Is My Tank Overstocked?

[tatuny]

Well it about 14 gal and i have:
1 male gupppy and 1 fancy male and 2 normal female guppys
1 zebra danios and 1 leopard danios
5 neon tetra and 1 black neon tetra
1 half black male platy and 1 golden small female platty
1 spotted cory catfish and 1 albinos
and 3 hiding places..

 

[ProjectMayhem]

Well it about 14 gal and i have:
1 male gupppy and 1 fancy male and 2 normal female guppys
1 zebra danios and 1 leopard danios
5 neon tetra and 1 black neon tetra
1 half black male platy and 1 golden small female platty
1 spotted cort catfish and 1 albinos
and 3 hiding places..

Yep, could also do with more danios, they're like tetra's and like to be in groups.

 

[the_lock_man]

.... and ditto with the cories, making 3/4 species that you could really do with increasing numbers of. And in a tank that size, I don't think really have space to do that.

I'm not an expert in stocking levels, others will be able to advise better than I can, however, I think you'd be better deciding on 2 or 3 of those species, and keeping them with larger quantities.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you are overstocked, plus, as PM says, your stocking leaves a lot to be desired...

All the danios, tetras, and the catfish (which I'm guessing are probably Corydoras) need to be in shoals of 6+, which you obviously don't have room for.

You should probably decuide which fish you like the most and then arrange the tank to suit them; so if you like the platies and the catfish, then keep them, and get some more catfish (and a sand substrate, that cories really need).

 

[tatuny]

Yes, you are overstocked, plus, as PM says, your stocking leaves a lot to be desired...

All the danios, tetras, and the catfish (which I'm guessing are probably Corydoras) need to be in shoals of 6+, which you obviously don't have room for.

You should probably decuide which fish you like the most and then arrange the tank to suit them; so if you like the platies and the catfish, then keep them, and get some more catfish (and a sand substrate, that cories really need).

i think i will get 2 more zebra danios and stop adding fish in this tank...and wath are the effects of overstocking>?

 

[fluttermoth]

It'll lead to your fish suffering constant low levels of stress, which can weaken their immune sytem, shorten their lifespans and leave them prone to diseases like whitespot and fungus.

It may also cause to them becoming stunted and never reaching their proper, adult size, which can again lead to health issues.

You'll have to be ontop of your maintenance regime; you want to be doing at least 50 or 60% water changes weekly.

I personally don't like seeing danios in tankss that are less than three feet in length; they are a small fish, but very strong swimmers (just look at them; they even have 'go faster' stripes!).

Is there any way you could return the danios? Then you could increase your numbers of the tetras, which are far better suited to smaller tanks.

 

[the_lock_man]

Would I also be right in thinking that overstocking would lead to yet more ammonia being produced, with the danger that the filter may not be able to cope with the increased bioload. This in turn may lead to algae growth?

 

[ProjectMayhem]

Would I also be right in thinking that overstocking would lead to yet more ammonia being produced, with the danger that the filter may not be able to cope with the increased bioload. This in turn may lead to algae growth?

If you have a good enough filter to cope then no but that depends entirely on the filter, you could however suffocate your fish the oxygenation only happens at a certain rate and if your fish are breathing too much of it they will die. But stress leading to disease and stunting is the main thing to worry about.

 

[tatuny]

is it that badly overstocked i have a aquarel 300l/h filter and my oxigenation is very very good i see small bubles floating around all over my aquarium...I did the oxygenation system myself and ill explain it now..Basically its a powerhead getting water from my aquarium and aer from the surface pushing them both(aer and water) into a small tube 2cm above my water level...And that makes lots of bubbles floating and lots of small bubbles in the water...And if i take the danios both out can i puth my female betta in there?Sry for long com

 

[ProjectMayhem]

is it that badly overstocked i have a aquarel 300l/h filter and my oxigenation is very very good i see small bubles floating around all over my aquarium...I did the oxygenation system myself and ill explain it now..Basically its a powerhead getting water from my aquarium and aer from the surface pushing them both(aer and water) into a small tube 2cm above my water level...And that makes lots of bubbles floating and lots of small bubbles in the water...And if i take the danios both out can i puth my female betta in there?Sry for long com

Well the bubbles don't oxygenate the water it's the water surface disturbance which increases gas absorbtion rate. You can get oxygenus systems like I have in one of mine which takes in water like a filter and oxygenates it in the machine which is good to allow over stocking.

That said with your bubbles and filter the water on its own can only absorb so much oxygen and drastic overstocking can cause the fish to suffocate because they are breathing faster than the water can absorb the oxygen. What are the dimensions of your tank and I'll work it out?

 

[tatuny]

is it that badly overstocked i have a aquarel 300l/h filter and my oxigenation is very very good i see small bubles floating around all over my aquarium...I did the oxygenation system myself and ill explain it now..Basically its a powerhead getting water from my aquarium and aer from the surface pushing them both(aer and water) into a small tube 2cm above my water level...And that makes lots of bubbles floating and lots of small bubbles in the water...And if i take the danios both out can i puth my female betta in there?Sry for long com

Well the bubbles don't oxygenate the water it's the water surface disturbance which increases gas absorbtion rate. You can get oxygenus systems like I have in one of mine which takes in water like a filter and oxygenates it in the machine which is good to allow over stocking.

That said with your bubbles and filter the water on its own can only absorb so much oxygen and drastic overstocking can cause the fish to suffocate because they are breathing faster than the water can absorb the oxygen. What are the dimensions of your tank and I'll work it out?

lenght 57,widht24,hight37

 

[Louiseness]

iAnd if i take the danios both out can i puth my female betta in there?

Well replacing the removed fish with more fish wouldn't help your overstocking!

Be aware that female bettas can be just as aggressive as male bettas. Plus I wouldn't advise you put any more fish into that tank anyway, you ideally need to think about removing some as everyone else has said.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd just like to point out that, unless you have no water movement at all, it's vanishingly rare for tanks to be low in oxygen.

There are a few medicines that deplete the oxygen, but nine times out of ten, what inexperienced fishkeepers think is a low oxygen problem, where fish are gasping at the suface, is not low oxygen at all, but ammonia or nitrite poisoning which affects the fish's gills so they can't absorb the oxygen that is already there rather than an actual lack of oxygen in itself.

 

[tatuny]

is stunting really bad?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes mate, it is.

I know it sounds like a nice idea that you can let them be stunted and then they won't out grow your tank, but it's not that simple.

What often happens is that the fish doesn't just stay smaller; it means that some bits of the fish carry on growing and some parts stop; so that the internal ogans, like liver and heart continue to grow, but the actual body doesn't, leading to deformities and some really nasty health issues.

Think about it another way; would it be bad to keep a Great Dane deliberately stunted, by keeping it in a broom cupboard, for instance, so it wouldn't get too big for a small flat?