Is my tank over stocked? Barb/cory issues

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mxmelba

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 30, 2014
Messages
14
Location
Decatur, Ga
Hi everyone. I am very new to fish keeping. This might be long, please bare with me. We started with a 10 gal tank and ran into issues due to not cycling it, over stocked (13 fish) and 3 kids each giving a pinch to feed the fish. That tank is now running but minus fish (fake plants) and I am trying to level out the ammonia. It is getting better.

My father gave me his 55 gal tank since he retired and doesn't want to deal with it anymore. Between his fish, my fish and helping a friend out we now have the following in our 55 gal tank.

55 gallon tank - not planted, contains:
5 tiger barbs
1 pepper cory
1 albino cory
3 harlequin respora
3 zebra danio
4 neon tetras
2 glo tetras
2 plecos
2 mollies yellow
3 black skirt tetras
4 glowlight tetras
2 red phantom tetras

I just added the tiger barbs and the harlequin resporas from a friend 2 nights ago. The barbs are the largest fish in the tank except for a pleco and one of the glo tetras. It seems the barbs are bothering my albino cory. Everyone else seems to be getting along ok.

A few questions.

1. Is my tank over stocked again?
2. If not, should I add 2 more albino corys to it to help the little guy out?
3. My friend said I could return the tiger barbs if they pose a problem. (Not sure how I would catch them, they are FAST).
4. My son wants fish in the 10 gal. His favorite color is red. Ideas on what to put in there? I think 5 would be the max?

Thank you for any help. I have read through so much on the forum.
 
Hi everyone. I am very new to fish keeping. This might be long, please bare with me. We started with a 10 gal tank and ran into issues due to not cycling it, over stocked (13 fish) and 3 kids each giving a pinch to feed the fish. That tank is now running but minus fish (fake plants) and I am trying to level out the ammonia. It is getting better.

My father gave me his 55 gal tank since he retired and doesn't want to deal with it anymore. Between his fish, my fish and helping a friend out we now have the following in our 55 gal tank.

55 gallon tank - not planted, contains:
5 tiger barbs
1 pepper cory
1 albino cory
3 harlequin respora
3 zebra danio
4 neon tetras
2 glo tetras
2 plecos
2 mollies yellow
3 black skirt tetras
4 glowlight tetras
2 red phantom tetras

I just added the tiger barbs and the harlequin resporas from a friend 2 nights ago. The barbs are the largest fish in the tank except for a pleco and one of the glo tetras. It seems the barbs are bothering my albino cory. Everyone else seems to be getting along ok.

A few questions.

1. Is my tank over stocked again?
2. If not, should I add 2 more albino corys to it to help the little guy out?
3. My friend said I could return the tiger barbs if they pose a problem. (Not sure how I would catch them, they are FAST).
4. My son wants fish in the 10 gal. His favorite color is red. Ideas on what to put in there? I think 5 would be the max?

Thank you for any help. I have read through so much on the forum.

What type of plecos are they? The common pleco can grow huge, even of they're small, and all plecos are poop factories, along with the 2 mollies. Is your gravel or sand light or dark? The albino is getting picked on most likely b/c it sticks out like a sore thumb. Think black on white, easy to see. Adding adding 2-3 other cory cats could help ease the pressure. Also, do you have hiding spots for them?

Now onto the tiger barbs, I personally love em, full of attitude and make for a rockin' tank but can be pretty aggressive. All your other fish,minus the plecos, can't hold there own against barbs. You could A: rehome the barbs and focus on a nice community tank. You have quite a few species, but low #'s of each. Pick your favorite species, that you already have, and bump the #'s of that species up, large schools are impressive.

Or B: keep the barbs, rehoming the other fish and set your sights on a tank with other tougher fish. The plecos can hold there own and could stay. And a trick to catch most fish is to catch them at night, turn off the light for an hour, let then slow down, then quickly turn the light on and snag them with a net, barbs sleep nose down. Cool right??!

Finally to answer your overstocking question, depending on the species of plecos, no you're not overstocked for a 55. Hope I gave some answers to a few of your questions.
 
The tank came with red gravel. I *think* the plecos are Hypostomus plecostomus. The one I had is only about 2.5" long, the one I got from my friend (her dad gave her 3 for her 30 gal tank) is about 5.5" long.

I have the other cory, peppered I think? They are never together. The albino swims up and down the tank, fun little guy. The other one just hangs out in the back. Would I get 2 more albinos?

The barbs are fun and don't seem to be bothering anyone else. I would rather return them to her than get rid of all my other fish. No chance they can all live happily? :)

If I am not overstocked, what else could I add? My son really wants a red tail shark or some type of shark. I am just concerned about over stocking so I don't want to add anything else yet.

Any suggestions on a colorful 10 gal tank? Could I do dwarf cichlids? Or is the tank too small? TIA!
 
I agree, you are not overstocked. But, you should get a Master test kit and monitor your Nitrates! The more fish...the more partial water changes.
 
