Would This Be Too Many For My Tank

arcg1978

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I've finally decided on what I would like to keep in my tank but I'm not sure if I will overstock if I get what is in the list below.

4 x Dwarf Gourami (already in)
2 x Dwarf neon rainbow
2 x butterfly cichlid
1 x golden nugget plec
8 x black neon tetra
10 x guppy

The tank is a 180l Juwel Rio with the standard internal filter that comes with it.

What do you think? Too many? Too few? Just right?
 
Hi,

Find the maximum length that each fish would expect to grow to.
Multiply and then add up to get a total 'maximum' fish length.

Then reply with your answers and we can take it from there

Cheers,

Andy
 
They wil be fine in a 180litre tank. My only concern would be the Plec, im not sure how large Gold Nuggets grow.
 
I agree with DarkEntity and feel that this stocking would be ok in a 180L (48 gallon) tank and it sounds as though the fish are all compatible. However, the gold nugget pleco can reach a size of 14 inches (35 cm) and IMO this is a fish that will be potentially too large for your tank, not to mention the large amount of wastes that it can and will generate and the toll that can have on your water quality, especially when full grown.

However, there are some smaller varities of pleco that you can look into as alternatives such as a bristlenose pleco or a clown pleco. I realize that you are most likely looking at the gold nugget pleco because of its rarity and better looks, but at least in my area, they are too expensive to simply trade in when they get too large like many people do with common plecos. I think the clown pleco may be a good alternative for you though since it is more rare and only acheives a total length of 4 inches or so.
 
I reckon you have about 55 inches of fish there.... so yeah, should be OK in a large tank.

Andy
 
I reckon you have about 55 inches of fish there.... so yeah, should be OK in a large tank.

Andy


Underwurlde and arcg1978,

I just wanted to caution you from using the 'inch per gallon' rule too often and especially in this case. This rule is much more of a guideline and truly only pertains to small fish with a body type similar to that of the neon tetra and/or guppy. Some fish, and any fish that can potentially obtain a length of over three inches, need to be considered differently and the very best example of this is the pleco. When keeping a pleco, one could say that a 20 gallon tank is sufficient since it will only reach a max size of 14 to 16 inches, for example, but this situation would not be the best because a 14 inch fish cannot easily turn around in most 20 gallon tanks and the ability of the pleco to generate large amounts of wastes would create some problems when trying to maintain good water quality in such a small amount of water.

Likewise, many fish need to be placed in certain types of tanks depending on that fish's 'lifestyle'. For example, you could very well put 10 neon tetras in the average 10 gallon tank, however if the tank was a 10 gallon hex, the neon tetra would suffer somewhat because it is a fish that likes to swim and the hex tank is taller rather than wide, limiting the inhabitant's ability to move around as they might in their natural habitat. It is by far better to keep many schooling fish in a 'long' tank however, some fish are less active and can do very well in a taller tank...I believe that an angel fish would be a good choice for a hex tank, however 10 gallons would obviously be too small.

Many people also believe that a fish can get 'stunted' in its growth by being placed in a smaller tank and that it will never out grow the tank. This is true, however not in the way that most would suspect since it will stop growing when it succumbs to stress, leading to sicknesses, diseases, and overall health problems, and dies. So, my point here is that counting inches is not always the best method and ALL of a fish's requirements should be taken into account when stocking.

Still, I do believe that you can stock your tank with these fish as I had said in my previous post...with the exception of the golden nugget pleco due to its potential size and large production of wastes.
 

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