A good rule I always use to figure the amount of fish I can have is to find the surface area of your tank (length x width) and then divide that by 12 for freshwater. That's the max inches of fish you can have in your tank.
Lonely Gourami?
- Thread starter Chenell
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Wow, that's a lot of fish for a 10 gallon tank. Like most aquarists, there are times when I have kept a lot of fish in a tank for one reason or another, but I always counter that with vigilant monitoring of the water paramters, frequent water changes, and adequate filtration.
Until your tank is fully cycled, it's not a good idea to stock your tank so heavily. That's often the downfall of a lot of set-ups.
When you switched over to the power filter, did you keep the undergravel filter running until the power filter was biologically active? If you turned off your undergravel filter before your power filter was biologically mature, your tank would have undergone a mini-cycle (ammonia and nitrite spikes) which could account for some of your losses. If you couple that with the addition of more fish sooner than you should have, the bioload would have been too much for your new filter to handle. You can speed up your cycle by adding a biologically active sponge from an establised aquarium filter to your power filter. Or you can add a cup of gravel from an establised aquarium to your 10 gallon.
For an overstocked tank, I would do weekly water changes of 25-30%. This may seem like a lot, but for a tank which has a lot of fish, it's just something that needs to be done. I would also be extra careful about how much you feed. I feed once a day , maybe twice as the absolute maximum, with a day of fasting every week (Sunday). Do you have live plants? I find live plants also eases the burden of a heavily stocked tank.
Until your tank is fully cycled, it's not a good idea to stock your tank so heavily. That's often the downfall of a lot of set-ups.
When you switched over to the power filter, did you keep the undergravel filter running until the power filter was biologically active? If you turned off your undergravel filter before your power filter was biologically mature, your tank would have undergone a mini-cycle (ammonia and nitrite spikes) which could account for some of your losses. If you couple that with the addition of more fish sooner than you should have, the bioload would have been too much for your new filter to handle. You can speed up your cycle by adding a biologically active sponge from an establised aquarium filter to your power filter. Or you can add a cup of gravel from an establised aquarium to your 10 gallon.
For an overstocked tank, I would do weekly water changes of 25-30%. This may seem like a lot, but for a tank which has a lot of fish, it's just something that needs to be done. I would also be extra careful about how much you feed. I feed once a day , maybe twice as the absolute maximum, with a day of fasting every week (Sunday). Do you have live plants? I find live plants also eases the burden of a heavily stocked tank.
Well, the dimensions of my tank are 21" x 11.25" so by your rule I can have 19.69 inches of fish in this tank.
I did not keep the undergravel filter running becasue there was no area for me to put the air tube in once the power filter was in. I have an acrylic tank that has the hood part permanetly glued on and only two open spots.. one for heater and the other for the filter. The tank was cycled before adding the power filter. I then used bacteria starter weekly and put it in where the filter pad is to get the bacteria growing on the filter material. I have been feeding a little twice a day. Unfortunately my filter does not have flow control , so I turn the filter off when they are eating so it doen't launch the food all over the place before they get a chance to eat it. I do not have any live plants either.
Anyway, I am done with adding more fish, maybe one more dwarf gourami but that will be it... and not for a while. I can't even think of anything else to put in it.
Once I move in March I am looking to get a 50+ gallon tank. This 10 gal will become my hospital tank. I am also thinking about trying to add live plants in, but I really don't know much about them. Any suggestions on easy to keep live plants?
Does anyone own a Tenecor aquarium? I am thinking about getting one of their flat back hex models.
Chenell
I did not keep the undergravel filter running becasue there was no area for me to put the air tube in once the power filter was in. I have an acrylic tank that has the hood part permanetly glued on and only two open spots.. one for heater and the other for the filter. The tank was cycled before adding the power filter. I then used bacteria starter weekly and put it in where the filter pad is to get the bacteria growing on the filter material. I have been feeding a little twice a day. Unfortunately my filter does not have flow control , so I turn the filter off when they are eating so it doen't launch the food all over the place before they get a chance to eat it. I do not have any live plants either.
Anyway, I am done with adding more fish, maybe one more dwarf gourami but that will be it... and not for a while. I can't even think of anything else to put in it.
Once I move in March I am looking to get a 50+ gallon tank. This 10 gal will become my hospital tank. I am also thinking about trying to add live plants in, but I really don't know much about them. Any suggestions on easy to keep live plants?
Does anyone own a Tenecor aquarium? I am thinking about getting one of their flat back hex models.
Chenell
Okay, so I know that you believe that I am over exaggerating by saying this is way too many fish, etc... But honestly, if there are deaths and problems, I am going to have to believe it could be part of the cause!
I honestly, have overstocked tanks like MAD before. I doubled the filtration, did water changes 2-3 times a week, monitored pH, temp, etc.. And ADDED FISH SLOWLY!!! That way, I haven't had any deaths at all.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that unless you are going to put a lot of effort into keeping your tank up to par, you should think about investing in another tank.
PS: I am a girl, why does everyone always call me "he"???
I honestly, have overstocked tanks like MAD before. I doubled the filtration, did water changes 2-3 times a week, monitored pH, temp, etc.. And ADDED FISH SLOWLY!!! That way, I haven't had any deaths at all.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that unless you are going to put a lot of effort into keeping your tank up to par, you should think about investing in another tank.
PS: I am a girl, why does everyone always call me "he"???
