Do You Think I Am Overstocked?

[australia]

here is my list of fish in this tank, can you please tell me if you think i am overstocked....

6 FOOT TANK /680liters

Plecostomus Catfish
Britlenose Catfish
LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS
Dragon Blood Peacocks 1 males/1 females= 2
FlameBack (Haplochromis sp. 44 ) 3 females/1 males= 4
Lombardi (Pseudotropheus lombardoi ) 1 male/ 2 females= 3
Cynotilapia afra cobue 2 male/ 3 females= 5
Tropheops sp. red cheek 1 male /2 females= 3
electric Blues (Sciaenochromis fryeri) 4 females/2 males= 6
Pseudotropheus saulosi 4 females/6 males= 10
electric yellows Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) 4 males/2 females = 6
Blue Dolphins (Cyrtocara moori) 4 females/1 male = 5
Yellow Tail Acei 1 male/1 female
Placidochromis sp. Phenochilus Tanzania 1 male/1 female
Taiwan Reef (Protomelas sp.) 1 male
Red Top Cobalt (Pseudotropheus zebra) 1 male/2 females
OB Orange Blotched Zebra 1 male/1 female

this tank is filter`d with 6 sponge filters rated at 480litres, and i also have 2 external canister filters 1 is a aqua one 1000 canister filter and the other one is a Sacem 1500 canister filter, do u think i am filtering the water enough?

 

[Colin_T]

how big is the actual tank. You say 6ft and 680ltrs but how high and wide is it?
Also you are unlikely to have 680ltrs if it has lots of rock in it.

I would get rid of the lombardi and maybe the zebras due to their agro nature. The lombardis particularly.
You could have a few problems with agression because of all the prs and mixed sexes. Each male will want a teritory and will fight to have one. Most of the fish aren't too bad in that respects but a the ones listed above could get niggly.

I think you are probably a bit overstocked but time will tell. If you can keep the water changes up and the nitrates down, then they should be fine.

If you have to clean the filters more than once a month then you need more filtration.

 

[australia]

okay cheers.

the tank is 6 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot

 

[Colin_T]

Yep definitely overstocked for a 6x2x2
See how they go. If you can keep their water clean and they can swim around without touching one another, leave them be. If you have problems with the water quality deteriorating, (nitrates going up or PH going down) then reduce the load on the tank.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove them before measuring the height. Because your tank is already set up you will have to estimate how much water you have lost to any rockwork in the tank. If there is lots of rock you might have lost 1/3 of the tank volume and the tank might only hold 3-400 litres.

 

[WaterBender1995]

here is my list of fish in this tank, can you please tell me if you think i am overstocked....

6 FOOT TANK /680liters

Plecostomus Catfish
Britlenose Catfish
LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS
Dragon Blood Peacocks 1 males/1 females= 2
FlameBack (Haplochromis sp. 44 ) 3 females/1 males= 4
Lombardi (Pseudotropheus lombardoi ) 1 male/ 2 females= 3
Cynotilapia afra cobue 2 male/ 3 females= 5
Tropheops sp. red cheek 1 male /2 females= 3
electric Blues (Sciaenochromis fryeri) 4 females/2 males= 6
Pseudotropheus saulosi 4 females/6 males= 10
electric yellows Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) 4 males/2 females = 6
Blue Dolphins (Cyrtocara moori) 4 females/1 male = 5
Yellow Tail Acei 1 male/1 female
Placidochromis sp. Phenochilus Tanzania 1 male/1 female
Taiwan Reef (Protomelas sp.) 1 male
Red Top Cobalt (Pseudotropheus zebra) 1 male/2 females
OB Orange Blotched Zebra 1 male/1 female

this tank is filter`d with 6 sponge filters rated at 480litres, and i also have 2 external canister filters 1 is a aqua one 1000 canister filter and the other one is a Sacem 1500 canister filter, do u think i am filtering the water enough?

you have some 60 fish, and you havent said it so I'll assume their all or most juveniles. some of these fish will be 5--7 inches 5 of which have potential to be 9" the Placidochromis can reach 10". You have them ALL in what amounts to as aprox 180 US gallons...and thats water only, not to mention the rock/substrate displacment which brings water volume down.
another point is your fish all have different food demands. some are herbivores, some are carnivores. your looking at digestion issues with the list you have now.
aggression....needless to say Colin said it best.

