20 Gallon stocking- Over stocked?

[ocminpin]

I had a complete brain fart!! Looking at what I wrote I KNOW it's a CAE 12".. whoops!!
sorry!

 

[Sarah E]

I have the API test kit that i can get a reading of my tanks. One thing I've learned is that a 50% water change a week, or even a month can seriously shock your fish at the sudden water chemistry change, which is why i try to do 10-20% weekly, if not a couple times a week.

My cories are only supposed to get from 1-1.5" long.

I read up on SAEs and saw they get up to 6"... way to long for my tank... I originally got them to help clean the algae off my tank... nope, no luck with that! LOL Maybe, to keep them safe i can see if i can return them to my lFS.

I've been keeping an eye on my female Bettas... I can't see one without the other. The reason i bought those two, was because in the tank they were always close to each other, where one swam the other followed, and they kept within each other's eyesight. When we put them in the bag together for bringing home, there was a LOT of gill flaring, and i saw them actually "fight" pushing each other hard... so we separated the two into two different bags. When I put them in the tank, they kept apart from each other, but now i"m watching them, and they're swimming within two inches of each other in my big(ish) 10 Gallon long... the only time i see nudging (Which is done as what seemed gentle) is when one bumps into the other... maybe i have weird fish?

My male Betta, Erne will eat from my fingers. in fact, when i put my hand in the water for any reason, to move plants, move stuff, etc. he'll come up and sometimes nudge my hand with his head, and want to be "Pet" whenever my hand is in the tank he's watching me, and if i pay attention to other fish he swims into my view.... It's quite cute really.

 

[MrPillow]

I, as well as many many others, perform weekly 50% changes. Some do it more often. Unless there is something drastically altering the chemistry in your tank from your source, or the temperature is not matched, 50% should be no problem. If you're only going to do 10-20%, I would recommend no less than 2 changes per week.

 

[Mikey214]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but how do you know when a tank is over stocked ?

 

[Sarah E]

I know that the general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water... I think you have to do math in order to know... LOL Also... i think you Ammonia can/will spike if you have to much?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but how do you know when a tank is over stocked ?

One inch per gallon is really out dated. It all comes down to keeping your parameters in check, swimming space, fish activity, aggression and compatibility. If you are unsure of your stocking start a thread and everyone will help you out.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I have the API test kit that i can get a reading of my tanks. One thing I've learned is that a 50% water change a week, or even a month can seriously shock your fish at the sudden water chemistry change, which is why i try to do 10-20% weekly, if not a couple times a week.

The only ways a large water change can 'shock' your fish is if the water chemistry is out wak. If your tank has old tank syndrome and your fish have become use to the bad water quality then you introduce fresh, clean water too quickly. If the temp is way out when you do a PWC. Or if your tap water contains something it does not normally.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with Mumma about the water change not really shocking your fish. After all, the tank water is from your tap, the new water is from your tap. I do 20-40% water changes and have not had a schock issue. But, if you are more comfortable doing smaller changes more frequently, thats fine too.

 

[Sarah E]

Okay! Here's my most recent stocking plot:

2 Emerald Corydoras Catfish
1 Peppered Corydoras Catfish
2 Juli Corydoras Catfish
2 SAEs, within checking they'll get up to 4 inches... I'm going to be moving them to my 60 gallon tank... I believe.
10 Feeder Guppies (this is always changing)
1 Male Betta.

I'd like to add to this tank, a few Dalmation Mollies that I MIGHT be getting from a friend.

Would my Betta or other fish eat the fry? I can grow them in my Nursery, then add them when they're a little big.

 

[Sarah E]

I also forgot to add 2 Mystery snails+ babies!

Something odd with my mystery snails... they both have very frail shells... that bend in with the touch, if you touch to hard... it sort of worries me... yet they seem fine! They keep mating away and having babies... in fact, I walked in on my female laying her second clutch of eggs this week...

