Is My Tank Overstocked? (gulp)

[mr williams]

My tank is a 6ft 400L. It contains.....

2 angel fish 3in. 3 oscars 4in. 6 clown loach 1.5 in. 1 mbu puffer 4in. 6 silver sharks 4-5in. and 4 ornate polys (all babies) and 3 6inch sailfin plecos.

O and two 2inch firemouths.

Ok shout at me now.

 

[CFC]

Well the MBU is going to need a bigger tank at some point and there will be some issues with having 3 oscars together, especially if two of them form a pair and the other cichlids (angels and firemouths) will probably get bullied by the oscars but i wouldnt say it was terribly overstocked, just a badly thought out combination of fish.

 

[annka5]

I'd say it's mis-stocked as well as overstocked. Oscar's when adult will not make the angelfish (or much else) happy; I think 3 in a 400ltr will be too cramped anyway. The puffer - am no expert on these, but will it not spend a fair bit of time niblling at everyone else?
The clown loaches will grow too big for 6 in the tank. The angels would be better in a group. ... I don't know anything about the ornate polys.
What kind of tank are you after? if you decide that then what to keep and what to rehome will be an easier decision.

 

[mr williams]

Well the MBU is going to need a bigger tank at some point and there will be some issues with having 3 oscars together, especially if two of them form a pair and the other cichlids (angels and firemouths) will probably get bullied by the oscars but i wouldnt say it was terribly overstocked, just a badly thought out combination of fish.

I plan to move Mooboo into a new home in about 6 moths to a year (not enough room in my flat yet). The two angels fight with each other and the oscars bother no one, yet. I have a spare tank ready to acomodate any victims. I realise the fish combo is against advice by several people told me the mbu would masacre everything in the tank and he is the most peacefull fish I have ever kept.

I'd say it's mis-stocked as well as overstocked. Oscar's when adult will not make the angelfish (or much else) happy; I think 3 in a 400ltr will be too cramped anyway. The puffer - am no expert on these, but will it not spend a fair bit of time niblling at everyone else?
The clown loaches will grow too big for 6 in the tank. The angels would be better in a group. ... I don't know anything about the ornate polys.
What kind of tank are you after? if you decide that then what to keep and what to rehome will be an easier decision.

so you suggest angels out and clowns out?

 

[CFC]

I'll tell you a story about a MBU.

One of the local shops had an MBU that was about a foot long in a display tank with rainbow fish and african cichlids, it was a strange combination but full of colour and the shop staff said the rainbows and cichlids were all too fast to be caught by the MBU which didnt bother any of them anyway, and they all lived happily like that for years.
That was until one night the MBU decided he didnt like sharing any more, and ripped every fish in the tank in two.
Puffers have strong sharp beaks to cut open mussels and clams, soft tissue is like cutting through paper to them, never keep anything you would be sad to lose with a large puffer.

I challenge anyone to show me captive clown loaches that are too big for a 6 foot long 400 litre tank, people really have to stop spreading this idea that clown loaches will grow to 12 inches in a home aquarium. The truth of it is that an 8 inch clown loach is an exceptional specimin and will take the best part of 20 years to get to that size, 6 inches is a pretty average size for a captive clown loach.

 

[mr williams]

This is a worrying story, I realise the Mbu could have a postal worker type spree whenever he chooses, I'm hoping however that as all he will grow up with all his tank mates and I will take care not to overcrowd him as he grows this will never happen.

 

[annka5]

Re: size of clown loaches; I think 6 in a 6ft tank with all the other fish (even aside from campatibility issues) is too many. I didn't suggest the size they would grow to, or how long that would take. To me, there will be a lot of active, larger fish in the tank. That makes it overstocked as there isn't enough space for the activity levels of the fish, regardless of bioload or fish size.
I'm only guessing that ornate pollys are relatively large and active, I know very little about them.
Another re: compatibility is that whilst juvenille examples may get along, once they are mature they will start being more territorial - this would go for the oscars particularly.

