sarah

Hi,

Is my cichlid tank overstocked? i have had the tank and all current inhabitants for around 16 months. All the fish were juviniles when they went in and now some are really, very big. I have a feeling i am overstocked but i dont really want to get rid of any :-(

OK, so my tank is a 55 gallon rectangle and in it are (dont get to excited about the mixed breeds, it has worked out so far) 1 electric yellow (6cm) 2 red jewels (8cm each) 2 convicts (one is 3cm and one is 6cm) one pink convict (8cm), 1 red emperor (given to me, 12cm), 1 lithobate (6cm), 2 brichardi (7cm) 1 johanni (6cm), 1 zebra (9cm) 1 lombardoi (8cm) 1 pleco (17cm) 1 baby pleco (3cm) the baby was just given to me.

It isnt the cleaning or anything, i clean every two weeks and add bacteria. It isnt the tank because i have never had any probs with that department. The fish themselves are all good, healthy, there is some fighting occurring but they all seem to work it out.

I am just concerned that i will be asking for trouble if i keep it stocked at this level, i wont be adding any more fish and havent done so in six months.

not4you

A general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, you breakdown to about a total of 45 inches per gallon (1 inch = ~2.54cm and 114/2.54 = 44.88) which is okay for now. However I don't know the if all of your fish are full grown? If any of these fish are expected to grow considerably (most likely the plecos depending on what type you have) you may need a larger tank or may need to find a few fish some new homes in the future. Or you could get another 55 and split your current stock between the two tanks.

BTW, Welcome to FishLore!