Volume Experts...

[NutMutt]

Hey good people,

Just need to know from people in-the-know if I am overloading my 30-gallon tank. If so, what can I do to keep the fish in top clean water? Weekly water changes? Am I very likely to get probs later on? If so, I can acquire a smaller tank to help with the overload. Thank for any help.



4 - Neon Tetras
2 - Danios
2 - Angle Fishes
1 - Silver Balloon Molly
1 - Swordtail
1 - Black Swordtail
1 - Fancy Guppy
1 - Rhino Pleco



Now these guys are very likely all adolescents, according to Tropical Fish Hobbist magazine, that is what we usually get from our LFS. Being that I am rather new to this, I have yet to know the fish per gallon ratio...

Now here is the scary part. I actually had them all in a 10-gallon starter tank -believe it or not. I still have a long way to go, but I am surprised that I actually though this was OK on day-one. pfft So just need to know if they are alright now with a 30 tanker.



Kind Regards,
Yonkers, New York

 

[rdd1952]

Depending on the size of the fish, you may be ok for now. There are a couple problems though. First, the angelfish will eventually grow to about 6 " long & maybe more importantly about 12" high (some sites say 18") with their fins and really need at least 55 gallons. Neon tetras are also their natural food in the wild so they will eventually eat the neons as soon as they are large enough to get them in their mouth.

Second, the angels need more acidic water, low pH, while the mollies prefer brackish water with a little salt (they can live without salt and will adjust to the lack of salt but optimally they need it). You won't be able to add salt to your tank because of the pleco. It will burn his skin. I couldn't find much on rhino plecos but did find one site that said they grew to about 16" so he will definitely need another tank somewhere down the line.

Last but not least, as you probably know, guppies, swordtails and mollies are livebearers so you will have lots of fry (unless they are all males). You will either have to remove them when their born and put them in another tank to grow or let nature take it's course and the other fish will eat them.

The general rule of thumb for stocking is 1" of adult fish per gallon of water. Heavy waste producers such as plecos, oscars and goldfish can't be figured that was and probably are closer to 1" of fish for every 3 gallons of water. Based on the 1" per gallon rule, you are overstocked with about 51" of adult fish. If they are still mainly juvenile fish and only 1/3 or so of their adult size, you will probably be fine for a while. As a general rule, as someone's signature used to say (maybe still does), understock and over filter. That will prevent a lot of problems. As long as you do weekly water changes though, you should be all right for a while. Just keep a check on your nitrates. They are a good indicator of stocking level. If they are rising to 40 or more between water changes, you have a heavy load.

And, as I mentioned, the angels and neons could be a problem down the line. Also, the mollies need for salt may present a problem with the pleco (no salt at all) and the angels (need soft, slightly acidic water). Those are just my opinions. Someone else may be able to shed more light on the subject.

 

[NutMutt]

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated...

Yeah, I plan to purchase a 125 gallon rather shortly down the road. Our new place a lots of room, so adding a third large tank will not be a prob at all. Just a matter of putting aside and saving up some money to do so.

Everything you said about the different needs of my various fish reflects EXACTLY what I read during my research. The API test kits plus some books from the bookstore taught me those very things just last night. I was like, dang, "We already have the fishes, so I guess I will deal with it as their needs change." We knew from the beginning that the angels would outgrow the 10-gallon tank. It's just we had no idea that two of them were ALREADY too big for a 10 gallon. Heh <sigh>

So, now my current concer is that my phospate level is WAY too high. I am scared to start lossing fishes rapidly. Not sure if the phospate came from the tap water already or was introduced my dark-blue colored gravel. Or perhaps it was the aqaurium sand bed that we have across 1/5 of the right hand side of the tank?

Well, it's great getting help from you lot. Nice to see that people spend their own time to help other. Hopefully, some enough I will be able to help other people in my local area if they are in need in the future...


Regards...

 

[rdd1952]

None of the fish will grow super fast unless you feed them a lot. When I bought my 4 angels in March of 2005, they were about the size of a quarter. Now they are about 3" long, about half grown I guess. So you have a while before size becomes a problem for them. As for the phosphates, they probably won't cause you to lose fish but they can be a major cause (or accelerant) of algae growth. Good luck.