I did order the big test kit, the one with the viles to test the water using the bottle droppers. I am only testing weekly. Should I test more frequently? I also have some of the test strips. I started with the strips and switched bc of all the ammonia issues I had in my 10gal.
 
I did order the big test kit, the one with the viles to test the water using the bottle droppers. I am only testing weekly. Should I test more frequently? I also have some of the test strips. I started with the strips and switched bc of all the ammonia issues I had in my 10gal.
I do not care for the test strips. As for the test kit...of course you want to monitor all parameters, but if your tank is established, Nitrates are your biggest concern IMO. Partial water changes consisting of vacuuming the fish poo out of the substrate will help keep Nitrates at bay. I do partials in my 55 gallon 3 times a week.
 
The test strips aren't accurate, I'd chuck em. Red tailed sharks can get aggressive, sorry but I'd pass on the shark. As for the 10g with red fish, a few red Mickey mouse plat ties would be a good idea. Try and get all MALES. plat ties are livebearers and breed like crazy! Even if you had all females, one could be pregnant already form the store, then you'd have a mess.
 
Ok, I have been looking at the AqAdvisor and it seems the biggest stocking problem my tank will have is with the 2 plecos. I have a fluval 306 filter and a TetraTec pf150. If I take those 2 fish out of my tank I am at ~50% stocked. Adding the 2 plecos puts me over 100% stocked. Do they really throw off your tank that much?

It seems my albino cory is just hiding now. He used to swim all over the tank. I think he is hiding from the Barbs. Outside of getting rid of the barbs, is there anything else I can do to make him happy?

Reading up on sharks it seems that if I get a red tailed shark the biggest problem I would have is it eating my 4 glowlight tetras when the shark gets bigger. I can't have that happen. My son really wants a shark. I can't figure out how to get one in my tank as I have it now unless someone can tell me how?
 
Ok, I have been looking at the AqAdvisor and it seems the biggest stocking problem my tank will have is with the 2 plecos. I have a fluval 306 filter and a TetraTec pf150. If I take those 2 fish out of my tank I am at ~50% stocked. Adding the 2 plecos puts me over 100% stocked. Do they really throw off your tank that much?

It seems my albino cory is just hiding now. He used to swim all over the tank. I think he is hiding from the Barbs. Outside of getting rid of the barbs, is there anything else I can do to make him happy?

Reading up on sharks it seems that if I get a red tailed shark the biggest problem I would have is it eating my 4 glowlight tetras when the shark gets bigger. I can't have that happen. My son really wants a shark. I can't figure out how to get one in my tank as I have it now unless someone can tell me how?

When you say 'they', do you mean the plecos or Aquadvisor? Plecos are like goldfish, big, messy and poop factories. So you'd need to keep on top of water changes. Now, aqadivsor, you need to take it with a grain of salt. Don't believe everything it says. It's more of a guide.

What color is the sub straight in your tank? Your albino sounds like it sticks out against it. The barbs will most likely pick on it forever. You COULD move the Cory cat into the 10 gallon, get him 1 other buddy and add3-4 red plat ties and this would solve the problem.

I'm sorry, I can't really help you with the shark issue.
 
Thank you for replying. By "they" I meant the plecos. I think I will return one back to my friend. I don't need a poop factory. Without the plecos or just having one, do you still need to do the water changes weekly? I thought having the fluval would help with that?

My gravel is red. So the cory sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps we will just get some red platties and add another cory and call it a day. Should I move the other cory to the 10 gal tank too? It is actually a sterbai cory. Or just leave him alone in the 55 gal?

This is all WAY harder than I thought it would be.
 
Weekly water changes are a good habit to get into. During this time, it allows you to check that all equipment is in working order. And that all fish are healthy. Do you know the species of pleco? I'd move your albino, for stress relief, to the 10. You can also move your other one over so they have a buddy. OR you can leave the sterbial Cory in the 55, this would allow you to get 5-6 more Cory cats to keep him company. Its overwhelming, but you'll get the hang of it!
 
I think they are both common. One is already almost 6 inches long. That is the one I got from a friend who got it from her dad bc he was going to be traveling and didn't want it. She has 3 in a 30 gal and is trying to find homes for them. I didn't know they were so poopy. :)

Ok, I will move the albino to the 10 gal and get him some buddies. Would 5 platties and 3 corys be too many for a 10 gal? Then get a few sterbial for my 55 gal?

Side note. This all started bc I wanted a small tank for a betta fish.

I really appreciate all of your help.
 
I'd go 4 male plat ties and your albino Cory cat plus only 1-2 more. Then add more stet isle for your 55. That's how all of these tanks start out. One tank suddenly turns into 3-4.
 
Youre welcome to read abou my danger barb exploits. Gold barbs KILLED my albino cory. They are less aggressive then the barbs you have by species description.
 
Well, I moved the albino cory and he is much happier with his 2 buddies I got in his 10 gal tank. I also got another sterbai cory for my 55 gal.

I found out that I don't have 2 plecos, but one common and the other is actually a feather finned catfish. I think it is getting to big for my tank. It is about 6-7" long. I need to create a new thread asking about it.
 
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