37 gallon overstocked?

[finsforthewins]

Hi All. I recently upgraded my 5 gallon tank to a 37 gallon and I think I may have overcrowded by accident. I transferred the 3 guppies and 1 Oto from the 5 gallon to the 37 gallon, and all was going well, so I decided to add more fish. Here are the new additions:

2 more fancy guppies (5 total)
2 more otos ( 3 total, I read they like to have buddies)
2 golden nugget mollies
4 neon tetras
1 Bolivian ram
1 powder blue dwarf cichlid
5 yolo loaches
1 Chinese algae eater

I wanted to get a few more neon tetras but I think the tank may be overstocked. Opinions and suggestions welcome!

For plants, I have two Amazon swordtails and 2 Java ferns planted in terracotta pots with aquarium soil and river rocks on top of the soil.

Thanks!

 

[finsforthewins]

Correction: 1 powder blue dwarf gourami

 

[Naughts]

Hello and welcome
There are issues with the stocking. Inappropriately stocked rather than over stocked.
What is the GH (general hardness) of the water in the tank? You have a mix of hard water fish (mollies and guppies) with soft water fish (neons and oto). If the water is soft you should get 6+ more neons.
The yoyos will get too big and boisterous for this tank. I recommend you return them.
Chinese algae eaters grow big and injure other fish by sucking on their slime coats. I recommend you return it.

 

[Byron]

I agree with Naughts here. There are serious issues just waiting to happen. We need to know the GH and pH of the source water. And the loaches and Chinese AE are not going to work here.

 

[finsforthewins]

Thanks for the responses!

I returned the Chinese algae eater and two of the yo-yo loaches. Since the CAE is no longer in the tank, the loaches have settled down a lot. The CAE was pretty disruptive to the tank. Though I must admit I will miss him! He had quite the personality.

The ph in the tank is 7, the kh is 80 and the GH is 180. I am new to the hobby and testing water, so I attached a picture in case I am reading it wrong.

Is there anything I can do to soften the water a bit for the neons? Is there a chance they will adapt to the hard water?

Thanks!

 

[powerdyne6]

I personally would of kept the yoyo’s as they should be in groups of 10 or more

 

[Naughts]

Yo-yos need a tank size of 120x45cm minimum and their tank mates need to be carefully chosen. They are not suitable.

Botia almorhae – Yo-Yo Loach (Botia grandis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

You're test readings seem spot on. Regarding the GH, it is likely to be higher as this test strip only goes up to 180ppm. Is there anything in the tank that could raise it? Rocks or substrate that are lime, chalk, shell, coral, argonite or the addition of Seachem Replenish will raise the GH. If you're unsure you could test the water before you add it to the tank.

Neons can't adapt to hard water so we need to clarify the GH. If you check your water providers quality report it often states water hardness.

 

[AlexT]

So dumb companies making GH test strips that only go to 180ppm, they have obviously never been to London.

 

[finsforthewins]

Thanks! I checked the town water quality report from 2022, and the hardness amount detected is showing as 80.3. I have lava rocks in the tank and river rocks as the substrate. Could these be raising the hardness?

 

[Naughts]

Do you have the unit of measurement for the 80.3?
Those rocks sound OK but I suppose it depends on the type of lava rock.

 

[Byron]

I concur with other members on the numbers of the loach. Generally peaceful, but like all loaches (to some degree) they establish a social structure within the group and there will be some in-fighting though not damaging if the fish are maintained in a group of at least six but preferably more, and there are numerous hiding places in the aquarium. With only two, three or four, it is not likely to last long. For the sake of the poor loaches, they should all go back. There are suitable species for this sized tank, we can suggest some if asked. All need to be kept in groups of 6-7 absolute minimum. This is a need in the genetics of the species.

The GH is soft water, so that opens up many suitable fish. The lava rock may be the cause of increasing GH.

 

[finsforthewins]

I read that at least three yoyo loaches should be kept together (though more is better, but unfortunately my tank is not large enough for more). Is this not true? I attached an image of where I found this information.

What fish do you recommend for this size tank?

 

[finsforthewins]

Do you have the unit of measurement for the 80.3?
Those rocks sound OK but I suppose it depends on the type of lava rock.

The units of measure is ppm, parts for million.

I am going to test the water source tomorrow to see if I get the same results as the report.

 

[finsforthewins]

L

I read that at least three yoyo loaches should be kept together (though more is better, but unfortunately my tank is not large enough for more). Is this not true? I attached an image of where I found this information.

What fish do you recommend for this size tank?

The units of measure is ppm, parts for million.

I am going to test the water source tomorrow to see if I get the same results as the report.

Correction: parts per million

 

[Essjay]

So many websites talk rubbish. Always use a site written by experts.

For example, Seriously Fish

Botia spp. are gregarious, form complex social hierarchies and should be maintained in groups of at least 5 or 6 specimens, preferably 10 or more.

When kept singly they can become withdrawn or aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes, and if only a pair or trio are purchased the dominant individual may stress the other(s) to the extent that they stop feeding.