Can I add 3 more guppies

[Perbud]

Hi all:
I currently have 6 neons, 2 glofish tetras,2glofish zebras, 2 guppies, 1 medium sized harlequin rasbora, 2 corys, 4 half inch neon dwarf rainbows, and 3 half inch blue eyed rainbows in a 20 gallon high...Do you think it’s ok to add three more guppies?

 

[mcordelia]

What is your water hardness? Neons tend to be soft water fish, while guppies and rainbows tend to be hard water fish. To get a rough estimate, I just posted a video on hardness in the beginner forum yesterday that has maps of the US,if you don't have a test or your local water report you can get a rough idea there.

If your water parameters allow, I might consider adding more cories since they should really be kept in a group of 6 or more.

In terms of bioload, you may or may not be fine, it depends on your water change habits and how extensively planted your tank is. One rough guide is to test your nitrates before your next regular water change, if they are above 20 I probably would not add more fish unless you want to increase your water changes.

Also, if you're able to, please post the dimensions of your tank (in inches or cm) so that folks in other parts of the world who don't have US standard sizes tanks are also able to help, since fish stocking largely also depends on swimming area instead of just volume

 

[Perbud]

Thank you.

 

[Perbud]

I have plastic plants and live in NYC where water is I believe is hard not soft.The neons (black variety) are doing fine...ph is 6.8, I will check nitrates, nitrites and ammonia are 0ppm.,temp is 80F and dimensions of tank is 30 inches long and 24 inches wide.

 

[Perbud]

Correction...my 20 gal high is 24” long -12” wide and 16” tall

 

[Perbud]

Also last time I checked Nitrates it was 40ppm

 

[Perbud]

I change water once every month figuring I should now do it more often and just not add fish for now

 

[mcordelia]

Yeah I think that is your best bet. You should also consider adding plants to your tank, they will help with water quality.

When you do decide to add fish down the road, my first recommendation would be to look up the fish you already have on the search tool at seriouslyfish.com, and then determine if your tap water (hardness, pH, etc) are suitable to the ones you already have. Once you determine which of the fish in your tank are best suited to your water, the next step would be to determine which of those fish would most benefit from "friends" and get more of that kind.

You can usually find your water hardness information on your water company's website, on mine I google "2019 water quality report" and get a huge document that also contains the hardness info.

 

[Perbud]

Once I achieve the right water parameters(ie nitrates less than 20ppm ), I understand the number of inches of fish can be derived by multiplying length times width and then dividing by 12 to get to number of inches of fish appropriate for swimming area.Does this seem right? (24 x12)/12 which equals 24 inches

 

[Perbud]

I currently have 18.5” of fish

 

[mcordelia]

The inches rule is a good first line approximation, but more important than that are water parameters, tank swimming area, and whether or not your tank is planted.

Did you look at seriouslyfish.com and search for your fish? It will tell you what swimming area the fish need as well as what parameters are suitable. With a smaller tank such as yours, I would personally not go over the "1 inch per gallon" rule. There are various opinions on that, and I think it also depends on the circumstances. How long has this tank been set up for? Is this your first fish tank?

 

[itiwhetu]

Live plants and lots of them are your key to success. 30 - 50 % of the volume needs to be in plant. Your pH is perfect, slightly acid is always better than slightly alkaline.

 

[Perbud]

Thank you I will definitely explore seriouslyfish.com..I have had fish tanks for years and just wanted some additional insight.Hardness info was very informative as well as Nitrate levels.

 

[mcordelia]

Awesome! It's hard to know what someone's experience is, so I tend to err on the side of expecting inexperience just so I don't end up alienating folks who are new to the hobby. Yeah the hardness stuff was new for me too, I was out of the hobby for ~15 years and when I started doing research again this fall I was really surprised how much that aspect has gained prominence in the hobby. Best for the fish in the end, I think, but adds to the learning curve