Can I Pick Your Bains?

[lianne3]

My tank is as follows- Lenght 18"
Width 12"
Height 12"
So i guess that about 37 litres?

So far i have left from my original batch-
2 honey gouramis (not sure on the sex)
4 platies assorted colours(3 male and 1 female) I know thats a bit harsh for the female, but i didnt learn how to sex them until i had already bought them!
2 male guppies
4 cherry barbs (one male 3 female)
one albino cory.

I have recently needed to treat the water because of a possible finrot on one of my platies, but all seems fine now.

Is there room for more? And if there is, what would you suggest?

 

[rocknurworld2006]

this is way over stocked for a 37litre tank!!!
you definately cant add anything else and should actually be thinking about getting rid of some you have??

 

[5teady_2012]

Personally i think your tank is already overstocked.

Edited (above post beat me to it lol)

Yes above is spot on, you need to be thinking about getting rid of a couple..

 

[lianne3]

oh ####, it looks soo empty tho.

 

[lianne3]

Actually, i just used the calculator at this forum and its a 42 litres, lol.
I dont know how i worked it out as 37?! Does this make any difference? whats the ratio of fish per litre?
Im sooo confused.

 

[Larissa]

I would start be geting rid of the cory - they like to be in groups - as well as the barbs. Barbs are very active and really need more room to swim - also if they are in a confined space and a small group they might get nippy. It's hard not to overstock small tanks but take it slowly in the beginning and eventually you might get away with overstocking latter as you are more experienced (also depending on your filtration). A very general rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. This is not a steadfast rule and it depends a lot on how much waste your fish produce. In time you may be able to exceed this but for now I would stick to it. Hope this helps.
-Larissa

 

[Colin_T]

No to both questions. You cannot pick my brains otherwise I will fall over and not be able to answer any more questions.
The tank probably has enough fish in it. Monitor the nitrate level and if it is going up with your current water change regime, then reduce the food or number of fish in the tank.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i agree you ned to get rid of cory, barbs and honey gouramis! as thesse should really be in a bigger tank!!

you could possibly get pygmy cories for that tank but not until you get rid of alot of fish .

 

[lianne3]

i agree you ned to get rid of cory, barbs and honey gouramis! as thesse should really be in a bigger tank!!

you could possibly get pygmy cories for that tank but not until you get rid of alot of fish .

My cory is just under an 1 inch does that mean hes a pygmy? I have had him since december and he hasnt grown.
My gouramis are 1.5 inches, also had them since december and they havent changed size either.

as i said earlier, my tank is actually 42 litres, i dont know how i woked it out at 37 litres, stupid conversion table in a leaflet i suppose.

 

[Larissa]

The honey gouramis should be fine IMO. In the pinned 10g fish recomendation thread they are listed as good fish for small tanks. I would just watch the agression between the two. If they begin to fight you can take one back to your LFS. The problem with the cory is not the size but the fact they like to be in groups - they are much more comfortable this way, less likely to be stressed and less likely to get sick. If you wanted to keep it then I would recomend getting more of the same and taking back some of your other fish. What are your nitrate levels, what filter do you have, and what type of weekly matenance do you do on the tank? This may help us determine if you can "safely" overstock or not.

 

[lianne3]

I dont know what lfs is, but i have a pets at home store. I have been planning on buyin another little catfish but they only ever stock one at a time in with other types of fish, and every time i go there the particular tank that the catfish is in has sick looking fish in it.
God knows what my filter type is, the bloke at the store recommended it when i was buying my tank. I have since thrown away the packaging.
I do a 10% water change once per week and feed them once a day and this has worked fine since december.
I was told at the store to clean the filter sponge in tank water, which i do.

What type of fish would you guys personally put into a 42 litre tank?

 

[Larissa]

Sorry, LFS means local fish shop. I would probably keep your two honey gouramis - they are supposed to be lovely little fish, though I have no experience with them. I would then add about 6-7 tetras of some sort (In your case you could go with all male guppies) and take everything else back. I would also put in an apple snail because I think they are cool (but that's just me). That would probably be fully stocked if not a little over - keeping in mind you can have about 10 inches of fully grown fish.
The problem with platies is that they are livebearers and will bread like mad. And I have already explained the issues with barbs and cories. I know it may look empty but with smaller tanks there is a greater of a chance of disaster striking. Take my 30 litre for example. My filter broke and I had huge nitrite and ammonia spikes which could have potentialy killed my fish (see my sig) if I had not taken them back to the LFS asap. With a larger tank these issues are lessened because there is a greater body of water to dilute waste etc. so you can overstock a little, but with a ten gallon you really need to stock on the low end of things. I hope this helps.
Check this out for some ideas: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...or-A-10-Gallon/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...or-A-10-Gallon/[/URL]
(There are some combos with cories you may be interested in)

 

[lianne3]

I have just checked at another site and ive overstocked by a small amount of cm of fish. do you think it will be ok to add just one more albino so hes not on his own?

 

[Larissa]

I would be suspicious of whatever site told you that:
4 platies = 8 inches
4 cherry barbs = 8 inches
2 guppies = 2 inches
2 honey gouramies = 4 inches
1 cory = 1 inch (could get bigger)
total = 23 inches of fish, when you should be aiming for around 10!

 

[rocknurworld2006]

I would be suspicious of whatever site told you that:
4 platies = 8 inches
4 cherry barbs = 8 inches
2 guppies = 2 inches
2 honey gouramies = 4 inches
1 cory = 1 inch (could get bigger)
total = 23 inches of fish, when you should be aiming for around 10!

i absolutely agree
what ever site told you that is a lot of rubbish!