What do you think of my stocking?

[adammorrill]

Hi,
I have a 55 gallon tank that has been setup since january 2012. I do a 50% water change on it every other week.
Here is my stock:
x1 dwarf gourami
x4 serpae tetras
x4 harlequin rasboras
x1 angelfish
x1 bristlenose pleco
x1 clown loach (I know it will outgrow the tank)
x2 balloon mollies
x3 australian rainbowfish

I wanted to add 2 boesemani rainbowfish and 1 red new guinea rainbow fish, but i dont know if that would make me overstocked or if I'm already overstocked. Thanks

 

[Chiroptera]

Hi,
I have a 55 gallon tank that has been setup since january 2012. I do a 50% water change on it every other week.
Here is my stock:
x1 dwarf gourami
x4 serpae tetras
x4 harlequin rasboras
x1 angelfish
x1 bristlenose pleco
x1 clown loach (I know it will outgrow the tank)
x2 balloon mollies
x3 australian rainbowfish

I wanted to add 2 boesemani rainbowfish and 1 red new guinea rainbow fish, but i dont know if that would make me overstocked or if I'm already overstocked. Thanks

Rainbowfish need at least 6 so they can school and not be stressed. You should either remove the 3 rainbows you have currently, or get the rest of the rainbows and remove the other largest fish in the tank, the angel, unless someone else says that having all would be fine, but I know rainbows need a good bit of space, because they get 6" each and can get pretty active, and I know that angel gets pretty large.

BUT, since your fish may be stressed, add the new ones when you can and see how they do, you may just be in the clear.

 

[adammorrill]

So, could i add some more rainbowfish with my current stock or would i need to take out some of the other fish? Also, I'm not possitive but I dont think the rainbowfish I am thinking about getting get 6 inches, but correct me if I'm wrong. One more thing the angel is currently pretty small, its body is about the size of a quarter. The rainbows are probally 3 inches long.

 

[Samzter]

Either way you shouldn't add any more rainbow fish. I would remove the rainbows you already have in there as well. Then I would add a type of Cories for the bottom.

 

[Chiroptera]

Either way you shouldn't add any more rainbow fish. I would remove the rainbows you already have in there as well. Then I would add a type of Cories for the bottom.

No, that's wrong. If he removes the rainbows, he should add more of some of the fish he already has, because they like to be in larger numbers, like the tetras.

 

[ErinF90]

I would also find a new home for the clown loach, not only will he outgrow the tank they like to be in groups of at least 4-5. I did the same thing because one source said to keep 1-3 depending on tank size . The lovely people here at AA helped me realize this was a mistake for this lovely fish. Just a thought. I agree with increasing the school size of the Tetras and also the Rasboras.

 

[Samzter]

Rainbowfish need at least 6 so they can school and not be stressed. You should either remove the 3 rainbows you have currently, or get the rest of the rainbows and remove the other largest fish in the tank, the angel, unless someone else says that having all would be fine, but I know rainbows need a good bit of space, because they get 6" each and can get pretty active, and I know that angel gets pretty large.

BUT, since your fish may be stressed, add the new ones when you can and see how they do, you may just be in the clear.

If he added more rainbows and still removed the other big fish he'd be overstocked. The Cories was a suggestion. Either way he shouldn't add more rainbows. He could still boost up the tetra school and the others but he could still add Cories.

 

[Chiroptera]

The issue is that almost everything in the tank needs more of them, except the angel and pleco., to be comfortable.

 

[Samzter]

The dwarf gourami and mollies are okay. The schools only need to be boosted up by 2 so its not major. The major issue here is rehoming. He needs to rehome the clown loach and the rainbows. Then he can consider what they want to stock

 

[adammorrill]

So you guys think i should rehome the rainbows because they are to big or because i would need a bigger school and i dont have the room? Also, i know about the clown loach and how he needs to be rehomed.

 

[Samzter]

I feel rainbows would need a bigger school and they get too big...

 

[adammorrill]

I agree with you that they probally need a bigger school, but i think they can fit in a 55 gallon

 

[jetajockey]

Removing the rainbows would give you more room to work with the smaller species. There's not a magic number to a school/group, the latest trend is 6 per, or whatever, but that just changes with time depending on what everyone kinda agrees to say. Having less is not going to hurt anything, but most pick a certain amount as an ideal minimal number to work with, the more the merrier in this regard. I wouldn't hesitate to remove the 'bows and bump the schoolers up to 2x more than what you have listed.

 

[adammorrill]

The thing is I like the rainbows a lot more than the tetras and rasboras, so i would rather have a school of rainbows and rehome the tetras and rasboras, but it sounds like i should rehome the rainbows because they are to big, right?

 

[aquabeast]

Also, angels are very social fish and i wouldnt reccomend that only one be in the tank.

 

[emerald76]

Also, angels are very social fish and i wouldnt reccomend that only one be in the tank.

Angels do fine one per tank
They can get VERY territorial if you have several and they breed

 

[bettaowner]

Serpae tetras are fin nippers.

 

[adammorrill]

I want to get this thread going again. I know the tetras and rasboras should have bigger schools, but they have been fine with their numbers and have been in the tank for a couple months now without any problems. I am still wondering if i could maybe get a Red New Guinea rainbowfish OR 2 Boesemani Rainbowfish. I don't want to rehome the rainbowfish i currently have either.