Too Many Or Not Enough Fish?

[billyharless]

29GAL tank

2 black mollies
2 red platties
2 black skirt tetras
2 dwarf gourami
12 neon blue tetras
2 small snails

[Watcher74]

If you can't provide information on the filtration then it will be impossible for anyone to give you an accurate opinion.

A tank needs to have, at a minimum, six complete turnovers of filtration per hour(all the water being filtered six times). It is usually recommended for it to be nine times an hour.

A way to figure this out is to find out what the gph(gallons per hour) that your filter is rated at. It is also recommended that you have more than one filter on your tank. That way, if something happens to one filter, your tank will still be getting filtration while you repair/replace your other filter.

One thing to be aware of is that, even though you have a "29 gallon" tank, you do not actually have 29 gallons of water in it. The measurements of the inside glass are smaller than the outside of the glass. Also you usually do not have the tank filled to the brim, you have gravel, decorations and other items in the tank, so you actually have around 22-23 gallons of water. And the filters get their gph rating when it contains no media in it. So you actually have less water to filter and less gph filtering than what your aquarium products state.

A 29 gallon tank with only 120 gph can hold much less fish than a 29 gallon tank with 300 gph.

[aquariumfishguy]

I think you are pretty well stocked. Yes, you should have good filtration but in the end, you still do not want to be grossly overstocked as you could run into serious problems.

[billyharless]

I have one topfin power filter that came with the kit.

Are there others that you would recommend for my setup?

Besides that do you think I have too many fish or could I add more?

[OrionGirl]

You can never have 'not enough fish'. Trust me--while there might not be enough activity to make you happy, the fish are always going to be happy with lower numbers (once sociability is accounted for).

In your tank--I probably wouldn't add more. This is a fairly new setup, yes? IMO, you're very overstocked--heck, even using the inch/gallon setup, you well over--and that rule is ovly useful for slim bodied, small tetras. Many of your other fish will get up to 3 inches--meaning you are over the limit, no matter what filtration you put on there, simply because there isn't much room for the fish despite biological filtration.

[Watcher74]

Alright, I've done a search on "Topfin Power Filter" and have come across:

Topfin Power Filter 10
Topfin Power Filter 20
Topfin Power Filter 30
Topfin Power Filter 60

I couldn't find a single listing for any of their gph. The only fragment of evidence I got was that the 60 was for aquariums up to 60 gallons. Which probably means in reality its good for aquariums up to 30 gallons.

If you can figure out what number Topfin Power Filter you have, take the number, cut it in half, and that's probably a rough estimate for what size aquarium its good for.

If you don't have a 60 then you do not have enough filtration on your tank and need to stock it lightly.

Just found the Topfin Power Filter 60 is rated for 300 gph. If you have that one you are getting good filtration.

[billyharless]

I was thinking I might have been a little over zealous as a newbie. I was just excited to get my tank up and running and get lots of cool fish in it.

But now I am having so much fun I am thinking about setting up a second tank. Perhaps if my fish get too big I can split them up into different tanks.

[billyharless]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
You can never have 'not enough fish'. Trust me--while there might not be enough activity to make you happy, the fish are always going to be happy with lower numbers (once sociability is accounted for).

In your tank--I probably wouldn't add more. This is a fairly new setup, yes? IMO, you're very overstocked--heck, even using the inch/gallon setup, you well over--and that rule is ovly useful for slim bodied, small tetras. Many of your other fish will get up to 3 inches--meaning you are over the limit, no matter what filtration you put on there, simply because there isn't much room for the fish despite biological filtration.

Thanks for the help. I will put some more attention into my filter system this weekend.

[aquariumfishguy]

None of the fish you have are "too big", but we have recently learned you are just cycling your aquarium. This is why we are concerned. And in light of the recent news, I would not add any more fish... esp when the tank is still cycling. ;)