Overstocked tank, need advice.

[ultimatedc]

Pretty sure I am overstocked. I have a 29 gallon bowfront with 5 tiger barbs. Today however I received 11 more from a friend who broke his tank down, 6 albino and 5 green. I'm pretty sure this is seriously overstocked. I run a 30g quiet flow with ammonia removed carbon and a sponge. It is well planted and I perform an 8 gallon water change every day, out of sheer boredom. My question is at what point will I see a high spike in Ammonia? They're all about 1.75-2". How many should I move? Could I keep them with a larger filter? The only other tank I have is a ten gallon.

 

[Cynic]

Pretty sure I am overstocked. I have a 29 gallon bowfront with 5 tiger barbs. Today however I received 11 more from a friend who broke his tank down, 6 albino and 5 green. I'm pretty sure this is seriously overstocked. I run a 30g quiet flow with ammonia removed carbon and a sponge. It is well planted and I perform an 8 gallon water change every day, out of sheer boredom. My question is at what point will I see a high spike in Ammonia? They're all about 1.75-2". How many should I move? Could I keep them with a larger filter? The only other tank I have is a ten gallon.

I don't see an issue with 16 Barbs in a 29G, assuming that's your whole stock.

If you're doing 8G changes daily I'd be surprised if you see any spike at all.

 

[ultimatedc]

Oh well, that's great! I kind of wanted a few Otos and I remember reading they have a low bioload but i don't want to push it.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

At least you've got the conversion to nitrates covered with pwc's and plants so if you do experience ammo spike at all maybe go with a little more filtration. I agree tho that whatever change you see would be minimal.

 

[Cynic]

In terms of space I don't think a few Otos will be a problem, I don't know anything about your filter however which could be a problem.

 

[ultimatedc]

It's a 30g aquarium quiet flow. I may be wrong but I believe it's 200gph. I do plan on upgrading soon to either an ac70 or a canister. Im limited with hobs because I only have 12" of space before the filter hits the middle brace and flows over it, which could get bad. I'm in the market for an affordable canister. Craigslist is pretty dry around here.

 

[ultimatedc]

Also these barbs are pretty aggressive. Wouldn't they rip apart Otos?

 

[skiweeangel]

The bigger the barb school the less likely they are to pick on other fish in the aquarium. My guess is it should be ok. But I'm not sure.

 

[Terrance]

The tank is stuffed with the 16 barbs IMO. You should look into getting one of those 55g tanks. Its a common cheap aquarium in the U.S.