Too many fish?

[AquariumFreek]

Hi!

I recently went to my local fish store to get some plants, and they told me that I have too many fish in my 20 gal.

What do you think?
2 male (dwarf) gourami
7 neon tetras
2 female platies

I have LOTS of hiding areas and I have not seen any aggressive behavior with the male gouramis and i've had those two for about 2 years.



Do I have too many fish? Lol

 

[Ingy]

Simple question; what is you're nitrate level at. If it is low (with the plants), then as long as there is enough O2, aggression should be your only concern.
If there is no aggression then you're fine.

 

[BBradbury]

Aq...

A more important question than do you have too many fish is, how clean does the water need to be to support them? You have the fish, so you need to maintain pure water conditions all the time, so the fish don't get sick. A 20 G tank requires a couple of large water changes weekly. I'd simply start an aggressive water change routine. If the tank was mine, I'd feed just a bit daily and make sure I removed and replaced most of the tank water a couple of times a week. By replacing this much water, this often, there's no time for dissolved wastes to build up to toxic levels. The water chemistry will stay stable and healthy for the fish.

B

 

[pmvaldon]

No you dont have too many fish. those live plants will easily eat up any ammonia or nitrates in your aquarium.

 

[nirbhao]

The issue I see is having two male dwarf gourami. Gourami are closely related to bettas, and, like other anabantoids, they are territorial and will fight each other.

 

[extremebunny]

I had 2 male dg, they were just fine. both were quite mellow. most pet stores keep lots of male dg together so they are usually used to eachother by the time u get them

 

[nirbhao]

Several together in otherwise empty small tanks means none of them have territory to claim. Put just a couple in a larger tank with decor to claim, they will protect that territory.

 

[Coursair]

I had 2 male dg, they were just fine. both were quite mellow. most pet stores keep lots of male dg together so they are usually used to eachother by the time u get them

Oh no, we had plenty of "trimmed" fins in the DG tank. The weaker ones stress out and die. The stronger ones "trim fins" on rivals. They are not "used to each other".

I some tanks DG may get along ok. In some the less dominant male may just starve or die for no obvious reason , but it's usually stress. In big tanks with lots of plants you can have multiple territories. Once males go into breeding mode and get settled, then you may see new behavior.