Am I okay??????

[mikesoverhere]

Hello there,

I would like to know about my over stocked tank, or is it?????

Do I need to do water changes if my bio filters are doing a superior job, my
amonia,nitrites and nitrates are all 0.0 . Ph is at 7.6 water is chrystal clear water hardness is just moderate hard??????????????????

I need to know this please and thank you. :huh:

16 gallon tank

11 tetras
6 zebra danios
3 swords
2 mollies
1 gourmais
1 algae eater

Ehiem Canaster filter 2213- 108 gph plus UGF with 201 power head

[Chuck_T]

i gotta 20 gal with 11 fish in totoal and i think its over stocked

[mikesoverhere]

ya but if the bio load can take it am I ok ????

[mikesoverhere]

:pc:

[Marinemom]

Yes, you are definitely overstocked. You said you have an algae eater. What kind is it? If it is the common pleco, he can grow to between 18 and 24 inches. Also what kind of gourmai do you have? A dwarf may be o.k. but not any of the regular gouramis because they will grow too large for that size tank. I have also seen some red swords that can also get really big depending on thier diet.

As far as the water changes go, you should be doing them on a regular basis. It is a well known fact that the chemistry of the water within the aquarium itself will change over time. I'm not sure why. Besides most fish would like to live in nice clean water as opposed to water that has not been changed in a while. The filter will keep your levels pretty stable but water changes are just a necessary part of sucessful fishkeeping weather it is for freshwater, brackish water or saltwater.

Marinemom

[liv2padl]

there are a variety of dissolved ORGANIC POLLUTANTS, substances such as proteins, amino acids, phenolic compounds, pheromones (hormones that affect the behavior of other fish) and other metabolic byproducts which are continuously being discharged into the aquarium water by the fish. If these DOCs are allowed to become concentrated in the water, the health of the fish will suffer.

for example, laboratory studies have shown that high levels of DOC are associated with reduced fish feeding rates, slower growth, decreased reproduction rates, lower immune system activity and blooms of pathogenic bacteria in the water. it is now believed that many of the fish health problems thought to be the result of high nitrates are actually caused by DOCs.

in addition to those organic compounds noted above, inorganic byproducts of the nitrogen cycle in any aquatic environment also buildup in an your water. ammonia and nitrite are taken care of by your biofilter and converted to nitrate. this latter product can only be removed by dilution through water changes.

so while you may be thinking your fish are just fine, even without water changes, in fact they are not.

based on the fact that you have no nitrate in your water, i'm going to assume this is a new tank ... and you've had it running a week or two? if this is the case, you're filter has not cycled and you're going to have a great many of your fish die soon.
read through these links to understand the 'cycling' process. if i'm wrong and the tank has been running for several months or longer ... your nitrate reading is in error. nitrate is a naturally ocurring byproduct of the bacterial cycle that converts ammonia and nitrite and you must have 'some' level of this compound.

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/start_up/start_up4.html

http://www.pubnix.net/~spond/filter/nitrogen.html

http://fish.orbust.net/cycling.html

as to the number of fish you've got, you are WAAYYYY overstocked. again, this is going to cause massive fish deaths soon unless you do something about it. a 16 gallon tank can be considered full with just the 11 tetras you've got.

[Roan Art]

liv2padl,

He could be using that Nitraban junk. There seems to be a rush on that stuff with newibes of late.

How nice and typical of Tetra to put a junk product on the market that will cause eventual harm to fish and water chemistry, and market it as a long-term positive "solution" to water changes.

I predict that 4 months from now we will be inundated with posts from people whose older tank inhabitants suddenly start getting sick and die, for no reason that they can see. Oh, and every time they try to add a new fish to the tank, it dies immediately.

OTS, here we come. Wheeeeeeeeee!

Roan

[Rbishop]

Hello there,

I would like to know about my over stocked tank, or is it?????

Do I need to do water changes if my bio filters are doing a superior job, my
amonia,nitrites and nitrates are all 0.0 . Ph is at 7.6 water is chrystal clear water hardness is just moderate hard??????????????????

I need to know this please and thank you. :huh:


16 gallon tank

11 tetras
6 zebra danios
3 swords
2 mollies
1 gourmais
1 algae eater

Ehiem Canaster filter 2213- 108 gph plus UGF with 201 power head


Please listen to the above advice. In numerous posts you have made, many individuals have explained you are overstocked, repeatedly.

You also state in other posts, about your use of ammo lock, ammo stones, aqua-sol and who knows what else.

Yes you need to do water changes to rid the water of items your filters do not remove for you. You need to lose most of the fish in the tank.

[fishyaddict]

liv2padl,

He could be using that Nitraban junk. There seems to be a rush on that stuff with newibes of late.

How nice and typical of Tetra to put a junk product on the market that will cause eventual harm to fish and water chemistry, and market it as a long-term positive "solution" to water changes.

I predict that 4 months from now we will be inundated with posts from people whose older tank inhabitants suddenly start getting sick and die, for no reason that they can see. Oh, and every time they try to add a new fish to the tank, it dies immediately.

OTS, here we come. Wheeeeeeeeee!

Roan


I just noticed our Wal-Mart sells it...my girlfriend and I were amazed...not only do they usually sell diseased fish..but now products that will kill them if the diseases don't. Got to wonder if it's all a conspiracy to sell more fish :mad2:

[momar]

Even if your ammonia/nitirite/nitrate are all 0, you still need to do water changes.

In terms of bioload you are probably ok, providing you DO WATER CHANGES.

The problem you have is swimming space - all your fish are all middle/upper water dwellers, except the 'algae eater'. You can keep the number of fish you have in a 16gal, but not the species you have. If the swords and mollies were swopped for bottom dwellers, you'd be ok. Swordtails really get to big for your tank, as do mollies. You should consider 4 inches the maximum size for a fish in a standard 16 gal (24x12x12).

:)

[Wishful]

Overstocking isn't just an issue of water quality. It's also a matter of the stress levels on the fish. Afterall, I had 30 people in my living room last month for a party, but can you imagine trying to live your life with that many people there every moment of every day??

An overstocked tank is a perpetual party--fun at first, but eventually it all catches up with you.