48 gallon Is this tank full or can I add more?

[Rantarzalt]

My parents keep asking me to buy more fishes for my 48 gallon but i alr have 10 glowlight tetra 15 cardinal tetra and 1 dwarf gourami and 6 amano shrimp my parents want me to buy another set of cardinals i really think is too full alr

 

[MickSG]

I think you can fit more fish in. You might just need to change water / clean more often.

 

[Rantarzalt]

I clean it 2 times A WEEK
But im more afraid of space
I think it would be too crampy
My parents want to add 10 more cardinals and i wiuld like to add 7 threadfin rainbows to replace my glowlight tetras
But the worrying thing is space for me im worried they would not have enough space and fight or get injured
So guys can i keep more fishes or no some people i asked said no some say yes i do not know who should i trust

 

[MacZ]

I would rather invest in many more plants and botanicals. I'm pretty sure your parents want more fish because it seems quite empty.

Add some more pieces of driftwood, a good handful of catappa leaves, and get plants: Elodea, Hydrocotyle, Nymphea, floaters like frogbit and Salvinia are also a good addition, especially for the gourami.

The number of fish is balanced right now, also any new additions come with a little bit of trouble usually.

 

[WRWAquarium]

Your tank looks nice and you could just leave it be.

More plants and hardscape would be nice as macz suggested.

Personally I would increase the number of glowlights and cardinals by a few each and get a pleco or some small Cory catfish for the bottom level.

 

[Rantarzalt]

Wouldratherwatchaquarium so i can get some more cardinal tertras well so is it ok to get 7 more cardinal tetras for my 48 gallon my mom wants more sparkle and btw how do i get rid of the brown algea

 

[MacZ]

Open a new thread for the algae question. Otherwise this might go under the radar of the specialists.

And just to confirm, yes you could add more. Still wouldn't do it but that's just a yes/no decision, not a question of possible or not.

 

[Rantarzalt]

So i could add more cardinals ill get 5 or so to get it 20 cardinals i hope thats fine it shld be fine MacZ
Right now its 15 ill get it to 20 thx

 

[Natalie666]

Is it your tank or your parents? My dads always on me because my five gallon betta tank looks lonely, but the tankmates he wants are opaline gouramis and plecos and some tetras he saw at the petco. I calmly remind him, no, in that size there aren’t many other fish I’d put in with moby comfortably, and he can get his own tank if he’s so interested and I could help with that. If it’s your tank you (mostly) pay for and care for, I don’t see why you should be solely listening on what they want to do with it.(this is not meaning to disrespectful towards your parents whatsoever, just saying you should make your own decisions with something you own)

 

[Rantarzalt]

Natalie666 this 48 gallon is mine i mantain it on my own i would get 5 cardinal tetra to add to my 15 cardinal tetra my 1 dwarf gourami and 10 glowlight tetras shld be happy i think it has just enough room and it would look colourful which is what my parents like it

 

[86 ssinit]

Yes you can add more to your schools. But it would be better to get some corys for the bottom of the tank and some ottos for your algae problem. You’ve got the middle of your tank taken care of by the tetras. So top and bottom are empty. Corys will take care of the bottom with maybe a bushy nose pleco. For the top you could get forktail rainbows or hatchetfish. What type of filter are you using on your tank?

 

[Rantarzalt]

I forgot aby my 4 guppies will this affect my stocing
86 ssinit i use 2 filter a sponge and a underwater filter and let me redo my stocking
I have

1 dwarf gourami
4 guppies
15 cardinals
10 glowlight
6 amano shrimp
There i want to add 5 cardinals maybe some ottos

 

[MacZ]

Scratch the Otos, you have not enough algae to sustain them without supplementory feeding and that in turn leads to more algae.

 

[mattgirl]

Instead of ottos I agree with adding a few corys. I would add at least 6 but even 8 or 9 should work and possibly a few more cardinals. In my humble opinion no community tank is complete without a few little vacuum cleaners in it. I call them my little vacuum cleaners because they clean up any food that makes it to the bottom of the tank. Of course you need to feed food specifically for them but you don't have to worry about uneaten food sitting around and messing with the tanks parameters.