 

[CFC]

Ornate polys, or ornate bichirs as most people know them, are large, but about as active as logs tied to a lead weight, unless there is food in the tank or someone is poking them with a stick they pretty much dont move once they are over 8 inches.

The only problem fish in the tank are the oscars and MBU, as they mature 3 adult oscars will fight almost non stop, if two pair off then its good night for the third and the other Cichlids in the tank which will be unceremoniously killed one by one, the MBU story above speaks for itself, beside the fact that MBUs can reach as much as 30 inches and at least 2 feet in captivity. A 6 foot long 400 litre tank is pretty much ideal for keeping the other fish, there arent many tanks bigger than this commercially available.

 

[PoPoV]

You know I dont know to much about the other fish in your tank. But those 3 Oscars are gona be a hand full in their. They are pretty calm right now becouse their young. But once they get older they will fight and ravage the tank. With the mix of fish that you have I can see alot of disputes.

 

[jenny6165]

i dont know anything about the other fish, but the mbu puffer will need a minimum of a 1000gallon tank when fully grown. He will grow to 67cm when fully grown and will grow fast.

You should think about taking him back to the lfs unless you have a spare 1000gallon tank lying around

 

[Shepdog]

There seems to be a lot of sound advice being proffered on this topic.

 

[CFC]

i dont know anything about the other fish, but the mbu puffer will need a minimum of a 1000gallon tank when fully grown. He will grow to 67cm when fully grown and will grow fast.

You should think about taking him back to the lfs unless you have a spare 1000gallon tank lying around

A thousand gallons is a little excessive An 10x3x3' tank would be an ample sized tank and comes in at around 670 gallons, sure 1000 gallons would be nice but then i could say that no one should be keeping any fish in a tank less than 20 gallons but there are millions that do.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

wow if that tank worked it'd be very impressive

however i have to agree it's a bit of a time bomb, it seems all your fish are juvi's and they often don't come into themselves until they reach maturity. I get the feeling that when one of them wakes up one morning feeling like a man your gonna have a bloodbath on your hands before you've even got time to move the fish to another tank

that needs sorting out now.

 

[mr williams]

i see it does appear i have a problem now doesn't it.

i dont know anything about the other fish, but the mbu puffer will need a minimum of a 1000gallon tank when fully grown. He will grow to 67cm when fully grown and will grow fast.

You should think about taking him back to the lfs unless you have a spare 1000gallon tank lying around

I agree that he will need a larger tank than 400l when fully mature but that will take at least 2 years. Ample time to re home.

 

[jenny6165]

Tetraodon mbu
Common Name: Mbu Puffer

Other Common Names: Giant Puffer, Gold Ringed Puffer

Family: Tetraodontidae

Distribution: Africa : Congo Basin, Lake Tanganyika

Water Parameters: Temp: 23 - 26C (74 - 80F); pH:6.0 - 7.8

Personality/Temperament: Differ from puffer to puffer, from timid to very aggressive.

Activity: Hunter - fairly active

Max. Size: 67cm

Estimated Lifespan: Not known

Sexual Dimorphism: None shown

Diet: Feeding and Diet article

Care: Pufferfish are extremely sensitive to nitrites and ammonia and should only be introduced into a fully cycled aquarium. Due to the mbu's messy eating habits and enormous size, overfiltration is recommended.

Breeding: Awaiting information

Minimum Tank Size: 1000g(US)

Other Notes: This puffer more than any is a sociable creature that quickly bonds with its owner. Their temperament differs greatly from timid to aggressive.These are extremely big fish and should only be kept with an adequate sized tank and filtration.

i would have thought you'll find it extremely difficult to find him a home when he is fully grown.
if you would really like a puffer in your tank it might be worth looking at some of the other smaller freshwater species.
these fish really belong in public aquaria. they get far too big to be kept in anything smaller than 1000g.