Still Not Sure About Stocking?

[trianglekitty]

I seem to keep reading conflicting information about stocking levels. Here is my tank as it stands now:

20 gallons w live plants
Biowheel filter rated for a 75 gallon

8 male guppies
5 hengeli rasaboras
5 cory cats
Roughly 200 or so pond snailsI wanted to add:

6 black neons
1 sparkling gourami

The water always tests fine and I do water changes twice weekly (50%). Any thoughts would be great, even if it's just to say I'm already over my limit. The employees at my LFS keep telling me that they have many more fish in their tanks, and as I long as I keep up on my water changes I should be fine with this plan- but they also told me not to change the water for the first 8 weeks after starting the tank (!)

 

[The chilly dipper]

I seem to keep reading conflicting information about stocking levels. Here is my tank as it stands now:

20 gallons w live plants
Biowheel filter rated for a 75 gallon

8 male guppies
5 hengeli rasaboras
5 cory cats
Roughly 200 or so pond snailsI wanted to add:

6 black neons
1 sparkling gourami

The water always tests fine and I do water changes twice weekly (50%). Any thoughts would be great, even if it's just to say I'm already over my limit. The employees at my LFS keep telling me that they have many more fish in their tanks, and as I long as I keep up on my water changes I should be fine with this plan- but they also told me not to change the water for the first 8 weeks after starting the tank (!)

i would say you are very very full but do you realise a gourami will outgrow your 20 gallon quicker than a rat up a drain pipe

due to your stocking i would leave it at this for a 20 gallon

 

[trianglekitty]

[/quote]
i would say you are very very full but do you realise a gourami will outgrow your 20 gallon quicker than a rat up a drain pipe

due to your stocking i would leave it at this for a 20 gallon
[/quote]

Really? The sparkling gouramis are supposed to be one of the smaller- the max size is 4cm.

 

[The chilly dipper]

my bad lol i was misunderstanding the type of gourami lol

 

[trianglekitty]

my bad lol i was misunderstanding the type of gourami lol

No problem. But you would still say the tank is too full for any more fish?

 

[hanny93]

I'd say too full for the neons yes, but if you were to get a smaller gourami taht stays small then yes i suppose you could get one in.


And chillydipper, how can you say OP is overstocked when you have 4 goldfish in a biorb!!

 

[The chilly dipper]

I'd say too full for the neons yes, but if you were to get a smaller gourami taht stays small then yes i suppose you could get one in.


And chillydipper, how can you say OP is overstocked when you have 4 goldfish in a biorb!!

i overstocked when i dint know about the stocking restrictions mate.
but after much reading up i have a decent knowledge base now.

and by reading up i mean every hour of everyday
all i think about is fish, thats what i mean by read up.

i indeed am not practising what i preach but my overstocking problems are sorted now buddy
i appreciate the question though

 

[hanny93]

Fair enough but surely you'd move them on to suitable new homes once you realised that 60L is not enough space?


Anyway this is getting off topic. OP, I'd say no neons but yes maybe 1 gourami.

 

[The chilly dipper]

Fair enough but surely you'd move them on to suitable new homes once you realised that 60L is not enough space?


Anyway this is getting off topic. OP, I'd say no neons but yes maybe 1 gourami.

yes i have done matey after realising that goldfish are mammoth growers lol
off topic indeed but im glad weve sorted that lol

 

[trianglekitty]

Fair enough but surely you'd move them on to suitable new homes once you realised that 60L is not enough space?


Anyway this is getting off topic. OP, I'd say no neons but yes maybe 1 gourami.

Okay, thanks! I was thinking the same thing- adding one more 2 inch fish probably wouldn't make a difference, but adding six neons I'm sure would.

My problem is I ended up with rescued fish and it messed up my plans for the tank- all of the guppies and three of the cories are rescues. And now I'm too attached to try and rehome them. I've got to learn to just say no.

 

[hanny93]

ah right, i just assumed that because you still had it in your sig you still have them in a biorb.
sorry for the confusion.

 

[The chilly dipper]

ah right, i just assumed that because you still had it in your sig you still have them in a biorb.
sorry for the confusion.

would anyone happen to know an online calculator that magically calculates how many fish you can have in your tank i think this would help with this post

i however only know the 1 inch / 1 gallon rule even if it is a myth

 

[hanny93]

the 1 inch 1 gallon rule works if your tank is 12" deep, as the rule is 12 sq inches of water per inch of fish IF the fish is fairly peaceful.

it also only really works with fw normal setups, not mbuna/malawi etc setups.

try aq/advisor its way off by saying your overstocked when youre only about 75% stocked but it gives you an idea.

 

[The chilly dipper]

the 1 inch 1 gallon rule works if your tank is 12" deep, as the rule is 12 sq inches of water per inch of fish IF the fish is fairly peaceful.

it also only really works with fw normal setups, not mbuna/malawi etc setups.

try aq/advisor its way off by saying your overstocked when youre only about 75% stocked but it gives you an idea.

thanks ill look at that

 

[trianglekitty]

the 1 inch 1 gallon rule works if your tank is 12" deep, as the rule is 12 sq inches of water per inch of fish IF the fish is fairly peaceful.

it also only really works with fw normal setups, not mbuna/malawi etc setups.

try aq/advisor its way off by saying your overstocked when youre only about 75% stocked but it gives you an idea.

With the stock I have now, ##150### shows me at 100% stocking. With the gourmai, I'm at 103% (so it barely changes it). With the neons, I'm up to 115%.

So if it overquotes, I'm be closer to 100% with the neons and the gouramis (I think this is because the tank is overfiltered). But it would also mean things could go wrong much more quickly.

Maybe I'll think about adding a second filter.