I don't think I would add another school of top and mid tank fish. You already have 3. I think adding another species will make it too busy.

 

[Rantarzalt]

I never kept corys before so what corys are good for a warm tropical place and for someone who nver kept them my moms friend wants my 10 glowlight tetrad so they would be staying my tank temporary so im planning add 5 cardinals and 7 threadfin rainbows and some corries u think it will be ok MacZ mattgirl
Btw ill add the threadfin rainbowd after my moms friend recived the 10 glowlight tetras
So right now im planning to add 5 cardinals and maybe 6 basic begeinner corries for now later comes the threadfins

 

[mattgirl]

I never kept corys before so what corys are good for a warm tropical place and for someone who nver kept them my moms friend wants my 10 glowlight tetrad so they would be staying my tank temporary so im planning add 5 cardinals and 7 threadfin rainbows and some corries u think it will be ok MacZ mattgirl
Btw ill add the threadfin rainbowd after my moms friend recived the 10 glowlight tetras
So right now im planning to add 5 cardinals and maybe 6 basic begeinner corries for now later comes the threadfins

It sounds like you have a good solid plan.

The only corys I have ever had are albino, bronze and false julii. The albino and bronze are the same species, just different colors so shoal well with each other. Should you choose to get corys it is best to get all the same species instead of a variety of different kinds. I normally keep my tanks temp at a constant 76 but it does get warmer during the summer months. The warmer water hasn't seemed to have affected my little guys. Most of them are going on 6 years old now and still going strong.

BTW: I have at least 25 bronze 2 albino and 2 false julii's in my 55 gallon tank. I started with 3 albino, 3 bronze and 5 false julii. Sadly I lost 3 false julii's early on and just didn't replace them. They hang out with all the others. I also lost my female albino a couple of years ago. She was actually Mom to most of the bronze I have now.

One other thing I thought I would mention. You may want to put a background of some kind on the back of your tank unless it is situated to where you want to view it from all sides. It will hide the wires, tubes and filter if you have a HOB. It will also help things in the tank stand out better. I have to think it also helps keep the fish stress free. A black background with that white substrate should make the plants and driftwood really stand out.

 

[Magua]

I love the Cory idea. I have the three stripe (or false julii) corys and I love their spotted look and silver-white bellies. I also have dwarf hasbrosus corys that are adorable. Corys are the busiest little fish I have, in constant motion. They stay mostly towards the bottom and on my plants, but they zip up and down too. They’d make a great addition to your stocking.

Also…a bunch of live plants of varying heights!

 

[Rantarzalt]

Thx guys and btw mattgirl would sterbai corries work i see they are active

 

[mattgirl]

Thx guys and btw mattgirl would sterbai corries work i see they are active

I have never had this species of cory. Read up on them to see how big they are when full grown. Also check their temp. requirements to make sure they will thrive at the temp. you are going to keep your tank. You mentioned tropical temps. I am not sure what that means.

To be honest I think being really active is what all corys do once they are comfortable in their new home.

 

[Rantarzalt]

Matt my temp always goes to 28 or 29 degress i think its ok since fishes are bred here the ph is not the problem i think temp is not to im either taking brown or sterbaia they both grow arounf 2.5 inchs

 

[Rantarzalt]

mattgirl MacZ i have dielema either i get 15 more cardinals or 7 threadfin rainbows the glowlights are given or just get 7 threadfins and 10 cardinals

 

[86 ssinit]

I’d go with 10 cardinals and 8 threadfins. 3males and the rest females. As to the sterbai corys they are great in warm water. Very active. I’d get at least 6-8. I have them and they are very active. Give them some caves to swim through and they will be happy.

 

[Rantarzalt]

Thx

 

[Amatyi1]

My parents keep asking me to buy more fishes for my 48 gallon but i alr have 10 glowlight tetra 15 cardinal tetra and 1 dwarf gourami and 6 amano shrimp my parents want me to buy another set of cardinals i really think is too full alr

For the small fish you need a gallon of water for each inch of fish they will be when they grow up. If they will be 2 in when they grow up you need 2 gallons of water for that fish alone. Also you should consider whether you just set up your tank or not and if it's cycled. If you just set up your tank and it's not cycled yet I definitely wouldn't add more until your beneficial bacteria can take care of the ammonia load.