Did you just go thru pictures and decide which ones you like by sight only?

 

[australia]

they are all adults or sub-adults, what i have done is put all my fish from seperate tanks all in to my big 6 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot, i have taken the afra specie out becuase they seem to want to breed with anything, i also feed all of my fish New Life Spectrum cichlid .

 

[australia]

anyway here are some pics of what my tank looks like..

as you can see they have there own room.......i think.

 

[WaterBender1995]

if thats your idea of "room" then by all means, do as you see fit...

 

[emmsy]

I do think you are overstocked. In my 6x2x2 I have 34 fish, and they are all fully grown (except my plec). Your filtration is really under alot of pressure IMO

Emma

 

[australia]

I do think you are overstocked. In my 6x2x2 I have 34 fish, and they are all fully grown (except my plec). Your filtration is really under alot of pressure IMO

Emma

okay thanks alot. i will take a couple of colonys out...


as use can see my list of fish is down the bottom.so what do u guys think i should remove? i know i should remove the Lombordi`s but i dont want to remove the zebra`s....what elseshould i remove?

 

[Colin_T]

have you thought of adding a sump to your system?

I was going to suggest a big sump under the tank but looking at the pics I don't think that would work. But you could get a 200litre storage drum and have it next to the tank. Use an auto syphoning surface skimmer to drain tank water into the tub/drum and then pump it back into the tank. It would give you more water volume.

 

[australia]

have you thought of adding a sump to your system?

I was going to suggest a big sump under the tank but looking at the pics I don't think that would work. But you could get a 200litre storage drum and have it next to the tank. Use an auto syphoning surface skimmer to drain tank water into the tub/drum and then pump it back into the tank. It would give you more water volume.

yeah i have, though i would prefer a canister filter system, i am going to invest in the Fluval FX5!

here is what i have in my tank now...what do u think?

6 FOOT TANK /680liters

Plecostomus Catfish
Britlenose Catfish
Albino Bristilnose Catfish 1 male/1 female

LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS

Dragon Blood Peacocks 1 males/1 females= 2
FlameBack (Haplochromis sp. 44 ) 3 females/1 males= 4
Tropheops sp. red cheek 1 male /2 females= 3
Pseudotropheus saulosi 4 females/6 males= 10
Blue Dolphins (Cyrtocara moori) 4 females/1 male = 5
Placidochromis sp. Phenochilus Tanzania 1 male/1 female
Taiwan Reef (Protomelas sp.) 1 male
Red Top Cobalt (Pseudotropheus zebra) 1 male/2 females
OB Orange Blotched Zebra 1 male/1 female

 

[Colin_T]

Much better for the number of fish.

A sump doesn't have to be used as a filter. It can simply be a reservoir for extra water. You can still use the Fluval and have the sump to increase the tank's water volume.

 

[australia]

Much better for the number of fish.

A sump doesn't have to be used as a filter. It can simply be a reservoir for extra water. You can still use the Fluval and have the sump to increase the tank's water volume.

okay, i dont know mutch about sumps, all i know is that u can make them out of smaller tanks and hold alot more water, i dont know the basics of where the water comes out and where it goes back in ect...could you please explain a little about it for me please?

im planning on making one out of a 2 foot by 1 foot by 2 foot, what do u think and do u think u could draw me up some plans or show me a link for some basic sumps? i know u have to drill a hole in your main tank, do i have to? or can u do it different?

 

[Colin_T]

You can fit a sump to any tank and you don't have to drill a hole in the glass. You can use an auto syphon to drain the tank water into the sump, and use a water pump to take the water back up to the tank.
The sump is simply a storage place for extra water. You can make them out of glass or just use a plastic container. Most people use another tank and have it sit underneath the main tank. However, you can have it sitting next to the tank or even in another room. The main thing is the tank water flows into it and gets returned to the tank.
You can have filter materials in the sump to act as a biological filter or plants to use the nutrients. Or it can be for water holding only.

see diagram at link below.

http/death.picturepush.com/album/17480/6...er-skimmer.html

One thing to consider is the pump size and the sumps ability to hold the excess water from the tank when the pump goes off during a power outage. If the sump isn't big enough the excess water will overflow and you will end up with a wet floor. Therefore it is preferable to have as big a sump as possible.