55 Gallon - How's my stocking?

[Eridinus]

Hi guys, wanted to know peoples opinions on my stocking level, as I think I have some issues regarding my rainbows...

6 x Melanotaenia praecox (2M/4F)
3 x Melanotaenia lucastris (3M - though aggression is minimal)
1 x Melanotaenia boesmani (1F - Hybrid - thought to be a lacustris when bought due to strange colouring)
7 x Corydoras aeneus (They frequently lay eggs everywhere ^^)
5 x Corydoras duplicateus (All about 1 inch, no mating behavior seen)
6 x Otocinclus macrospilus

Some amano shrimp, and some different strains of neocardinia shrimp.

Would getting a male boesmani be bad in terms of sizing and aggression? Would getting 2 female lacustris be overstocking?

 

[Moony42]

Too many fishes unfortunately

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

If the tank is 4 foot long or bigger, and you do big regular water changes and gravel cleans, and there is an established filter, you could probably squeeze a couple more rainbows in.

Make sure the male boesemani is the same size as the male lacustris.
If the tank is big enough, I would add 3 female lacustris and 1 boesemani.

 

[Eridinus]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

If the tank is 4 foot long or bigger, and you do big regular water changes and gravel cleans, and there is an established filter, you could probably squeeze a couple more rainbows in.

Make sure the male boesemani is the same size as the male lacustris.
If the tank is big enough, I would add 3 female lacustris and 1 boesemani.

Tank is 101cm x 41cm x 50cm. I do gravel cleans and 20/25% water changes at least once a week.

Ha, well the only male boesmani around here I've seen have been under 2 inches, which I think the female boesmani and male lacustris would end up bullying!

 

[Colin_T]

You might be pushing it if you add more fish.

You need to do bigger water changes. Rainbowfish are regularly infected with protozoan infections if their tank gets dirty and doesn't get enough big water changes. I use to do 75-80% water changes and gravel clean the substrate every week on my rainbowfish tanks.

You do water changes for 2 main reasons.
1) to reduce nutrients like ammonia, nitrite & nitrate.
2) to dilute disease organisms in the water.

Fish live in a soup of microscopic organisms including bacteria, fungus, viruses, protozoans, worms, flukes and various other things that make your skin crawl. Doing a big water change and gravel cleaning the substrate on a regular basis will dilute these organisms and reduce their numbers in the water, thus making it a safer and healthier environment for the fish.

If you do a 25% water change each week you leave behind 75% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 50% water change each week you leave behind 50% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 75% water change each week you leave behind 25% of the bad stuff in the water.

Fish live in their own waste. Their tank and filter is full of fish poop. The water they breath is filtered through fish poop. Cleaning filters, gravel and doing big regular water changes, removes a lot of this poop and makes the environment cleaner and healthier for the fish.

 

[Eridinus]

You might be pushing it if you add more fish.

You need to do bigger water changes. Rainbowfish are regularly infected with protozoan infections if their tank gets dirty and doesn't get enough big water changes. I use to do 75-80% water changes and gravel clean the substrate every week on my rainbowfish tanks.

You do water changes for 2 main reasons.
1) to reduce nutrients like ammonia, nitrite & nitrate.
2) to dilute disease organisms in the water.

Fish live in a soup of microscopic organisms including bacteria, fungus, viruses, protozoans, worms, flukes and various other things that make your skin crawl. Doing a big water change and gravel cleaning the substrate on a regular basis will dilute these organisms and reduce their numbers in the water, thus making it a safer and healthier environment for the fish.

If you do a 25% water change each week you leave behind 75% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 50% water change each week you leave behind 50% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 75% water change each week you leave behind 25% of the bad stuff in the water.

Fish live in their own waste. Their tank and filter is full of fish poop. The water they breath is filtered through fish poop. Cleaning filters, gravel and doing big regular water changes, removes a lot of this poop and makes the environment cleaner and healthier for the fish.

I recently bought a big hose so I can drain water straight from my tank down the drain, making water changes a lot easier (and I will up how much water I change because of this).

My only problem is... how do I then add water back in without changing the temperature too much? I usually just had hot water into my bucket, then add cold until it feels about right and then dip my finger in both the tank and the bucket to compare.

 

[Colin_T]

Just use buckets. Fill them with tap water, add dechlorinator and aerate for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes. Add some boiled water to warm it up so it is similar.

The temperature of the new water doesn't have to be exactly the same, as long as it's within 5 degrees it's fine.

 

[AKfish]

Food for thought. If your able to setup a constant drip type overflow you could adjust that to be just fine. I personally prefer doing more smaller water changes. Fish love above almost all else consistent water. Even though large water changes can be necessary. If possible 10% every day. Ends up being 70% over a week. With certain fish or inverts like shrimp. A large water change can create an issue. My opinion if possible a drip system is always the more stable option. But requires a bit of plumbing that can be hard to hide somewhere like the living room lol.

 

[AKfish]

Also easy water temp cheat. But one of those temp guns. Pretty cheap and easy to use. I don't have a temp guage on my tanks any more. Just keep the gun handy.

 

[AKfish]

Sorry to post again but was just reminded about something I didn't mention. Doing ten percent changes over 7 days will mean you moved 70% of the water. But it doesn't equal a 70% water change. Would be much closer to 40-50%.