My stock. Just wondering if I might have overdone it

geez. . . . the "professional old lady at about.com"?

high filtration doesn't remove nitrates or other dissolved solids that can build up and harm the fish.

i think you're a little lost. please go find whichever bridge you've been hiding under.
 
5 inches MAX you say? I seem to have found quite a lot of other info against that. These are all for argenteus...Metynnis hypsauchen get a little larger I believe :)

http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Metynnis_argenteus.html
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/sdollar.php
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=25518
http://www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/fresh/dollar.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metynnis_argenteus
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/silverdollar2.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_dollar.php

I find it odd that when the about.com lady sayd they are fine in 20 gallons you agree with her. But when she says they are schooling fish you disagree and state that less is better?
 
from the last link:

I have a peaceful community tank with guppies, tetras, clown loaches, platys and I recently bought 5 silver dollars. They have grown very quickly and I thought that they were peaceful. However, since I got them 3 guppies have vanished without a trace and I bought a siamese fighting fish who was lovely. After returning home one night I noticed that his poor tail had been completely eaten and I saw the largest silver dollar nipping at him, unfortunately he died after two days. I am now going to take the dollars back to the shop as I think they are aggressive and are responsible for killing 4 fish in a matter of days. I would reccomend that you get plenty of information on silver dollars before putting them with other fish or you may learn the hard way like I did.
 
geez. . . . the "professional old lady at about.com"?

high filtration doesn't remove nitrates or other dissolved solids that can build up and harm the fish.

i think you're a little lost. please go find whichever bridge you've been hiding under.

Uhh Did I mention aquatic plants? -_- the filter helps with the biological and mechanical filtration. It doesn't remove nitrate.

Is this a joke?

Not really a joke..


5 inches MAX you say? I seem to have found quite a lot of other info against that. These are all for argenteus...Metynnis hypsauchen get a little larger I believe :)

http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Metynnis_argenteus.html
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/sdollar.php
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=25518
http://www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/fresh/dollar.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metynnis_argenteus
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/silverdollar2.php
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_dollar.php

I find it odd that when the about.com lady sayd they are fine in 20 gallons you agree with her. But when she says they are schooling fish you disagree and state that less is better?

Thanks for the links. I didn't agree with her. No way! Anyway the less is better.

from the last link:

The guy did a terrible mistake and bought FIVE silver dollars. Not two.
 
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2 Silver dollars (Metynnis argenteus)
15 Neon tetras
3 Dwarf gouramis
10 Cherry barbs
7 Zebra danios
3 Red platies
1 Salt & pepper corydora
1 Bristlenose pleco

I'll bypass the back and forth and give you my opinion here.

As far as being overstocked bio-load wise, I think you are fine. But you are close to the load that a 55 can handle and I agree with the others that said one partial water change every 2-3 weeks is not enough. You are feeding over 40 fish and that means over 40 fish are releasing waste. Are you testing the water? Or are you assuming the water is fine because nothing has died yet? Honest question there, and if you are testing are you using a test kit or strips?

Now on the issue of social interaction / stocking I see a few problems.

As others have said that poor cory is lonely, they are more social in my experience than tetra and other shoaling fish. In a 55 I think a minimum of five would be good, more would be better. I am afraid of the SDs in the mix, I know you like them and they aren't a problem now, but you should be proactive on this. There are some nice FW fish that you could replace these with, such as bleeding heart tetra or rainbowfish. Just some quick thoughts. Also, the pleco will need a larger tank down the road even more so than the SDs. Most plecos get to be 18 inch at least. I admit they grow slowly but once again being proactive is better than waiting till the situation gets bad. Remeber these are living creatures same as a dog or cat and they are in your care. Respect they health and happiness.
 
I'll bypass the back and forth and give you my opinion here.

As far as being overstocked bio-load wise, I think you are fine. But you are close to the load that a 55 can handle and I agree with the others that said one partial water change every 2-3 weeks is not enough. You are feeding over 40 fish and that means over 40 fish are releasing waste. Are you testing the water? Or are you assuming the water is fine because nothing has died yet? Honest question there, and if you are testing are you using a test kit or strips?

Now on the issue of social interaction / stocking I see a few problems.

As others have said that poor cory is lonely, they are more social in my experience than tetra and other shoaling fish. In a 55 I think a minimum of five would be good, more would be better. I am afraid of the SDs in the mix, I know you like them and they aren't a problem now, but you should be proactive on this. There are some nice FW fish that you could replace these with, such as bleeding heart tetra or rainbowfish. Just some quick thoughts. Also, the pleco will need a larger tank down the road even more so than the SDs. Most plecos get to be 18 inch at least. I admit they grow slowly but once again being proactive is better than waiting till the situation gets bad. Remeber these are living creatures same as a dog or cat and they are in your care. Respect they health and happiness.

Thanks for the suggestions and thoughts, Sandman. Now thats what I call a good post. As for the partial water change of only 25%, is it okay if I'll go for 40% water change then? I do gravel vaccuming as well...but not too much ^_^ Thats fair, no?Or not fair at all! . I test my water regularly with API Pharm. master freshwater test kit. I want to make sure my nitrates are at decent level, pH is good with no fluctuations , and etc. Thankfully so far my readings are far from abnormal :). I bought 4 small corydoras yesterday at petsmart;leaving a mad post here in aquaria central behind before going -_-;;. As for the pleco you mention, and it reaching 18 inches, this "pleco" of mine only reaches to a size of approximately 4 inches. A brown bristlenose pleco;heard of it? If no, research about it. It's a great algae eater. :D. Anyway If the SD's go wrong, ah, I'll have no choice but might replace them with the fish you recommended then.
I doubt something bad will happen though. Hopefully I'll keep doubting and it'll never happen lol. So yeah, again, thanks for the suggestions. *Gives sandman a handshake*
 
The guy did a terrible mistake and bought FIVE silver dollars. Not two.

Can you explain to me how he made a terrible mistake buying 5 SD's? They are a schooling fish, so 5 makes more sense than 2 (I looked at getting SD's for my 55G but decided against them because of the size/school needed).
 
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