Do I Have Enough Room?

[pumh]

I would like to get a few more fish, 2 Otos for sure and maybe mollies, but I'm not sure if I have enough room, so I currently have this in my 30us gallon tank, the measurements are predictions from looking at them since they wont stay in one spot long enough to let me measure them or they get spooked when I get to close to the tank with anything to measure them with.

-1 Parrot cichlid (about 5")
-2 Sajica/firemouth (about 5"-5.”)
-1 Sajica/firemouth (about 4")
-1 Common Pleco(about 5")
-3 Blue danios used as dithers (about 1")
-1 Oto (about .75")

Also please help me try to id my fish, it’s not that I don't trust the people that told me that they are Sajica/Firemouth, I'd just like some more opinions on what they are/might be, so here are some pictures.

heres the ones that are about5"

ill try to add more pictures later of the smaller one, any help is well appreciated

 

[Shelby]

You do realise your common pleco is going to outgrow your tank? Those things get huge! I wouldn't put too much more in there.

Plecos are very messy fish. What type of filtration do you have? My guess would be your tank is pretty well stocked if not over.

 

[pumh]

okay thank you for the advice, as for the fact that i am 13 im not sure exactly what the filteration type is called but it hooks over the tank and has a tube that goes in to the tank,and from what I’ve done my best to research and what it says on the lid is it’s a top fin 30. Also could i possibly get rid of the plec somehow? would petco or petsmart take it? i know thats really bad, but theres not much else i can do because those are the only local ones near me.

 

[emmettbaby]

It's called a HOB (hang on back) filter same kind I use. Was the filter bought with tank as a "kit" or was the tank bought and then you got a filter?

One of the main things I'm interested in is how many gallons of water run through you filter every hour. If you bought the tank as a kit, odds are that the manufacturer included a filter that turns over what they thought would be "enough" water to keep fish alive. This DOESN'T mean that it will keep YOUR fish alive. If you have a 30 gallon tank and a filter that turns over 30 gallons, but you have fish that pollutes the water like crazy, it may not be enough.

Do you mind sharing what brand your filter is? Does it have a model? I know with an aqua-tech filters, they have "models". My 10 US gallon has an aqua-tech HOB filter, "model 5-15" meaning that this filter was designed for tanks between 5 and 15 US gallons. But I'm not sure if all filters are like this, so don't worry if you can't find a model, but if you bought it, then you definitely should be able to find a brand. If nothing else, look on the filter. My brand was on the filter's lid. If we know the brand and/or model, then someone can google it and try to find the maker's website and get some answers

 

[Assaye]

The common pleco and the parrot will both outgrow the tank. The plec needs a 5-6 foot tank (and that assumes he'll only reach 12 inches or so). If he gets bigger, he'll need a bigger tank. The parrot needs at least 50 gallons.

However, if you got 5 more otos and some more danios they wouldn't make a huge impact on the tank. You definitely need to think about rehoming the parrot and plec or upgrading your tank, though. The reason I say danios is because they (like the otos) should be kept in groups of 6 as they are schooling fish that need company of their own kind.

If rehoming, check the policy of your local store. Some large chain stores actually kill fish that are brought in as they could be diseased and they don't have the time/money/will power to isolate them before they put them on sale.

 

[BethK]

Maybe try ebaying them, instead of returning them to a shop?

 

[chrisbassist]

-1 Parrot cichlid (about 5")
Too big for your tank
-2 Sajica/firemouth (about 5"-5.”)
Too big for your tank
-1 Sajica/firemouth (about 4")
Too big for your tank
-1 Common Pleco(about 5")
Too big for your tank.

In a 30 gal the largest fish you should look at is one which is 5 inches at it's largest (assuming regular shape)

there are 2 things to think about, one is swimming space for the fish, and turning space, normally it's said to allow 5 or 6 times the length of the fish for tank length, and 1.5 or 2 times the length of the fish for tank width.

That's kind of general, but if the fish can zip across the tank in no time, it needs a larger tank.

The second thing, the bigger the fish, the more it eats and the more waste it produces, this means you would need a bigger faster filter to cope with it, as well as increased water changes to keep nitrate down.

 

[Assaye]

I think the firemouths could be OK for the tank, assuming the tank is at least 36 inches long. If it's shorter, they'll get too big.

Also might be too aggressive to put with mollies/otos and community fish. I've never kept them.

 

[chrisbassist]

Fair enough, I wouldn't, but it's only pushing my limit by about an inch... So not too bad.

The other thing about them though is the aggression, usually recommend species only...

 

[pumh]

Well for the filter question from wat I can fond it says top fin30 on the lid of it and about agrestion, mine barely ever seem to get much more than gill flaring at the other cijlids when they cross territories, like the parrot does because he doesn't care where he has to go as long as he gets food.

 

[chrisbassist]

Remember though that your fish aren't all fully grown, so while your stocking levels are actually ok for the size of fish you have, the fish will grow more, and then they will be too big for the tank.

Plus, you can find these things working for months and then one day someone decides they've had enough and suddenly you have 3 dead fish, and have to regime one before he kills the rest.

Just be warned that it COULD happen.

I'll have a look for that filter.

Is it one of these?
http/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752295

is so it's top fin 30.

Rated at 150gph. Which is just under the turnover people here recommend.