Am I Overstocked?

[bezzo89]

I have a Juwel Record 600 tank, it measures 60x30x42cm, and has approximately 63 litres.
I currently have the standard filter system and a seperate air line going in producing bubbles.

There are:
4 black widow tetra
3 balloon mollies
2 glowlight tetra
4 neon tetra
1 cory Julli
3 ancistrus

I know i should have a shoal of around 4 corys but i wanted to check before i went further...

There is a large peice of bogwood stretching accross most of the back and also a skull which has the bubbles coming out of its mouth.

I have a few different types of plant in there but i am not sure what they are called.


So any information/ideas am i overstocked?

 

[drobbyb]

By the 1 inch per gallon of water guideline, yes you are overstocked.

 

[JenCliBee]

sorry to say but your pretty much over stocked with just the plecs alone without the other fish. The tank IMO would be fine if you removed 2 of the plecs and added 3 more cory's.

As long as the filtration is good you shouldn't have any problems with the above suggestion

 

[bezzo89]

By the 1 inch per gallon of water guideline, yes you are overstocked.

okay, hmm its worrying that when you go to lfs they advise you its okay the way it is going and you should be able to have some more...

just shows not to always trust what is being told as im now learning the hard way...

so in theory i should have around 13 inches of fish in here?

the smallest of the three ancistrus is around 1.5inches. So maybe if i removed the other two and the three mollies to make it a tetra tank with some corys and a plec for company?

Out of all the fishes the mollies seem to be the messiest as far as dietrius goes

 

[Harlequins]

Has the plecs will grow to 5 inches,i would remove all plecs and mollies and like you say keep a tetra/cory tank,i love these little corys above plecs,but thats just me

 

[MHunt]

I think you're about alright for stocking, give or take a plec or two, but it's more the quantities of each fish that's more concerning. Neons and glowlights would prefer to be in larger groups so they can school together, and the cory would appreciate a couple of friends. Perhaps see if you can exchange a couple of BN plecs and get a couple more cory's and glowlights. And I think you'll be about full with that.

 

[bezzo89]

oh right okay, yeah i think i would like to add a few more tetra.

I had planned to make it a tetra tank with a few cory's before but then i changed my mind when i saw the little ancistrus and was advised by an LFS that it would be okay to keep them!

So how many cory's should i look for?

I could move the mollies downstairs once i sort out my shark issue. I think i have sorted out a shark issue as i have found someone who has a tank the whole length of their living room with spare space.

I might move one of the ancistrus (plecs) down there and then sell the others, but once again i think they will be too big for that one its an 83litre i believe. I will also see if my friend wants any of them before i were to hand them off somewhere else!

 

[Truck]

I personally think that your not over stocked, but I wouldn't add any more fish, if you want to add fish, then you need to remove some first.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi bezzo89

If your fish are small, they will be OK for now but if the ancistrus are Bristlenose Plecos they will soon outgrow the tank since there are other fish in there too. While they only grow to about 5" in length, they are big eaters and do produce a lot of waste for their size. Be sure to monitor the nitrate levels in your tank. They are fun to watch and if you can keep them, I'm sure you will enjoy having them.

BTW, julli corys are usually misnamed at the lfs. Chances are good that you have a C. trilineatus which is a popular and delightful cory. I do hope you can get it some companions soon.

 

[grumpysteve]

Has the plecs will grow to 5 inches,i would remove all plecs and mollies and like you say keep a tetra/cory tank,i love these little corys above plecs,but thats just me

i agree with this... an understocked tank will be much easier to maintain, and shoals look better and do better than just a few.

bare in mind you probably don't have 60litres of water in the tank as this is the maximum volume for the tank, it doesn't take into consideration the substrate, decor or that the tank wont be filled to the brim

never trust an lfs! unless you get to know the people that work there! a lot of fish are mis-labelled, and these are sales people after all. granted some specialist shops only employ people with a passion for fish keeping, but a lot don't, the people serving you might have never owned fish themselves. i suggest finding what fish you want, researching them a lot (theres a lot of contradictory info out there) and decide then if they're suitable for your tank and if you can cater for their needs

 

[plecostomus-mad]

the male ancistrus could grow to even 6 inches ( fact ). thought id just throw that in there

 

[bezzo89]

one of the ancistrus plecs are already at least 3 inches big. one is around 2 and a bit and the third just shy of two inches.

I have learnt not to trust them now. There is one i know of and there is a guy who has a lot of knowledge about fish, well so it seems and its a general pet store. So i think i will probably speak to him in future. There is also a LFs, which literally is just a LFS and they seem to be quite helpful in there as well so i will look to stick to them two in future. Plus using research as well, i have a book called "You and your aquarium", which i have been using for some information at the moment which is helpful and then using internet sources as well.

I will definately researching anything different that i want to get in future.

The cory which i have is the same as the ones in Harlequins signature picture.

Thanks plecostomus-mad i think i have a male here, as he has grown the quickest of all three!

I think i will remove the plecs, maybe keep one but they seem very happy as a trio doing circuits around the tank as they are quite active.

Move the three mollys downstairs, maybe get a couple more females for the shoal but thats something further down the line.

add a couple more tetra and a couple of cory's. I wasnt sure on numbers though

How many more of each do we think i should get?

A few more glowlight?
another couple of black widow? (the current ones seem to shoal a lot as a four and the glowlights tend to swim with these or the neons)
some more corys?

Lets talk numbers...

 

[Fish0lover]

Well depending how big the fish are now you might be ok. But since pleco's can grow to 5 inches I would just remove them and then if you want put some more cory's.

 

[Harlequins]

Your cory is a trilineatus (leopard cory) fab little cories

I would move the mollies and plecs and up the cories to maybe 6 also the glowlights perhaps 4 more

 

[bezzo89]

i thought i would update on here with some pictures after todays water change, some sand installation and a clean up...

this was the original set up plans

With some water and plants...

i left the bog wood out for a few days while i left it to soak to get all the rubbish off it.


How it stands now...

damm pregnant molly she keeps showing that she is ready then changes her mind left her in there for 4 hours today but nothing, so just after the lights came back on she was released back to her pals..

tubby balloon mollys in a three

you can see one of the fat neons there as well at the bottom left!


Big one of Mr fancy (with nipped fins =[)

cheeky buggers will take anything if its not strapped down!