How Many More Fish Can I Keep?

[rutts]

I know it's an age old question but i am very new to this.
I have a 54l tank. I have already stocked it with 6 X-Ray tetras, 5 Cardinal Tetras and two bristlenose plecs.
If i go by the rule of thumb i calculate that that is rellay as much as my tank will hold. Am i right?
thanks in advance.

 

[Torrean]

I haven't done any calculations but if you think your tank is stocked then your probably wrong. Plecs produce a lot of waste, more than most other fish. Your probably overstocked. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. Just keep up with water changes. Oh yeah make sure your calculating adult size.

 

[Durbkat]

Whats the length, width, and height of the tank? Also bristlenose plecos can grow up to 7" I believe.

 

[rutts]

Whats the length, width, and height of the tank? Also bristlenose plecos can grow up to 7" I believe.

he tank is 600mmx300mx300m (24"x12"x12").
he bristlenose I have only grow to around 5". I did research the size of the fish before I stocked them. I just wanted be sure as I'm inexperienced and wanted a bit of reassurance.
I have carried out my calculations on adult size as given by research on the web. Although I assume when they give adult size they include the tail. I've included this in my calcs so I should be on the safe side?

 

[Durbkat]

That sounds like a long 20g and is only big enough for 1 birstlenose because of all the waste they produce.

 

[rutts]

Can any one add to this?
Going by the pinned thread on this forum I can keep 1cm of fish per 12sqcm of surface area.
My tank is 60cmX30cm. Giving surface a area of 1800sqcm. if i divide that by 12 it gives me 150cm of fish allowed.
I only have (adult size) 76cm.
This would seem to be well within my allowance?
I can't seeif I'm that far under how two bristlenose is too much.
I want to know so when I get a bigger tank (which I will be doing) I don't over stock that!!

 

[catxx]

i think all people are trying to say is that the bristlenose as a plec produces more waste than an average tetra type fish, which has low waste.
i think you may be able to squeeze another bristlenose in, i presume the one you have is not full grown yet anyway? and if you're planning to upgrade in the future they can be upgraded too.

as long as your filtration is up to scratch then you should be fine.

 

[diademhill]

Can any one add to this?
Going by the pinned thread on this forum I can keep 1cm of fish per 12sqcm of surface area.
My tank is 60cmX30cm. Giving surface a area of 1800sqcm. if i divide that by 12 it gives me 150cm of fish allowed.
I only have (adult size) 76cm.
This would seem to be well within my allowance?
I can't seeif I'm that far under how two bristlenose is too much.
I want to know so when I get a bigger tank (which I will be doing) I don't over stock that!!

I've only just looked at the "sticky" and it is wrong IMO - Traditionally we allowed 12 sq inches per inch of fish so 24x12 = 288 sq inches , 288/12 = 24" of fish (or as is sometimes seen 1" of fish per inch of tank length for foot wide tanks) 24" = 60 cm.
Established tanks can up this a bit but the higher you stock the riskier things become, a missed water change or a powercut can easily cause a very quick crash!
Your tank is fully stocked with just about enough room for the bristlenoses as they grow but if you have two males they won't have enough room to avoid each other.

 

[sylvia]

The guideline most often used for stocking levels is 1" of adult fish per gallon. This guideline (like the others) is suppsoed to apply to small, neon-tetra like fish that produce very little waste and don't require much physical space. It does NOT take into acount behaviour or other requirements. Bristlenose plecos are a very high waste-producing fish. Besides this, they also are territorial. 2 will be fine if they are a pair, but 2 indivduals (eg: 2 males) should nto realy be together if you want them to be stress-free and healthy. 3 in a 20 gallon is deffinately not an option either.
Having said that, 54 litres isn't 20 gallons - it's more like 15 gallons. That's too small for 2 bristlenoses and only just large enough for your current tetras and the 1 bristlenose though even that is over-stocked. Don't add anything more to your tank and consider re-homing one of the bristlenoses (you'll have to do this eventualy anyway - better sooner than later).

 

[rutts]

Thanks for the advice.
The plecs are only babies at the mo so I'll be ok for a little while. Like I said I'm going to get a bigger tank which will house all my fish comfortably.