Am I overstocked?

[missileman]

I have a new (used and cycled but new to me) 46 gallon bowfront.
It came stocked and I added some more from my daughters 10 gallon that has not been cycled yet (we litened to the advice of the LPS)
I have a couple of structures, air stone and a few smallish plants.
Using a power filter good up to 60 gallons.
My tank has the following population.
8 zebra danios
8 neon tetras
6 mollies
5 red wagtail platty's
9 assorted cichlids (3 electric yellow, 3 red zebra and 2 albino)
2 glass fish
I plan on giving the danios to my daughter when her tank is ready.
yesterdays test (my tank) showed:
PH 7.4
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0.25ppm
Nitrate 3ppm
Temp 78 deg
I want to get a bristle nose plec. is there room or do I have too many already?
How about after the danios are gone?
Thanks for any help.

 

[black hills tj]

The danios and neons really don't add much to the bioload of your tank, so I think you are fine on stocking right now. You could get a couple BN/ABN pleco's and be alright. Do yourself a favor and test those Nitrites again though. That's an odd result for a tank that sounds like its been cycled.

 

[missileman]

It might be a mini cycle. I was warned it could happen.Then again I may not have rinsed the test tube good enough after testing my daughters tank.
I had to empty the tank and substrate to transport it but the filter is untouched.
I plan on waiting a few weeks before adding any new pets just to be sure the tank is stable.

 

[black hills tj]

Not a bad plan. Keep us updated, and here's for the best!

 

[runninwoof]

you should do pwc until you can get your nitrates to under 10!! and sounds like you arnt too stocked!

 

[missileman]

Thanks.
Funny thing. I just checked the amonia and nitrite and both are at 0 now, either the test tube was contaminated yesterday or the bacteria are doing their thing.
I haven't checked the nitrate yet.But it was 3 yesterday.
I plan on doing a 15% to 20% WC this weekend anyway.

 

[black hills tj]

you should do pwc until you can get your nitrates to under 10!! and sounds like you arnt too stocked!

Anything under 40ppm Nitrates is perfectly fine.

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

Are the cichlids really a good combo here with the smaller community fish? I would have thought the neons and platties would end up as lunch sooner or later.

 

[missileman]

So far the Cichlids have not bothered any of the other fish.
They where tank mates for about 3 months before I got them.
The Cichlids range in size from abot 2" to about 3-1/2"
Maybe it will be a problem when they get bigger?
or if a couple pair off to mate? I have read that Cichlids will get very aggressive when they mate. I don't know the sex of them either so I don't know if there ever will be any mating.

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

I wouldn't be surprised long term if this combo of fish did pose a problem. The platties and neons will start disappearing as the cichlids grow out, for sure.

The danios in the 10, but the platties in the 46....hmmm. Zebras like a lot of swimming room, and they tough & fast. I wonder if they should stick around in the bigger tank, and the neons go to the 10 instead. With 8 neons, you could add in a bottom dweller, too.

 

[haykay]

I would also move the neons OR the platies into the 10 gallon, not the danios for the same reason as stated above.
Glass fish depending on what you have tend to be schoolers adn will do better in a school
Mollies can be quarelsome so if things are good I would NOT change your numbers there at all

However I am now to the cichlids, I do think these fish in a community will be a problem. these fish alone (well just the 9) would be fine, but africans are aggressive (if you have any) and highly territory

if the "electric yellows" are yellow labs, they might be alright..

But in short you could probably addd 1 BN. either albino or normal, but not 2

 

[missileman]

Yes. The more I get to know them I can see that the Danios are all over the place and can move very fast where the Neons tend to hang in a school and just leasurely move around mostly together. I am sure the Danios would like the bigger tank for sure.
Oh and the mollies? For the most part the Cichlids have left the other fish alone but yesterday one of the albinos chased a smallish white mollie around a bit, a few minutes later the big black spotted male mollie put the Cichlid in its place, no more problems.