How Overstocked would I be if......

[SexySheen]

Hello everyone. I currently have a 125g tank w/ 5 tinfoil barbs, 2 plecos, 1 tsn catfish, and 1 pangasius catfish. Now I understand that the catfish will eventually outgrow my tank...and I have a family member w/ an indoor pond who has agreed to take them when this happens. Now as for my question. A friend of mine wants me to take her 2 oscars. Will this combination of fish work....and will I be terribly overstocked? Thank you.:rolleyes:

[blitzen25bm]

tin foils also get huge. if you have tons of filtration it should work.

[Wippit Guud]

The two oscars alone need about 90g to themselves. And the Barbs get just as big.

I'd say one or the other, but not both.

[Uncle Bete]

just courious...
whats a tns catfish?

bets I could think was a t(somehting) shovel nose

[somefinnfishy]

not sure what the tns is but those tinfoils get bigger than a basketball in less than two years.
The common plecos out grow your tank as well.
oscars out grow it to not as fast.
The panganese is the only fish in there that will not be tortured buy you.
Dont get me wrong the tourture began when you chose fish that cannot growout in glass tanks.
Sorry so harsh but I'm sick of putting down nice friendly fish because thier owners just could not help themselves from buying a fish to tourture.

[SayersWeb]

Originally posted by somefinnfishy
not sure what the tns is but those tinfoils get bigger than a basketball in less than two years.
The common plecos out grow your tank as well.
oscars out grow it to not as fast.
The panganese is the only fish in there that will not be tortured buy you.
Dont get me wrong the tourture began when you chose fish that cannot growout in glass tanks.
Sorry so harsh but I'm sick of putting down nice friendly fish because thier owners just could not help themselves from buying a fish to tourture. Sorry.... but Oscars will not outgrow this tank, they should be just fine. The Tinfoil Barbs get to be the same size as Oscars (which is much smaller than a basket ball!) but do need a bit more swimming room. So, in the long run you may be better off with the Oscars since you will probably have to get rid of the Tinfoils eventually.

[SayersWeb]

Looking at the Tinfoil Barb profile here (http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/cyprinids2/p/tinfoilbarb.htm) says they can be kept in a 55 gallon.... so maybe long-term they will be fine in the 125.

[somefinnfishy]

sorry did not look at the profile here but have boxed over a dozen tinfoil barbs that touched head to tail in a standard 24"x 24" shipping box YES I have handled many at 20" or better!
Oscar size yes they will hit only like 18" but I consider that abuse kinda like keeping a 120LB dog in a 36"x 96" kennel 24/7/365 it will work but its not right.
I work in a HUGE pet store and in a sophisticated fish town with over 30 ma & pa shops we are the only that will take fish in over 6" so I have seen it all.
We get pacu the size of garbage can lids 30"
three foot RTC s
and mostly abused oscars,tinfoils,big cats.
I wont even tell you about who buys them and for why (eric shudders)

So sorry a bit nasty but dont buy these fish!!!
because you will never buy the monster tank you say you will buy and some day you'll dump them on me :(

[Hans]

is this all we talk about on this freaking board, THAT TANK IS TOO SMALL FOR THAT FISH!! god! there are more important/interesting topics!!!!

[Wippit Guud]

I don't know about fitting in a 55... but they reach a length of 13in, footprint for a 125 is 18in deep, so they can live in it... but they need more space than oscars due to their activeness.

[Wippit Guud]

Originally posted by Hans
is this all we talk about on this freaking board, THAT TANK IS TOO SMALL FOR THAT FISH!! god! there are more important/interesting topics!!!!

So then don't read the topics you don't like.

[cdawson]

Originally posted by Hans
is this all we talk about on this freaking board, THAT TANK IS TOO SMALL FOR THAT FISH!! god! there are more important/interesting topics!!!!

Actually this is probably one of the most important topics on these boards. People need to be more educated on something like this.

[somefinnfishy]

I've gotten real jaded in the last year.
This guy has asked if he will be overstocked he is now and just pointing out some facts.
I wasnt saying the same thing a year ago I always said we were all freaks about the big fish small tank thing and told everyone to grow them out till overstocked then sell back to the lfs.
As a eye whitness to all the deformed monsters that my store gets dumped on us its just not right the only way to stop this is not to buy them period.
And I will preach this to the end.
Now if he had a 180-220 I'd say go for it as that will maintain the large fish we are speaking of ANYONE who buys a fish like this with out every intention to buy a 24x72 tank(nobody does) is a fish natzi running a fish concentration camp.
The sad thing is there are only like hundreds of african and SA chiclids far more colorful in the 8"-12"range.

