also have a 55gal tank I'm in the middle of...doing something with. I think initially I was going to put in new gravel and get tons of living plants but I think I'm just going to keep it simple right now (leave it be with my current pebble gravel and fake plants) and just get some fish. Currently all I have is 1 blue gourami so I've got tons of space 'for rent'. I have a pretty well open tank; with the exception of the side areas, the middle 3/4 of my tank is pretty open space and I think I could do well with more than 55" of fish in my tank.

So I'd say measure them if you want and figure it out that way, otherwise I'd just say observe your tank and see how the fish move around and whatnot. I've probably had a "overcrowded" (by definition) tank before but the fish were all ok. I had a 6-7" oscar, a 5" cichlid and a 6" pleco in a 10gal tank and they did fine. And I didn't do routine water changes either.

 

[timd818]

Welcome to AA Chilly.
I posted a similar question a few lines down from this. From all the responses I got, I think you still have a lot of room for more fish. So, go crazy

 

[QTOFFER]

28 small fish like barbs and tetras is at the upper end of a 55 gal bioload capacity, but still well within it.

The only thing you want to avoid is adding too many of those fish at once. You need to give the good bacterial colonies some time to grow, so they can handle the additional bioload. Adding 5-6 new fish per week to a 55 gal shouldn't overtax the biofilter.

 

[hashbaz]

Wow! you must be really stupid! Don't you care for your fish at all?!? 28 fish is way, way, way too many! You should not have more than 27.

I take well to harsh words so feel free to scold Chilly if he is wrong.

On a more serious note, you are probably "fully" stocked according to the "1 inch per gallon" guideline (not rule). Lots of people with over-filtration, good airation and lots of water changes, "over" stock with good success.

 

[gheitman]

The 1" per gallon is a guideline as hashbaz mentioned that is too general to apply in a lot of cases. A single 6" fish will put out a lot of waste compared to a half dozen 1" fish. Good filtration, frequent partial water changes and live plants can all make a difference in how many fish a tank can hold. How long has your tank been set up with this many fish? Have you checked your nitrate level to see if it is too high? How frequently do you change your water and how much do you change?

 

[Chilly Willy]

Wow! you must be really stupid! Don't you care for your fish at all?!? 28 fish is way, way, way too many! You should not have more than 27.

I take well to harsh words so feel free to scold Chilly if he is wrong.

I'm going to go cry and tell my mommy on you. You big meanie!!!!

ok on my serious note I apologized to my fish they said it was ok but don't let it happen again and I will keep in mind the fact I'm probably at my bio max and since I have a less then great filter probably over my max.

This is a huge learning experience for me as I always thought throw fish in some water and feed them 3 times a day.

Boy were my parents bad fish keepers!

Anyone else want to scold alittle defenseless Penguin?

(All in good humor)

 

[Jchillin]

Well Chilly, since your inviting it...Congratulations! You asked a normal question and you got your answers without losing it. Boy, you fit right in. Now what you want to do is start preparing for more tanks to hold the extra fish you want. There is nothing wrong with MTS. I say go for it.

 

[gheitman]

Jchillin is right about preparing for more tanks. I got my first aquarium for Christmas three years ago and just finished setting up my eigth (counting my quarantine tank).

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

The IFGA says 20-25 guppies per 10 gallons so I think your load is not that bad.

I have 17 1 inch guppies in a 2 1/2 gallon and have no problems I admit I do daily 25% water changes and have 3 types of filtration. But the point is you have the ability to have as many fish as you choose it just requires more effort of maintenance on your part.

I would do 2-3 water changes weekly until you get better filtration.

 

[kukerdan]

Look at my signiture, it defies what everyone will tell you.

I have quite a bit of fish, 3 of which are fairly large compared to the rest, the tinfoil/goldfish/ and firemouth are thebig three.

I only replace evaporated water, and rarley gravel vac, ive had NO tank deseises, have NO algae, and have lost no fish to water conditions.

The water i get for my tank comes from a local mountain spring that you bring water jugs to, to fill up. My filter is a Fluval 404 canister.... moves 340 or so gallons an hour, loaded with carbon packs and bio rings. I let my loaches and cats clean the bottom, and occasionally I stir up the rocks at the bottom of the tank so any waste gets filtered out. My tank has a pretty strong directional current with the fluval and the airstone, keeps the water circulating. The water stays slightly acidic, which is perfect for my cichlids, and the other fish dont mind. All my fish are always happy and ready to eat.
I plan on adding more fish soon as my tank still looks empty at times

 

[BrianNY]

You've gotten some great answers here my frozen friend. With proper filtration and water maintenance a crowded tank can be successful. One thing to be aware of is that a large bioload will act to lower the pH. So tanks with lots of fish should have enough carbonate hardness for adaquate buffering capacity.

 

[kukerdan]

yup, thats why my tank was acid, untill i got the fluval 404