A healthy tank

[Mileymoo]

Is there any thing else I can be doing
I have a 20.68gallon tank pure XL askol
I change the anti phosphates & anti nitrates once a month and the carbon filter once a month, I do a 50% water change on Sundays using API stress coat + ( tap safe with aloe Vera)
And I add API PROPER pH 7.0 ( if and when I need it)
I feed my fish flakes, blood worms, frozen shrimp and occasionally a Algae wafer because I've been told the fish won't eat my plants as much which is rubbish
I have in my tank 2 yoyo loaches, m&f pearl gouramis, 2m & 2 f guppies and 7 rummy nose tetras who have the brightest red faces I've ever seen it's actually is travel half way along there body's
Is there anything else I can do and is there anything I'm doing wrong, it's just all my fish seem to be ok and happy TOUCH A VERY LARGE PIECE OF WOOD!!!!!!!

 

[mistersprinkles]

Is there any thing else I can be doing
I have a 20.68gallon tank pure XL askol
I change the anti phosphates & anti nitrates once a month and the carbon filter once a month, I do a 50% water change on Sundays using API stress coat + ( tap safe with aloe Vera)
And I add API PROPER pH 7.0 ( if and when I need it)
I feed my fish flakes, blood worms, frozen shrimp and occasionally a Algae wafer because I've been told the fish won't eat my plants as much which is rubbish
I have in my tank 2 yoyo loaches, m&f pearl gouramis, 2m & 2 f guppies and 7 rummy nose tetras who have the brightest red faces I've ever seen it's actually is travel half way along there body's
Is there anything else I can do and is there anything I'm doing wrong, it's just all my fish seem to be ok and happy TOUCH A VERY LARGE PIECE OF WOOD!!!!!!!

Anti phosphate and anti nitrate pads are overkill IMO. You can use them, no harm, but most don't.

You definitely can not keep a pair of pearl gouramis, or anything else that size, in a 20 gal. They get 4-5" long. Too big. If you want gouramis switch to dwarf or honey gouramis.

Stop using the pH adjuster. Using things like that willy nilly now and then is damaging. Let your fish become accustomed to tap water pH. A stable pH is better than a lower one that can't be maintained. Plus none of the fish you have NEED pH 7.0, average tap pH of 7.2-8.0 will be fine.

 

[Sidman24]

^^ I agree

 

[Rivercats]

Without knowing the phosphate and nitrate readings of tap water I wouldn't be too quick to say not to use phosphate and nitrate removing media. OP do you know these readings as they will determine if you really need them or not as why spend money on them if you don't need them.

Also I'm confused on a 20.68 gallon tank... is that a conversion from liters to gallons? And if it is indeed basically a 21 gallon tank you have it way overstocked even if your fish are healthy there are too many.

 

[Mileymoo]

Thank you mister sprinkles wouldn't you think when your buying fish they would advise you against it, the aquarium shop I bought the female gourami from knows what size tank I have as he's been testing my water for me on and off for 10 weeks, I'm going to be upset now, thanks for the ph advice I only started using that because the man at the aquarium shop said my ph was low I think it was 6.3, it's really confusing sometimes, I'm going to do research before I line the pockets of a aquarium shop owner, I really thought he was genuine

 

[Mileymoo]

94 litres, how many fish can I keep?

 

[pip walters]

Hi Mileymoo

Are your fish healthy? Is water quality good? I believe they are (as indicated byy the amazing colour on your rummy nose), therefore you are fine with what you have. keep looking after your water.

I disagree about the pearl gouramis - in the wild they survive long periods in tiny stagnant pools by breathing air via their labyrinth organs, so don't necessarily need vast amounts of space. I had a pair in a 15 gallon, along with a pair of moonlights, honeys, not to mention corys and several tetras and they were all healthy. Is the male showing his full colour yet? One of the most beautiful fish in the hobby.

How many fish can you keep? As many as you are comfortable with, as long as they are healthy and get along and you look after your water. I would have no qualms about adding 10 lemon tetras, for instance.

Keep doing what you are doing, seems you are succeeding.

 

[Mileymoo]

Hi Mileymoo Are your fish healthy? Is water quality good? I believe they are (as indicated byy the amazing colour on your rummy nose), therefore you are fine with what you have. keep looking after your water. I disagree about the pearl gouramis - in the wild they survive long periods in tiny stagnant pools by breathing air via their labyrinth organs, so don't necessarily need vast amounts of space. I had a pair in a 15 gallon, along with a pair of moonlights, honeys, not to mention corys and several tetras and they were all healthy. Is the male showing his full colour yet? One of the most beautiful fish in the hobby. How many fish can you keep? As many as you are comfortable with, as long as they are healthy and get along and you look after your water. I would have no qualms about adding 10 lemon tetras, for instance. Keep doing what you are doing, seems you are succeeding.

Thank you so much, my gouramis are beautiful in colour, and all my fish are bright and in good health, I'll post some pics tomorrow as it's getting late and there all asleep which I find fascinating, my guppies fall asleep in the plants at the top and the rummys all sleep next to each other, not sure about the yoyo loaches there always on the go haha, and the gourami have there spots on either side of the tank there like an old married couple lol

 

[Rivercats]

Thank you mister sprinkles wouldn't you think when your buying fish they would advise you against it, the aquarium shop I bought the female gourami from knows what size tank I have as he's been testing my water for me on and off for 10 weeks, I'm going to be upset now, thanks for the ph advice I only started using that because the man at the aquarium shop said my ph was low I think it was 6.3, it's really confusing sometimes, I'm going to do research before I line the pockets of a aquarium shop owner, I really thought he was genuine

Your ph could be a problem as a ph of 6.5 or under biological activity slows and a ph of 6 or lower biological activity stops and BB begin to die off. Do you know if your tap water has a low ph? If it does using crushed coral placed in the filter or added to a media bag and hung under the filter outflow will slowly leach buffers into your tank raising ph. If this is done you only start out with a small amount of CC and add to it slowly and in small amounts until you reach the ph you want.

BUT cycling can cause a big drop in ph so if your tap water has a higher ph than your tank cycling could have been the culprit.

Another reason you could have a low ph is because your tank is overstocked IMO or darn close to it and has a higher bio-load. Fish, their waste, etc., causes water to become more acidic so the more fish the more acidic the conditions become in an aquarium which means ph drops. Doing weekly WC's as you do helps restore buffers back into the water but if the water you use in WC's has little buffers and low ph or the tank bio-load is just too high your fighting a loosing battle. You also have a large piece of DW in your tank which can also contribute to lower ph.

Do you know your nitrate reading both with nitrate removing media in the filter and without it in the filter?

The reason you will find most on this site saying your overstocked is not only because of the amount of fish you have in that size tank but also and mainly because of the adult size all those fish will attain. I have had yo-yo loaches reach 5" before and with age Pearl Gourami's can get quite large. I also have some hefty size Rummynose in my 220g tank as well so I'm looking at the adult size potential. Just because they fit in the tank, appear to be healthy, and you do your weekly WC doesn't mean crowding fish in is a good thing to do. A lot depends on the types of fish stocked, their aggression levels, adult size, and many other factors.