Stocking a tank.

[Stelios]

Hello,I have a cycled 25 gallon(95 lt) planted aquarium with one gold gourami(juvenile and really peacefull),5 panda corys,1 golden bristlenose,9 neon tetras,11 guppies and some ramshorn snails.Also,I have a corse sponge filter.What do you think,is it too much?Will some of the fishes be a problem when they reach adulthood?(I cycled the tank with 7 guppies and I added the rest livestock 3 days ago).Thanks in advance.

 

[raylove]

Gouramis are typically unpredictable but hopefully yours will remain docile as it grows, particularly as your other fish aren't similar to him.
I would say you're just about fully stocked for now. Smaller fish need less room than larger ones i.e. a 6 inch fish will place more demands on the tank than six 1 inch fish. The 'inches of fish' calculation is a good starting point but it's more about body weight so you have to adjust.
However, I think you may have stocked too quickly. If you cycled the tank with the guppies then you end up with bacteria that can support those guppies - no more because more bacteria would need more waste to feed on. Every time you increase the load the tank has to catch up and the more established a rank is the quicker it will adjust. It's never a good idea to suddenly increase stocking levels but it's even more risky in a newer tank. Keep an eye on it over the next week or two.

 

[Stelios]

Yeah,I know but due to the lockdown I really wanted to watch the fish now that I have time.Also,if I keep a close eye on the water parameters and do the water changes,in how much time do you reckon the bacterial colony will be able to sustain the waste at a good level?(I had a goldfish pond and I took some plants and water from and I put it in the tank when I started the tank without socking the bacteria,so I didn't start completly new)

 

[raylove]

Be careful about taking water from a pond. Diseases are nearly always present in outside water, and whilst the fish there might be resistent to them, aquarium tropicals might not be. You might also introduce other nasties such as insect larvae or leeches. I've never heard of it as a way of kick starting a filter, but logically I guess it will help!
It is impossible to say how long it will take to get up to speed as there are so many variables in addition to stocking levels - filter size, media, efficiency, feeding regime etc... Just watch the fish and if no problems keep reducing the level of changes until you are at a 'normal' level.
What that level is is open to debate! I personally change about 10% twice a week on a heavily stocked tank and it's been fine for many years.

 

[Essjay]

If you do see any ammonia or nitrite due to adding too many fish too quickly, do water change whenever either of them is above zero. The amount needs to be as much as necessary to get the reading back down to zero.

Once you know that the levels are staying at zero, you need to change at least 50% a week. This keeps the tank chemistry as close as posible to tap water.

 

[Darkomot]

I would certainly watch for ammonia and a nitrite spike. In my experience, you're probably going to have some sort of spike. What I recommend is testing daily or bi-daily for a few weeks to make sure. Usually, the spike happens a week or so after adding a bunch of new fish. When, or if, you see this spike do the things that @essjay said. Another viable option is using Seachem Prime to neutralize the ammonia and nitrites as your tank gets used to having the new fish. In my experience, using a dose of Seachem Prime daily for a bit as the tank establishes keeps the fish much healthier and saves you time from not having to do as many water changes. I'll include a link to Seachem Prime, a test kit, as well as a link to a guide about using it. I HIGHLY recommend reading the guide below. Good luck!

Click HERE for Seachem Prime

Click HERE for Test Kit

Click HERE for the useful guide