Have I Got Room

ditch_phoenix

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I have a jewel 60 tank and have 4 red eye tetras 5 platys 1 clown loach 1 rainbow shark and 2 plecs all still small and a few months old. Is it wise to put more in and if so any sugestions on what kind would u recomend. Looking for something a bit colourful. An angel maybe?
 
I have a jewel 60 tank and have 4 red eye tetras 5 platys 1 clown loach 1 rainbow shark and 2 plecs all still small and a few months old. Is it wise to put more in and if so any sugestions on what kind would u recomend. Looking for something a bit colourful. An angel maybe?

First things to do before adding more fish ID your 2 Plecs. Then realise that Clown Loaches will hit 14" and much prefer to be in groups, Rainbow Sharks will reach 6". I think if you want to add more fish you should rehome the Loach and the Shark and depenant on the Plecs possibly rehome them aswell if they are Commons or Gibby's :)
 
The clown loach was in a group but i lost 2 of them a few months back but it seems to be doing fine on its own. Im not sure i get what u mean about the plecs?
 
The clown loach was in a group but i lost 2 of them a few months back but it seems to be doing fine on its own. Im not sure i get what u mean about the plecs?

What type of Plecs are they?

Commons and Gibbys will grow to 2ft in length, so you need to think ahead for the fish. There is no point in having 2 2ft fish, 14" fish and 6" fish in a tank of 60litres. So you need to ID your Plecs before thinking about adding to the tank. Also Plecs are massive waste producers.
 
They are common plecs and im aware that they will grow. I have a friend with a big tank who would take them off me when they get to a size too big for the tank. Like i said they are all reasonably new fish (still small) and i might be getting a bigger tank myself nearer the end of the year. I just wondered how many fish i should have in a tank that size.
 
you could get a couple more fish and they could be about an inch long


thanks

tetra king
 
As DarkEntity pointed out, a lot of the fish you have will grow big and stocking levels are worked out on adult size. 1" of fish per Gallon of water is used as a general guidline to prevent overstocking.
60l is about 15 Gallons and so far your stocking is as follows:

4 Red Eye Tetras - 12" (3" per fish)
5 Platys - 10" (2" per fish)
Clown Loach - 12"
Rainbow Shark - 6"
2 Plecos - 30"/36" (15"-18" per fish)

That gives you a total of over 70" of fish which is heavily overstocked. You really do need to rehome the Loach. Plecos and Rainbow Shark before you decide to do anything else. Having that amount of fish in your tank will cause problems with your water that can lead to your fish becoming ill and dying.
Even though your fish are small, they tend to grow fairly quick in the first few months before growth slows down. It is always best to stock a tank within it's limits rather than waiting for the fis to outgrow it. It is a lot fairer on the fish to have the proper conditions early on in life to prevent problems later on.
 
although i hate the inch per gallon rule, you are overstocked, and its worse than just 70" in 15" of tank gallon (do you see why i hate this stupid rule) but plecos are very dirty fish and poop a lot which deteriorates water quality.

Yes you are very crazily overstocked and i feel bad for the fish
No you cannot add anymore fish or i will ignore you because that means you didnt listen to me.
 
It isn't so much a rule Musho, as a guidline. It's generally used for people who are new to fishkeeping to prevent them from overstocking the tank. The more experiece you gain, the bettter equipped your tank becomes and you can stock a little higher than the 1" per Gallon.
 
tell me why it helps as a guideline? I know it works in this case because the tank is overstocked since it is quite obvious, but different fish have different body masses, some can be very dirty while others dont really contribute much to the bio-load, filtration is another key aspect. Could i fit a silver pacu in a 30 gallon tank? Silver pacus only reach 30 inches so that means i can fit it in my tank, i am a beginner, so i can do that, yay

Im not having a go at you im just telling you why i hate the rule/guideline, it give beginners a chance to go against more experianced keepers by saying "well the inch per gallon rule says i can do it so i will do it"

But i do sort of understand why you mentioned it, its the easiest way to tell and show how overstocked he is.
 
As long as the guideline is explained to beginners then it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm not a big fan of it either but I've seen too many people stock tanks with far too many fish.
I have at least one customer every couple of days coming into the shop with water problems because they've crammed too many fish in the tank. I've yet to meet one who has put a "30" Pacu" in a 30G tank!
The majority of people tend to overstock with smaller fish like Platies, Mollies, Tetras etc.
 
i havent seen silver pacu in 30 gallons before but i have seen people put common plecos (20-24 inch) in 20 gallons due to the inch per gallon rule. And red belly pacus in 30 gallons for the inch per gallon rule. Its not as common as platies mollies etc but it still does happen.
 
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that I haven't come across it at work.
When new to fishkeeping, it is always quite daunting and people want what's best for their fish. It's always best to start out with stocking your tank within the guideline so that you can get used to maintaining the tank with as few problems as possible. People have to get used to testing their water, feeding routines, tank cleaning, filter cleaning etc. This in itself is quite scary when you are new to it all. They also have to take into account the size of the filter and how much waste it can handle.
Once they are used to doing this, they will then learn to stock accordingly, depending on tank size, filter size, fish size etc.
It's always best to learn to walk before you run...
 

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