 

[siva]

The peppered and especially the emerald cories will be too large for a 20H. I'd stick with 4-6 julii's. They are the largest cories I would put in a tank that size.

Mollies have huge bio-loads and would overstock your tank. They need a tank of atleast 29 gals so I would skip those.

Of course you already know the SAE are too big for the tank...if you don't have a definite plan for them I wouldn't add them.

The fish will eat fry, but if the tank is planted and they have hiding spots some will survive.

Add cuttlebone to the tank for your mystery snails to help strengthen their shells.

 

[Sarah E]

Well, i already have all these fish (except for the mollies) in my tank. I'd been researching the Corydoras, and read that the Peppered and Emerald would not get to big... up to 1.5-2" I also, already have the SAEs in my tank, however when i get my bigger tank, I might be able to transfer them over to the bigger tank.

Here's another question:

I'm getting this 60 gallon tank, and I'm putting a Max of 4 discus, and a breeding pair of angels in this tank... Mollies wouldn't do good with them... would they?

Cuddlebone? I know that they feed them to parrots, but it's actually toxic to parrots.... but it's okay for fish?

 

[absolutangel04]

Yes, its ok for fish.
Mollies usually do fine with angels IME. I have never personally kept discus.
Just a note, you may want to re-consider the 60g stock. 4 discus and a breeding pair of angels might be but much. But, thats a different topic.

 

[siva]

A breeding pair of angels often need their own tank all together. I don't think keeping them with 4 discus is a good idea. I wouldn't try it unless you have a breeder tank to put the angels in if/when they get aggressive.

I've had issues with male mollies being nippy with fish like gouramis, so I would use some caution adding them with angels. Most fish with sense in their head won't bother an angel, so I wouldn't be terribly worried about it.

Cuttlebone is not toxic to parrots. I have 9 budgerigars, which are a form of parrot, and they demolish a cuttlebone every day. They are crucial for them to keep their beaks trimmed. Large parrots may actually be able to take a bite of the hard backing (instead of the soft part the bird is supposed to use) which could cause health issues, so scraping the soft part off for them is a good idea, and using something like a mineral block for beak maintenance, but it's certainly not toxic for them. A cuttlebone is actually exactly what it sounds like..the "bone" of a cuttlefish. They are an excellent source of calcium for all sourts of critters, including inverts like snails. Snails with soft shells like you have described won't live long IME. I would add a cuttlebone to the tank right away. Bury it partially in the substrate.

 

[Sarah E]

The hard backing of the cuttlebone if digested in large pieces can be sharp enough to perforate the bird's digestive system. It's also not an ideal Calcium supplement. Here's a good website on it. Backos Bird Clinic, Deerfield Beach, FL, Daryl Sam Backos, DVM, ABVP-Diplomate Avian Specialist

However, I will take a look at it for my snails! Anything to keep them alive!

hmm... its amazing the different opinions on here... a majority (i believe) have told me 4 discus plus the breeding angels, if I have enough plant covering should be find together... however, I started out only wanting 2 discus, to keep room... but people say to have more than two.... what if I just have a breeding pair of discus and angelfish? I could get a tank divider and divide them up when they're spawning! They have HUGE ones for tanks like mine that might work!

 

[jetajockey]

A breeding pair of angels are going to wreak havoc on the other similarly sized tankmates in that, or really any smaller tank. They do it in my 125 and they have tons of room and plants, but luckily there's quite a bit of space. Even still, when they have eggs they will go back and forth across 4-5 feet of tank just to attack the discus and push them into corners and under plants, so a breeding scenario is not really the best thing to plan for.

One thing I do is as soon as they lay eggs I pull them out, that usually solves the problem.

 

[Sarah E]

If you remove the eggs... what do you do with them?

 

[jetajockey]

I put them in another tank to hatch. I usually don't make much of a concerted effort at that point so my hatch rates are not spectacular but then again I'm not overwhelmed with fry either.