jen.chris

Hi, we have a 75 gallon tank and I was wondering how many more fish we can add- I don't want to overstock. Ours is a freshwater, peaceful community fish, newly planted tank.
I just like so many different kinds of fish- but I don't want to over do it as this is our first 'big' aquarium.

Here's what we have so far:
1 red tail shark (full grown-had for a year in old tank)

1 Corydora (full grown- had for a year in old tank)

3 Oto's (2 newbies, 1 that was in our origional tank with the two listed above)- they spawned too- I had oto eggs all over my tank- unfortunatley the cory got to them as I walked over and seen them = (

1 Pleco

1 Female betta

12 neon tetra

6 Glowlight Tetra

4 Black Neon Tetra

6 Mollies (Dalmation & Marble- 5 females, 1 male)

2 Swordtails (1M, 1F)

2 Platies (females- one is pregnant from the store)


We just got the Platies & Swordtails today. We want to add more Black Neon Tetra (6), Glowlight Tetra (2) and some more Platies (their so cute).

My worry is if our mollies, swordtails and platies reproduce what will we do.
I also worry because although our pleco is fairly small right now, I know he will grow Much bigger.
I also know that the tetra's are happiest in bigger schools. Our Neon & Glowlight Tetra will school together, but the Black Neon Tetra won't school with any of the other tetras....(?)

Anyways, I want to know if we should just leave our tank where it's at and not add any more fishies (we add new fish 4-6 at a time, once a week) or how many more we can add with out over stocking our tank.


THANKS!!!!

cinderelly9000

Well I can answer one question and thats about the mollies etc, if its a community tank and the babies are not seperated you shouldnt have an issue because they will most likely become lunch after a few days. And after calculations you could probably do witha few more fish especially if swap out the pleco but thats all up to you. I would get some more platys/swordtails because the male to female ratio should really be at least 1 to 3 or else the females could get harrassed and stressed.

Nick G

Welcome to Fishlore! I wouldn't say that I'm an expert on community stocking, so i'll leave that to others! In regards to the Pleco though, a 75gal tank will be a fine home for him, but as he grows he'll wreck your peaceful planted tank! Not intentionally, he'll just get so big that he'll rip up plants and disturb stuff when he swims around. For a community tank I'd recommend one of the smaller species of Pleco. As for your livebearers, if you're worryed about fry then just stock all males or females! Good Luck!

AlyeskaGirl

I'd say by the look of what you have already, you are pretty close to being stocked. If it were me I would take the Pleco back. They are huge waste producers even when they are small. Then you will have more room for more smaller peacefull fish. Maybe add some more Corydoras for the one you have. They are a social creature and he would love some friends! Then add more glo-lights and Black Neons. Good luck!

agabr123

i'd say go for something like a pearl gourami instead of the female betta. one female i tried in a community set up ate all of the flake food for the other fish and got extremely bloated, she was WAY too fast for them. the other was definitely a hunter and almost killed my neon tetras. females are just as aggressive (if not more so) than the males and more dangerous because they don't have the long flowing fins slowing them down.

jen.chris

Thanks for all the reply so far. One of my platies just gave birth! (I had her in a breeding net).
I'll talk to my husband (Chris) about if we should return the pleco.

Will my one year old Cory school with younger Corys?
He and the Red Tail Shark were gotten at the same time a year ago, and they actually 'school' together quite often.

My female betta is actually a slow eater- I worry about her competing with the overzealous mollies sometimes. But she usually finds a few flakes/worms/etc that have floated off and eats. She will swim away if the mollies come to where she is.
She 'greets' each new fish, and I only see her bother a fish once- she swam by an oto a little close. She tends to show off by swimming back and forth across the front of the tank.
We had a male betta once who ate a few tetra's, but so far the female hasnt bothered any of them. She acts like a rather social fish.
If she does start to get aggressive I will put her in a seperate tank.

I had worried about our red tail shark (harassing tetras), but he's a big fraidy and gains 'strength' to swim about the tank while schooling with the cory.

I know that I've read you can 'slightly push' the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule with Tetras, but what exactly does that mean (count two for one inch or what)?

Thanks,
Jen

Nick G

The one inch per gallon rule is a guideline to be used with common sense. My 90 gal Cichlid tank has 20 inchs of fish in it at the moment, 1 Oscar, 2 Jewels, and will be getting 2 Convicts and possibly a Jack Dempsey. This will give me roughly 40 inches of fish, so if I followed the rule I could technically add another 4 Oscars, but obviously that would be massivlly overstocked. Small Tetras are at the other end of the scale, and as long as the tank has good filtration, and is well looked after then a few more fish can be safely addedFor example, I would happily keep 25-30 Neons in a 20gal, if they were the only fish in there.

AlyeskaGirl

Oh yes, younger Corys will be fine! They do well in groups of 3 or more!

jen.chris

So what do you think in the case/situation of my tank.
I'm new to this, I understand the rule, I understand the common sense (not haveing a 20inch fish in a 20 gallon tank) But what do you think about the rule with the variety of fish I have? Is it safe to add a few more tetras and platies or not.

jen.chris

Ok- Thanks, he's so cute and active, I think he'd love more cory's- we were just unsure with the age difference- now we know!

Thanks

AlyeskaGirl

Your very Welcome friend!

Blub

With SMALL tetras (some to about 4"), you could have more than you could with platys "per gal wise. They just don't produce much waste!

You Betta will probably get on if she's fine now - just no territorial fish in there with her. She might be mal nourished by community flake food - as it is usually meaty and vegetable matter - when Bettas are carnivores.