BTW the foils get much bigger than 13" also assuming that 13" is around basketball size.

[SexySheen]

Ok so from what i am understanding....am I overstocked with just the tinfoils? I have not gotten the oscars...they were an option. I understand now that I shouldn't get them. Will the plecos really outgrow a 125g tank? Like I said the tsn (tiger shovel nose) will be rehomed in a beautiful indoor pond when he becomes too big for the tank.

[Wippit Guud]

I'd actually say you'd be better off with the oscars, and get rid of the tinfoils.

Mind you, the TSN may end up just eating the barbs, which would solve the issue anyways.

[matty150]

oscars will not grow out of a 125g tank, i think someone here has a had a few too many bad experiences or maybe just too much coffee. i have 1 oscar and 2 tinfoils in my 150 gallon and everythings peachy. they've been in that tank for just under a year and they are beautiful, i have the pics to prove it. 5 tinfoils on the other hand might be over doin it. id get rid of a couple and take 1 oscar. the common pleco wont outgrow your tank either.

and thats a pretty stupid comment about the fish natzi thing too, please dont compare fish kept in a small tank to humans in a german concnetration camp, its inappropriate.

[dethjam316]

VERY inappropriate. people have been booted from the board for saying similar things in GCC. i understand your frustration with people buying fish like pacus, which clearly shouldn't be sold in the volume they are...but come on.

furthermore, you say you've handled many tinfoils at 20" or more...i've never seen any reference that lists their maximum size above 13", so any fish that are that size are oddballs...frankly, i find it hard to believe any tinfoils surpass 20". but you never know. can't see it being a common event, for sure. also, an 18" oscar would be a very impressive specimen from my understanding. don't they tend to top out around 12-14"?

a 125 is one of the larger commercially available tank. freaking out at someone for having a common pleco in such a tank is a little ridiculous. how many fishkeepers on here keep a common plec in a 75? in a 55? probably a lot, and most of them consider themselves pretty responsible fishkeepers.

all that said, adding 2 oscars to that setup isn't really a good idea.

[somefinnfishy]

sorry everyone I offended the fish natzi was wrong.Dumb comment.(Eric bangs head on keyboard)
Plecos why buy common why not some of the cheaper fancys that dont get quite as large.
Have you seen many 24" plecos?
If they did not reach that size the were abused and died if you manage to bring one up to adult your abuseing buy jailing it in any glass tank commonly manufactured IMHO
Tinfoils I will measure and photograph any large bars I run into :)

The indoor pond is a wonderfull idea and If anyone else has this plan build it first and adopt an allready large fish thats been abandoned.
I'm not against keeping any of the fish listed just have the proper tank from the getgo as good people with good intentions arnt willing to pay for the future 180 or bigger later on.

I think this the first big fish small tank thing I've posted in in over a year.
:rolleyes:

[dethjam316]

i mostly agree with you...and i would LOVE to see a tinfoil the size of a basketball. dude, if you could take a photo of a big one you come across with a basketball next to it in the photo, i'll be in awe. i want to believe!

[Captain Hook]

I think tinfoils grow to sizes based on their tanks. I once had one in a 20 gallon for a quite a long time, not knowing their potential size. It got to be about 5 inches long so I returned it to the store. It's growth was stunted but otherwise seemed very healthy. I'm not saying it's ok to do this and the fish will be fine but I do wonder the long-term damages done. I'm guessing it never reached its potential size.

As to the beginning question, 2 oscars and 5 tinfoils does seem like a lot but it is a 150. I think it depends on the size of your tinfoils. It's possible they won't grow much more if oscars are added I think.

[delmore]

My Baensch Aquarium Atlas I says tinfoil barbs reach a length of 13" -- pretty big fish! Also says "Though considered too large for most home aquariums, the adults make a beautiful display".


This is a fine thread. I think that the biggest problem in the hobby (besides not enough water changes) is getting fish that ourgrow the size of the tank. I also agree with the comment about the common Plecos. I'd go for a different, smaller variety like a bushynose any day.

[jt325i]

Good rule of thumb:

If you have to ask if your tank is overstocked it probably is.......

[dethjam316]

haha, usually true...but i don't know. some people read threads like this and get super-paranoid and will post things like:

is my tank overstocked? it is a 75 gallon with 5 neon tetras and a 5 cories.

[somefinnfishy]

Overstocking is not a prob for me. Its just the size thing I keep around 70 fish in my 65g. In a wholesale facility I've seen 500 quarter sized black skirt tetras maintained in a 40B with three sponge filters and weekly 50% changes for months with out starving them.