Help needed re fiah stock

[Bellbells]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advise, I saved some fish during my line of work, that had been left due to a gentleman going into residential care.
I fear it may be overstocked
60litre cube tank
7 black neon tetra
3 xray tetra
3 gold barbs
3 dwarf rainbow
2 Bulgaria rams
1 bristlenose

Filter is a boyu 602e

Any advise would be hugely appreciated

 

[2tank]

Its fine for the tetra, not sure about the others. A old guideline is an inch per gallon, but its a very out of date way of looking at things.

Thee filter if im correct is a single sponge on the inside, it might be a bit under powered.

 

[Cherrys]

I would rehome the barbs and rainbows. Both are shoaling fish and should be kept in groups of at least 6.

Barbs are active swimmers and a 60litre is not big enough. Ideally they should be kept in a minimum of 75litre.

 

[Darkomot]

A few things:
I would restock the tank, as that is simply too much and too many types of fish in one 60L tank. Most local fish stores will take donations and rehome fish for no cost. The tetras are probably fine, but @Cherrys has a point. When someone has barbs in a tank, they usually have a lot more of them as well as a larger tank. The filter is probably fine if all of the fish are healthy. I'll include a link to stocking ideas for 60L tanks

Stocking ideas for 15-20 gallons Fishtank - aquarium-fish-plants.com

Fishtank stocking ideas for 15-20 gallons aquarium - What fish for your 15-20 gallon fishtank? ✓ southamerica-, ✓ southeast asia-, and ✓ community tanks - discover your perfect setting now! aquarium-fish-plants.com

aquarium-fish-plants.com

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome. You’re gonna be snowed under with questions from people wanting to help. Don’t worry though you’ve come to the right place. We will probably have too assume zero knowledge on your behalf unless you tell us differently. Someone with far greater knowledge than myself will be along shortly to help. Though as it’s 00:30 as I type probably not in this time zone.

This place and a website named seriouslyfish.com can get you and the fish through this. Read up on there to find just about everything you need to know about your new fish ASAP. Just add the fish name in the search engine and click on the name when the name appears.
Also read up on dechlorinating water for water changes.

Try to find out the water hardness in numbers in the place the fish are kept. It’ll be on the water providers website. @essjay on here seems to know her way around most U.K. water providers websites if you’re having difficulty finding it.

Can you give us the tanks dimensions length x width x height again as I’m assuming it’s roughly 16”x16”x16” (400mmx400mmx400mm) if it’s a 60L cube? THAT is a very small tank and very overcrowded tank if thats the case!

Thirdly do you intend to keep the fish?
If you’re gonna attempt to keep these fish for yourself or until the old man is fit enough to look after them some things need to be faced up too. That tank is way too small for those fish.

seriouslyfish.com for instance recommends the following tank lengths:
black neon tetra 800mm long
xray tetra 600mm long
Golden Barbs 900mm long
Dwarf Rainbows 600mm long.
It also recommends keeping two of em in groups of eight minimum and the other two in groups of six minimum. Their temperature requirements overlap only at 23-24 degrees centigrade So try and set the heater to that if possible.

Dont worry unduly as they’ve obviously survived their accommodation so far.
This lot on here will see you through this. They’re superheroes to fish all over the world. Best of luck.

 

[mcordelia]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! Good on you for helping out the fish!

One thing that comes to my mind based on what you described of the situation is that there is a risk that this tank may have what is called "old tank syndrome", especially if the former owner has been ailing for a while and not able to take care of their pets. I would recommend buying a water test kit and testing for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH in the tank BEFORE doing a water change. Based on what the tests tell you, if the nitrates are high or your tap water pH is very different from the tank pH be very careful when doing your first few water changes so as to not shock the fish. @AbbeysDad can probably walk you through how to manage that type of a situation if that is indeed the case, I just read a great article about that on his website.

 

[Bellbells]

Thanks so much everyone.
Just to answer some questions, no the gentleman will not be coming back from residential and has no family. I was planning to rehome but I must admit, I'm a bit smitten with the fish!!!
What is the min size tank would you reccomend for all these fish to stay together? Do you think it would be okay for them to stay in this tank for a few more months till I can get something bjgger?

 

[ClownLurch]

Firstly can you measure the tank and confirm for us it’s approx 400x400x400mm ie 16”x16”x16”.?
Then can you search on your water providers website for your water hardness details?

