What Unusual Fish

[jmorty]

I am thinking of putting an unusual fish or some unusual tropical animal in my fish tank in my fish tank i have

x6 neon tetras
x5 rummy nose tetras
x5 Red Serpae Tetra
x2 rams
x1 albeano shark
x1 clown loach
x4 corys
x1 catfish
x1 coolie loach

so what weird fish would mix with the fish in the tank

 

[Miss Wiggle]

what size is the tank, what species is the catfish?

 

[jmorty]

what size is the tank, what species is the catfish?

the tank is 60l (i know my clown loach can grow to 15cm), i think the catfish is a brittle nose but it stays on the filter

 

[Straydum]

the tank is 60l (i know my clown loach can grow to 15cm)

then even without telling you, you should know your clown wouldn't last long in there.

another thing is for a 60L you have quite a number of fishes there. i'd advise you not anymore fishes but remove some (and a rather large number too).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok, there's a general guideline for stocking, it's 1" of fish per US Gallon of water, now this is not infallible and can be stretched but it gives a good general indication of stocking levels. with good filtration and extra maintenance you can run 1.5" per gal fairly well.

your tank is 16 US Gallons so you should have around 16" of fish, 24" if you have excellent filtration etc. you have the following

x6 neon tetras - 6"
x5 rummy nose tetras - 6"
x5 Red Serpae Tetra - 10"
x2 rams - 6"
x1 albeano shark - 6"
x1 clown loach - 12"
x4 corys - 8"
x1 catfish - 6"
x1 coolie loach - 2"

you have 62" of fish at the moment so you are already quite seriously overstocked.

the albino shark and the clown loach are too big for your tank and must be rehomed, this will bring your total down to 44"

So no you do not have room for any more fish, and even at the maximum recommended stocking levels account for extra filters and stuff you're still quite a way over.

you need to either get a bigger tank or re-home about half of your fish or you're just storing up water quality problems for the future. it'll run like this for quite a while with no problems then you'll suddenly develop water quality problems and health problems which will be impossible to contain with this level of stocking in the tank and your fish will start to die off quite quickly.

 

[jmorty]

ok, there's a general guideline for stocking, it's 1" of fish per US Gallon of water, now this is not infallible and can be stretched but it gives a good general indication of stocking levels. with good filtration and extra maintenance you can run 1.5" per gal fairly well.

your tank is 16 US Gallons so you should have around 16" of fish, 24" if you have excellent filtration etc. you have the following

x6 neon tetras - 6"
x5 rummy nose tetras - 6"
x5 Red Serpae Tetra - 10"
x2 rams - 6"
x1 albeano shark - 6"
x1 clown loach - 12"
x4 corys - 8"
x1 catfish - 6"
x1 coolie loach - 2"

you have 62" of fish at the moment so you are already quite seriously overstocked.

the albino shark and the clown loach are too big for your tank and must be rehomed, this will bring your total down to 44"

So no you do not have room for any more fish, and even at the maximum recommended stocking levels account for extra filters and stuff you're still quite a way over.

you need to either get a bigger tank or re-home about half of your fish or you're just storing up water quality problems for the future. it'll run like this for quite a while with no problems then you'll suddenly develop water quality problems and health problems which will be impossible to contain with this level of stocking in the tank and your fish will start to die off quite quickly.

but the tank would look plain if i did that

 

[minxfishy]

But the fish would be happier!

 

[bagu]

dude, be realistic!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

take a look at the pictures in the members pics section to see the sort of stocking levels that are healthy in a tank. a lot of people see tanks in the fish shop crammed full with fish and think this is how they should keep their fish, but the fish in teh shop are only there for a week or so therefore it's not such a big problem (although it's still not healthy).

when keeping fish your first priority should be the welfare of the fish, not how you think the tank will look

 

[jmorty]

dude, be realistic!

sorry but that is ******** the fish swim in different parts of the tank the corys are at the bottom of the tank, the loach and shark are behind rocks, i have kept fish for a while now and the fish have plenty of room to swim




Please watch your language! This is a family oriented forum.

 

[minxfishy]

I would say what I think, but a ban would follow

 

[lordofthesea]

hang on now. liken it to people. 16 gallons imagine getting a room 16 feet square and putting as many people in there as there are fish. how would that be. whats more important. the look of the tank or the welfare of the fish in it . it's not fair. also humans don't grow to the same degree as fish. the clown can get to two feet long! IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR FISH YOU WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. it's just not fair on them to keep them like that.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the fish may occupy different areas of the tank but there will still not be enough room for all these fish when fully grown (not even thinking about the clown loach which will end up bigger than the tank most likely). as they all grow and the space gets crowded you'll start to see agression issues between them, keep a very close eye on the shark as when he matures he's gonna take serious issue with the rams and all the other bottom dwellers in that size tank. then you add in that the amount of waste they produce will grow and grow and at some point the filter media will reach it's saturation point for bacteria and it won't be able to grow anymore. at this point you'll get a build up of toxic ammonia and nitrite in the tank, this coupled with the stress from agressive fish in too small a space will lead to numerous outbreaks of disease, you may medicate them but they will keep coming back because of the on-going water quality and space issues.

we're not being mean to you or anything so there's no need to swear at us, we're just explaining some fish welfare issues to us. I'm gonna report this topic to the mods to get your use of bad language cleared up, this is a family forum.

 

[mcgrimes]

2 foot would probably be longer than the tank. I dont have that many fish in my 180l tank!
If you dont move them while they are alive, you'll certainly have to move them when they begin dying

 

[jmorty]

the fish may occupy different areas of the tank but there will still not be enough room for all these fish when fully grown (not even thinking about the clown loach which will end up bigger than the tank most likely). as they all grow and the space gets crowded you'll start to see agression issues between them, keep a very close eye on the shark as when he matures he's gonna take serious issue with the rams and all the other bottom dwellers in that size tank. then you add in that the amount of waste they produce will grow and grow and at some point the filter media will reach it's saturation point for bacteria and it won't be able to grow anymore. at this point you'll get a build up of toxic ammonia and nitrite in the tank, this coupled with the stress from agressive fish in too small a space will lead to numerous outbreaks of disease, you may medicate them but they will keep coming back because of the on-going water quality and space issues.

we're not being mean to you or anything so there's no need to swear at us, we're just explaining some fish welfare issues to us. I'm gonna report this topic to the mods to get your use of bad language cleared up, this is a family forum.

well i have had the shark and clown loach for about 5 years