Hi, First Post Here

[scottnally]

Hi, We've been here for a little while and We find this forum, to be very informative, You people really seem to know Your stuff! The range of topics discussed in here is phenomonal, Soooooooo, Our question is have We overstocked Our tank? We have a 37gal (UK) tank and the stocklist is as follows>>>>

5 neons
4 black neons
4 cardinals
2 silvertips
2 threadfin rainbows
5 emerald eye rasboras
2 rummynose
1 guppy
1 swordtail
1 head and tail light
1 serpae
1 pristella (xray)
1 bleeding heart
1 otto
2 corys

and 1 plec (common) plec is about 8 inches, We are also wondering if with Our tank being 48"(l)x18"(h)x12(w), should the plec be rehomed so He has more space???

Thanx

 

[Ripley]

I think you stocking is ok. But as you were wondering about the pleco I would take it out and maybe get either a small breed of pleco like a bushynose or maybe get some more ottos.

 

[paul_219]

Maybe i will increase the numbers of ottos.

 

[Darkerwhite2]

Hi there im just looking over your list and i see alot of schooling fish that i think you should rethink about putting them on. pristella (assuming your talking about tetra), Bleeding heart tetra, head tail light tetra, serpae tetra, and the cories all prefer larger numbers Yes they are all tetras but i am unsure if they will school together comfortably, i have trouble getting my bleeding hearts(x6) to school with my lemon tetras(x6). So i would suggest rethink this list.

Also wondering why you are choosing both cardinal and neon tetras? I would choose one or the other but thats just me.

If you want all of these fish i would suggest picking this tank and stocking it with a few of the ones you like off thsi list, and then use another tank to stock some of the others. This way i think you will get a much better affect of the schools.

hope that helps

Good luck

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome

I would get rid of the pleco and get a smaller species of suckermouth catfish. Then I would increase the numbers of the tetras, rainbowfish & catfish you already have. They are all schooling fishes and should be kept in groups of their own kind. With schooling fish try to keep them in groups of at least 6 but preferably more. These fish naturally occur in groups consisting of thousands of individuals, so even when 6 are kept in a tank it is still pretty un-natural for them.
I would also get rid of the swordtail and guppy because they have different water requirements to the other fish in the tank.

You might want to reduce the number of species you have overall. Quite often if you have a jumbled bunch of fish in the tank it doesn't look as good as a tank with two or three groups of fish. Perhaps keep 10 cardinal and neon tetras as one group, 10x black neons as another, and 10x rummynose as the third group of tetras. Then have 5 or 6 Threadfin rainbows and 4-6 corydoras and a couple more otocinclus.
Or something along those lines.

 

[scottnally]

Okay, Thanks Alot, We were worried that We were already WAY overstocked, We bought 2 rummynose because, they only had two, besides that, as far as the tetras go We had been buying groups of four, so We were making that mistake from the start, We did however ask for 4 xrays and got the mix of 1 of each of the single s We mentioned above, so We kinda got stuck with a bunch of singles. We have only lost the female sword and the female guppy, leaving the males behind. As far as the plec goes how immenent should We rehome Him, We have found the perfect place for Him (in Our local Dobbies) They have multiple "Mature" tanks and They said They would take Him from Us, We're just wondering if this is HIGHLY recommended? Plec is about two years old.

Thanx for all Your input folks, much appreciated, Ally and Scott

 

[Colin_T]

I would find another shop because if you go in to buy 4 x-ray tetras and get a mixed bag, that can't be a good sign.

Not sure what a Dobbie is, re (Our Local Dobbies)

Most fish shops will take back fish and give you a credit note for them. You can use the credit to get plants, fish, etc.

You can keep the pleco for as long as you want but it is just a big fish and will get bigger and messier over time. The sooner you get rid of it the sooner you can get more of the other fish you already have.
Just don't add any more fish until you do get rid of it, and monitor the water quality.

 

[backtotropical]

Not sure what a Dobbie is, re (Our Local Dobbies)

Dobbies is a garden centre chain in the UK. Most of their stores have an aquatics section too.

http/www.dobbies.com/

 

[Colin_T]

cool, thanks backtotropical simpson