Overloaded tank?

[zenkatydid]

I have a 17gal tank with 10 adult guppies, 4 cories, plus guppy fry. I recently lost a guppy (to old age) and didn't find the body - I assume it was eaten quicksmart. However, I now have an ammonia spike of a little less than .25ppm, and have lost some fry (which was what prompted me testing). I am going to take the tank apart tonight and see if I can find any remains contributing to the problem (and do a big water change), but I also know that the tank is pretty full. Do you think it's too overloaded to maintain, or is it just the death(s) fault?

In addition, I'd like to add a couple of otos to clear the algae on the glass, and I really don't want to be having ammonia spikes with them in the tank. Do you think it's possible to add them too, or is that just way too much? I plan on maintaining the adult guppy population at less than a dozen by taking excess to the local pet shop.

EDIT: Here's a pic of the tank - I have since removed the rotala and replaced it with more hygro, and planted more of it along the back (to suck up the nitrates).

 

[hc8719]

could have been other factors than just the fish dying, infact, the reason she died may have been caused by the other factors.

reducing gravel depth can help minimize buildups of leftover food (given its cleaned when needed)

 

[coldmachineUK]

Nice looking tank
What sort of filtration are you using? If you have a canister on there, or decent filtration (i.e. over filtration) then I would have thought 10 guppies and 4 cories is fine. I would try to sell on the fry once they're a suitable size...

I don't know if I would opt for otos in this mix...but you could try. If you're only after two, again I wouldn't forsee a problem (although you rightly mention they're sensitive so make sure your params are perfect before introducing them).

All of the fish you have in this tank are small, it's well planted which contributes to good water params, and if you've good filtration on top then I think you'll be fine with what you have planned.

The spike, I would suspect, is down to the death alone.

 

[coldmachineUK]

reducing gravel depth can help minimize buildups of leftover food (given its cleaned when needed)

The tank is moderately planted though, so a decent depth to gravel is fairly important in this case.

 

[zenkatydid]

i've got an aquaclear 30 hob, which is rated for almost double the tank size. i could always get another one, but i'm not sure if there's a limit to the amount of filtration that would be effective on a tank.

i would get 1 oto, but i want him to be happy and with his own kind.

my boyfriend thinks it's dangerously overstocked and doesn't want to add any more fish, especially now. thanks for your assurances that i'm not killing them with overcrowding it doesn't _look_ too full.