Boy, I wish I had a fish-inch calculator! (I wish there was such a thing
)
4 red platys x 1.5 = 6"
4 golden barbs x 4 = 16"
5 emporer tetras x 2.5 = 12.5"
2 peral gouramis x 4.5 = 9"
2 kribs (breeding pair?) 4" male + 3" female =7"
2 hatchet fish (variety?) x 1 - 2" = 2" - 4"
2 african butterfly fish x 4 = 8"
5 glass catfish x 4 = 20"
1 common plec = 12"
1 zebra plec = 3"
1 elephant nose = what kind? 4 - 10" range
1 siamese fighter = 3"
Total = 102.5 - 110.5, depending on the variety of hatchetfish and elephant nose you have.
So, you have essentially double the recommended fish, and the rule of thumb goes for "slim bodied" fish, which many of yours most definitely ain't.
For the time being, you can beef up your filtration (I wouldn't go with undergravel though -- where in the world would you move all the fish to while you completely reconstructed their home?
) and you can be aggressive about vacuuming the gravel when you do your water changes, but before long I would be thinking about adding a tank or getting a bigger (like a 125) tank for the following reasons (besides too many fish):
If your kribs are a breeding pair, they are going to chase everyone else out of a fairly big area whenever they are spawning or raising their fry, which will be all the time.
This is from another forum:
If you are intending to breed kribs, them it is better to have them by themselves as they will become quite aggressive and disrupt the harmony within the tank. You will have the Krib's and their fry at one end and all the other fish at the other. With a big pleco in the tank, he will polish off any eggs that get layed and your kribs will become frustrated and unsettled. If breeding, best to have them by themselves. Plus it ensures a better servival rate in the fry which means you have more to sell to the pet shop when that time comes around.
Your platies may also breed, but their fry will likely be live food for the others, since the parents won't protect them. Still, a few may survive and add to your population problem.
Incredibly, outside of those three issues and the obvious size problem of the pleco (and maybe the elepant nose), I can't come up with a lot of negatives. I haven't had any of these fish, but from what I've read they all sound relatively peaceful and diverse enough to co-exist, but I would say in a bigger tank.
Maybe you could get a 20 gal for the platies and kribs, find a new home for the plec when he gets a bit bigger, and keep all else as is with an upgrade in your filtration? I read on another forum that kribs and platies make for peaceful tankmates.
Here's a link for you:
Link to post about kribs and platies
Anyway, this is getting long, but I hope it has been some help to you. It sounds like you have some great fish!
