Bnicholson

Hey, I have some questions, I have a tank that really should be overstocked but it seems super healthy.

29G Tank
Current levels:
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
(Heavily planted, it definitely is fully cycled)

I currently have the following fish:

1 Angelfish 3" currently
1 Pearl Grammi 6"
5 Priscella Tetras 10"
1 common pleco Currently 4-5" (Yes, I know)
3 cories 8"
1 mystery snail 2"
3 Zebra Danios 6"
3 platies 6"
2 ballon mollies 4"


50" of fish in a 29g tank. 78w of spiral cf in a DIY hood

However, I have no aggression issues, (anymore, I had a second angelfish that I moved) all the fish eat like pigs and everyone gets there share. They've all grown since I've got them. I have absolutely _no_ toxics (API master text kit)

The only fish I've lost so far have been 3 neon tetras but they are notorious for that.

I don't really understand how this tank is overstocked. I would actually like to get a few more Zebra danios

Thanks

Shawnie

its not their size now, (with the exception of the plec as their waste is huge no matter what size) as it is their potential size.....you can stunt their internal growth severely and it isnt good....even tho they seem happy and living, doesnt mean they are being harmed....you seem to have the knowledge to know this isnt going to work for much longer or you wouldnt be asking right ? check out craigsist.org or freecycle for some amazing deals..especially with spring coming and ppl cleaning out all kinds of stuff!!

Nick G

With the exception of the Pleco who will get WAY to big for the tank, I don't think you're to badly overstocked, as long as you keep up with regular water changes and good filtration.

Minnow

You say it yourself: 50" of fish in a 29g tank. Ideally, you should have 29" of fish in a 29g tank. You can go a bit over, but not by much. From your post, I'm guessing you know you need to rehome your pleco. Several others might have to go, too.

I agree with Shawnie, if you want to keep them all, you could find a super cheap tank that's large enough for all or some of them. If you don't have room for another tank, or don't want to replace the one you have now, see if you can find new homes for some of those fish.

Bnicholson

I've read up quite a bit, what I'm asking is what makes it overstocked.

I realize that pleco is a problem but I don't really understand what else makes it overstocked. The other problem fish is the Angelfish which is going to double in size, and is inclined to aggression. Everything else is pretty much is pretty much fully grown.

All of the fish have their areas, the mollies & grammi like the top, the angelfish likes the front of the tank. The cories hide under the driftwood and the pleco stays in the ship.

I don't see how any of the fish would get stunted, the Angelfish is quite happily pushes everyone around the tank so it definitely has enough space. If it is fine in a 20g alone, why wouldn't it be fine in this tank? I can't see the cories hiding under the driftwood being a problem.

The biggest concern would be toxicity levels but that isn't an issue with a planted tank. I'm actually concerned that my nitrate levels are too low for the plants.

And for the record, I am planing on rehoming the pleco, and/or upgrading to a 72g. This was my first aquiriumn so I definitely made a few mistakes. I did cycle it with fish but I did very consistant water changes with prime and had it quite heavily planted so I had almost no fish loss.

Like I'm just trying to understand why it is overstocked if the fish are ok, and I have 0 nitrate.

Thanks

Jonah

your big issues are the Plec and the Gourami without those you are well within the limits of your tank. Those 2 are your biggest bioload. Like an awful lot of folks here, me included you will have to re-home your plec soon either in a larger tank or with someone else.

you do have a coplue of other problems with your 3 dannios you really could do with 3 more to complete the school there.

If you replaced the Plec with a BN and the Gourami with a dwarf variety you could probably get by by monitoring your water closely.

When measuring fishes for the inches rule it only really works with small fish not those 2 and everything I have read suggests you only need to count the body of the fish and not the tail which gives a little leeway

Sorry I missed the angel in there, he could also be an issue to you later when he starts snacking on your tetras.

Bnicholson

Thanks Jonah,

I'm not trying to be argumentive but I just wanted to repeat that I've been checking my water pramaters and I've actually had my nitrates go way down after I changed some of my lighting around.

I made up a DIY hood with 2 23W & 2 13W 6500K Spiral CF. After that my nitrates dropped from about 5-10 to 0. That is after a week without a water change. I also added a second filter on. I went from one Top-fin 30 and added an aquaclear 50. The tank is quite planted and heavily overfiltered.

Bioload isn't a problem so I really only need to worry about future aggression, right?

I should be able to keep most of the fish that I have and add another 2 or 3 danios to complete the school

Jonah

If i was working to your stocking plan

I would complete the school of Dannios,
I would look to rehome the plec now
I would seriously consider replacing the Gourami with a smaller variety
And I would see how the Angel goes
And I would have a back out plan, my garage has a number of spare tanks and all my tanks have 2 filters running in them (except the betta tank) so I can quickly cycle a spare

Doing that i would be in the minority of folks here I am prepared to push the envelope on stocking and I also plant heavily.

But i am also prepared for the work involved i test My water at least every other day I make large weekly water changes regardless of the readings and i have had spectacular failures when I miss something and my tanks go out of balance resulting in large daily water changes but one thing I do have is lots of spare time.

Lucy

Welcome to Fish Lore
I'm pretty conservative when it come to stocking. Something to take into consideration is not only bio-load but swim room so the fish aren't stressed by too many tankmates.
Kinda like constantly being in a crowded room almost bumping into people with every turn.

Good luck and don't forget to posr some pics.

matt11390

Let me throw my two cents in. We know what "they" say about stocking limits. I think this is a good rule to follow. However, I know many who overstock like this and do just fine.

One key point you described is that it is heavily planted. If it is truly this way and your filtration is very good you will be just fine...even with a fully grown angel.

I have even seen some who don't use any mechanical filtration and use the natural tank method. They plant heavily in their tank and overstock with fish purposely because the waste from the fish help feed the plants that clean the water.

As long as you keep a good number of plants in there, do good and regular water changes, and don't overfeed...you should be fine.

djbrist

Just trying to help, but are you testing nitrate with a solution bottle test, and are you vigorously shaking, and banging the bottle to loosen up the crystals? Lucy has directed to a link from API regarding false readings and the nitrate test... use the search button and search for "false nitrate readings" then look for tread of "perplexing question??" something like that, maybe your mystery nitrate reading can be answered that way? Hope it helps.. good luck.

Lucy

With a heavily planted tank, it's possible to have 0 nitrates. The plants suck 'em up.

agabr123

your problem isn't so much that you are overstocked in inches (even though it's true that you are, and aside from the plec and the pearl which i'm sure you already know) but IMO the way that you are stocked isnt what's best for your fish. could they survive in that tank since your levels are fine? probably. but that doesn't mean it's whats best for them. and as your fish get larger i dont think your levels will stay where they are for very long, but i suppose that all depends on the planting. you have a LOT of fish in that tank, even if the bioload isn't a problem.

if i had the option to change the stocking i would put

1. one angelfish
2. six corycats
3. EITHER the two balloon mollies OR the three platies
4. a full school of the danios or the tetras
5. the snail

that's still slightly more than 29 inches of fish but i think it's more manageable.

Bnicholson

Thanks for the advice. I really wasn't sure what really made a tank overstocked.

BTW, you were right that I was misreading the test kit, I currently have 5 nitrates, not 0. Still quite low tho.

I'm planning to upgrade to a 75G or so within the next six months so I'll be moving my bigger fish into that one. If I do keep the 30G I'll keep it as a small-fish schooling tank, since I do like the 'busy' look that it has now.