The Golden Barbs are recommended to need a minimum tank length of 900mm (36”). The others all need slightly less than this, though I’m not sure about Pleco without further research Though I’m certain it’ll be ok as they’re not the most energetic of fish.

Temperament wise you’re lucky in that they’re all friendly sociable fish but I believe Rams sometimes have problems between themselves over territory. Most on here know more about rams than me, most know more about everything to be honest.

Temperature wise the BNT, XRayT,Gold B and Rainbows will all be ok compromising at 23-24c though that’s not ideal. The Rams I believe need higher at 27-30c so to keep the four groups above it’d be kindest to rehome the rams probably at a local specialist fish shop. Pets At Home don’t do this.
Most fish are best kept in groups of 6+ or 8+ or 10+ etc depending on their type. Which then leads you into possible overstocking even in a 900mm/36” tank, we can worry about the maths of that later.

To get your head around this stuff it may be best to make a sort of table on a sheet of A4 with all the numbers from seriouslyfish.com written down.
IE Fish Name, fish size, min tank size, ph reqd, water hardness reqd, temp range reqd, number of friends, combined size of total number of friends etc. It’ll then be easier to see what your problems/clashes are and where compromises are easiest.

Also have you been left any tap water dechlorinator? Tap water can not be added straight to a tank without first being dechlorinated. This many fish in so small a tank will require frequent water changes to get rid of their own pee n poo. BUT as mentioned upthread they may now be institutionalised to “dirty water” so this may best be done slowly changing a little at a time instead of the more usual 50% per time.

edit: 36”/900mm tank is the minimum size to keep the fish you have at the moment successfully. Though adding to the individual breed numbers to give them the recommended minimum number of friends may push you closer to overstocking again when they’re all fully grown.

Edit: keeping them in a 16” cube isn’t ideal to say the least. There’s always a few local second hand tanks on eBay, schpick, aquarists-classified.co.U.K. Etc

 

[Essjay]

2 Bulgaria rams

Do you mean Bolivian rams?

There are two different species called rams. One of them needs warmer water than most fish and is the species ClownLurch refers to. The other needs the same temperature as most other fish. The way to tell the difference is to look at the ring round their eyes. If there are bits of red in the rings, they are the type that needs warmer water; if there's no trace of red they are the type that needs the same temp as other fish (these are Bolivian rams)

 

[Bellbells]

Sorry yes bolivian rams!

I've actually managed to rehome everything to someone with a much bigger tank but want to keep the rams. Is there anything that will fit in there with them or shall I just keep them alone?

 

[Essjay]

Here's the profile on Seriously Fish. These are bigish fish so they do need a tank at least 90 cm long.

Mikrogeophagus altispinosus – Bolivian Ram (Crenicara altispinosa, Microgeophagus altispinosus, Papiliochromis altispinosus) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

In an appropriately sized tank they can be kept with shoaling fish such as tetras or Asian fish like harlequins. The rams would probably prefer this as the presence of other fish higher up in the water tells them it's safe to come out.

 

[Phreaker]

Here's the profile on Seriously Fish. These are bigish fish so they do need a tank at least 90 cm long.

Mikrogeophagus altispinosus – Bolivian Ram (Crenicara altispinosa, Microgeophagus altispinosus, Papiliochromis altispinosus) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

In an appropriately sized tank they can be kept with shoaling fish such as tetras or Asian fish like harlequins. The rams would probably prefer this as the presence of other fish higher up in the water tells them it's safe to come out.

90cm minimum is a bit of an exaggerated requirement in my opinion, that's like saying an oscar needs at least a 10 foot tank.

 

[Essjay]

We don't know the dimensions of the tank yet but if it is a 40 cm cube that is too small.

Years ago I had a bonded pair in a Juwel Rio 125 which is 81 cm long. I wouldn't like to go smaller than that.

 

[Bellbells]

Oh the tank is 15 by 15 by 17

 

[Essjay]

Which dimension is the 17 inches? If it's the height that means a footprint of 15 x 15 inches (38 x 38 cm) But if 17 inches is the length, that gives a footprint of 17 x 15 inches (38 x 43 cm). The latter would be suitable for one of the nano species, depending on how hard the water is.
Is your water company Essex & Suffolk Water? That is one of only 3 companies that don't give a number for hardness, but the band will be OK. Type your postcode here https://www.eswater.co.uk/check-your-area/ and tell us what it says for hardness. Water company words mean different levels from fishkeeping; there is a thread which will tell you what the band they give actually means.