55 Gallon Stocking Question

M

mattjkirkpatric

AC Members
May 21, 2006
21
0
0
I have heard that an inch of fish per gallon is not a good measurement for how many fish can be in a tank so I was wondering if I am overstocked, or, if I can continue to get more fish how many more. The tank does not look crowder and all the fish look healthy even though I am treating them for ich.
I have...
14 Black Neon Tetras
8 Glow Light Tetras
7 Tiger Barbs
4 Rainbows
5 Danios
2 Gourami
1 Swordtail
1 Angel
1 Fiddler Crab
1 Snail, I think it's an Apple Snail, but I'm not really sure
3-5 Ottos, I have been treating for ich with salt and high temperatures and have not seen 2 in a while, but they could just be hiding.
 
That does seem over-stocked to me. I'm in the process of figuring out my stocking plan for my 55g, and I've found that fewer fish then you think can fit in that size of tank. You also have to consider what space the fish are using. If you have a lot of fish that occupy the middle of the tank, as you do, then it is overcrowded even if the numbers seem ok.

Plus, even if your fish look healthy, the fact that they have had ick is a sign that they are stressed and it could be due to overcrowding.

My suggestion would be to focus on one schooling fish and move/rehome the others. You could keep the "centerpeice" type fish such as the angels and the gourami. Though I might be concerned about the larger gourami species and the angels. Larger schools of one species tend to be more healthy then a mixmash.
 
I do have quite a few middle range fish, but they still don't look crowded, they seem to just spill into other areas and don't fight each other for space. Is the fact that they have moved into areas which they typically don't live in a sign of overcrowding?

The ich is definitely not a sign of overcrowding. Dumb me; I got the swordtail a few days ago before I really started to think about overcrowding, 55 gallons just seemed too big to overcrowd. When I got him in the tank I noticed signs of ich and started to treat it. If anything the way my fish have handled the raised temperature and salt in the tank would seem, at least to me, that they are in fact healthy. They carry on like normal and only seemed stressed when I was moving water to add salt.

What do you mean that you would be concerned about the “larger gourami species and the angels?”

Thanks for the advise.
 
I wouldn't be so sure about the ich not being a sign of stress. Of course it is a parasite and could be carried in on the new fish, but the rest of your fish might live with the parasite for some time if they were generally healthy, and only succumb when they are stressed.

Yes fish swimming in areas of the tank besides those they normally inhabit is a sign of stress, and is unhealthy in the long run.

Gouramis can be agressive, and particularly as the three spots get older, and they are most likely to be agressive to others of their species. And since they are generally stupid fish they can mistake other fish of the same size (such as angels) They get quite large too.

I really think you are overstocked--but you can wait to hear it from someone else. The least you can do is make sure to do very frequent water changes.
 
keep an eye on the tiger barbs they are notorious fin nippers and can nip angels and gouramis.

you are pushing the stocking limits.

how big are the angels? missing oto's is kind of normal..they are good at hiding..however, angels have been known to consume oto's. I no longer keep oto's ina tank with angels. my angels are on the large size not quite 1 year old and body size sans the fins is close to 4".
 
i think you definately over stocked

and i agree that it is ALWAYS best to have fewer species and larger groups of the species that you pick.

unless it's a solitary species of course
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom