Is My Tank Overcrowded

[mrsdorothy]

I have a 55-gallon aquarium which contains 4 bala sharks, 4 rosy barbs, 6 black skirt tetras, and 3 placos. It has artificial and live plants, 2 pieces of driftwood and other artifical decorations with about 3-4 inches of red and black gravel. I have 2 power filter and aair pump with bubble wands. This set-up is about 4 months old. I want to add a couple of green kissing gouramis. Do you think that my aquarium already has too many fish? I am new at this.

[ChilDawg]

I think that you may need a 135 as well as the 55 before you are done with the fish in this aquarium! Bala sharks get really large, like to swim a long distance, and need more than 4' of horizontal swimming space (which is what a 55 has).

I am also surprised that there has not been a battle royale between plecos in your tank due to their territoriality. I would suggest selling back the balas and then you would have room for the kissers.

But, because of those threadfins, rosy barbs are major threats to kissers...the fins are too tempting.

I would suggest maybe a few of the dwarf cichlids from South America as additions to the tank once the balas have been removed.

[superstein61]

Well besides the bala sharks being a problem down the road, the plecos - depending on what type they are - may also pose a problem as well.

Can you post some more info as to what type of plecos you have?

[mrsdorothy]

2 of the balas are about 4 inches, the other 2 are about 2 1/2 inches. I have to set up 2 more tanks; a 125-g which the bala's will be transferred to, and a 75 gallon which will be for goldfish. But I don't want to set them up until we move into our new house which will be in 2-3 months. The plecos are hypostomus plecostomus and are only about 3 iinches long. 2 of these will go into my other aquariums. Thanks for the advice. I think I better wait until we move and the aquariums has cycled before buying anymore fish.

My sisster has 4 plecos of about 6-8 inches in her goldfish tank. They have been in there for almost 3 years and get along great. The only time she lost any fish is when a storm blew out the electricity for about 3 days. She lives way out in the country.

[ChilDawg]

Sorry to tell you this, but the Common Pleco (Hypostomus plecostomus) can get to 24" and is among the most territorial of the Plecs. You will eventually need to separate those into one tank a piece, and large tanks at that.

I think that your sister is stunting her plecos' growth if they are only 6-8" after three years, unless they are of different types from the Common. I don't know why she is not having huge fights between the Plecs in her tank, but I would let her know to expect those to be possible in the not-too-distant future.

[GEV83]

I have a common pleco they get around 20-24" in length and require big tanks. But in my opinion common plecos arent to territorial I have one that is 13-15" and I also have a 5-6" gibbiceps and the gibbiceps is the agressor of the 2. You really should take the commons back just simply because they get to big. I would suggest a single Gibbiceps in your case but then it may be to big to. Gibbiceps get 18" in length you could go with a rhino they get 12-13" not as big but only one per tank for they are just as bad as the gibbiceps when it comes to companions of the same or similiar species.

[thom336]

are you refering to the sailfin pleco when you say gibbiceps? because i have one of these at about 10ins in my community tank, and he (or she...can anyone tell the difference?) really is very gentle. although he doesnt eat the food i put down for my other bottom dwelling fish (he grases on algae all day long...the other bottom fish are cories and clown loaches) he goes and joins them at feeding time, and they climb all over him as the food lands on him (its a bit hard for the food not to land on him...). whatever he is doing he moves to the place where the bottom dwellers feed when its time, i think its a social thing. i'll have to take a pic and show you all...

[Heady]

Well, you have more fish than I would have put in there.

When stocking a tank, you need to consider adult size. Find out the adult sizes of fish you want before you ever buy them. Then you can make an educated decision before you are stuck with them already in your tank. Fish stores typically sell juveniles because it makes good business sense for them to sell fish before they reach adult size. Thus the fish should get bigger than when you buy them... sometimes MUCH bigger. Also some fish require a lot more space than others because of their activity levels. If I were you, I would find out how big the fish you already have should get, as well as if any have special requirements, before delving in to buy still more fish.

Popular stocking requirements are one inch of fish per gallon of water, or one inch of fish per 10-12 square inches of surface area of the tank (length x width). However keep in mind that one full-grown 12" pleco will put out a lot more waste than a school of 8 1-1/2 inch cardinals, even though they are both technically 12 inches of fish.

[tnlguinn]

i have 4 plecos(common) in my 125g, and have no problems with aggresion in my tank. two of them are 24" and the other two are quite large also.:p

[Mantis_22]

one word, overcorwded...

[thom336]

i wouldnt say 'overcrowded', i would say 'full of life'...lol.

[mrsdorothy]

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I will wait until I move before I buy any more fish. I have 2 more aquariums which I will set up and cycle in a couple of months. I have a 125 gallon which the balas will be transferred to and a 75 gallon which will be a goldfish tank. A pleco will eventually be transferred to each tank, which will leave 1 pleco per tank. I also have a 5 gallon which now holds 2 very small goldfish. They will be transferred to the 75 gallon. I will purchase 4-6 more to go along with these two after the 75 gallon is ready. The 5 gallon then will only ge used for a quarantine tank. Thanks a lot everyone:) :) :)

[GEV83]

Yes by gibbiceps I do mean sailfin I dont mean its agressive to other fish just mainly to other plecos. Commons usaully get along really well IME. But yeah as long as all these fish are transfered to the bigger tanks you mentioned above they should be ok.