 

[Rantarzalt]

Umm its alr cycled for months is established

 

[Amatyi1]

I'm not sure what you mean by air cycled. Do you have a test kit? Test your water parameters to see if your ammonia and nitrites are at zero and your nitrates are at a low amount that's the only way to tell if your tank is cycled or not. If you don't have a water test kit you can take it to your LPS or LFS and most will test it for free but owning a fish tank you should really test your water frequently by getting a master test kit. There's a lot going on in there that you don't see. Everything in your tank breaks down to ammonia (very harmful for fish) from fish waste to plants dying to uneaten food. After a while beneficial bacteria grow to take care of that ammonia and turn it into nitrites (still harmful for fish) and another beneficial bacteria turn it into nitrates which is less harmful for fish in small amounts and taken out of your water by water changes. If you add more fish before your beneficial bacteria grows enough to take care of your ammonia then your fish will die from ammonia poisoning. It's very important not to overstock your tank in the beginning until your beneficial bacteria can take care of the ammonia and turn it into nitrates. I like API Freshwater Master Test Kit, you can get the test strips but they're not as accurate but the test strips are a lot easier and better then not testing at all.

Wouldratherwatchaquarium so i can get some more cardinal tertras well so is it ok to get 7 more cardinal tetras for my 48 gallon my mom wants more sparkle and btw how do i get rid of the brown algea

You can get rid of the brown algae by adding a pleco just make sure you read the maximum size that it will be because some get as large as two feet and don't add two because they get very territorial when they grow up. The clown pleco only gets three to four inches so it would probably be perfect for your brown algae. Just know that adding a pleco adds a lot of waste to your tank, after all what goes in a fish must come out at some point.

Is it your tank or your parents? My dads always on me because my five gallon betta tank looks lonely, but the tankmates he wants are opaline gouramis and plecos and some tetras he saw at the petco. I calmly remind him, no, in that size there aren’t many other fish I’d put in with moby comfortably, and he can get his own tank if he’s so interested and I could help with that. If it’s your tank you (mostly) pay for and care for, I don’t see why you should be solely listening on what they want to do with it.(this is not meaning to disrespectful towards your parents whatsoever, just saying you should make your own decisions with something you own)

Just as FYI, because I know you said you were not listening to your parents but if your Betta is a male then adding a dwarf gourami, which is in the same family as bettas, would be deadly to your 5 gallon tank they would fight each other to the death. You have to be careful what you put with a male betta, they are nicknamed Siamese fighting fish for a reason lol. You can't put another male betta, anything in the gourami family, or anything that looks like a male betta in with him. That should stop your parents argument pretty quick.

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

So guys can i keep more fishes or no some people i asked said no some say yes i do not know who should i trust

"Yourself" is the answer to this. While there are certainly factors that dictate what you can and can't do, if you feel comfortable/uncomfortable doing something then that is your decision.

I'm not sure what you mean by air cycled.

I think they meant "already"

For the small fish you need a gallon of water for each inch of fish they will be when they grow up. If they will be 2 in when they grow up you need 2 gallons of water for that fish alone. Also you should consider whether you just set up your tank or not and if it's cycled. If you just set up your tank and it's not cycled yet I definitely wouldn't add more until your beneficial bacteria can take care of the ammonia load.

This as a general rule is not really endorsed on this forum and I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Amatyi1]

"Yourself" is the answer to this. While there are certainly factors that dictate what you can and can't do, if you feel comfortable/uncomfortable doing something then that is your decision.

I think they meant "already"

This as a general rule is not really endorsed on this forum and I'm inclined to agree.

It at least gives you something to go by instead of just stocking your tank and with the kind of fish he has, he has no territorial fish except maybe the Dwarf gourami, that rule of thumb is fine for his stocking. As long as he waits until the tank is fully cycled (his beneficial bacteria can handle the bio load of the fish he stocks it with) and uses the size of fish they will get as adults and not the size they are now.
And you can not assume his tank is cycled by him saying air cycled. Most people think there tank is cycled because they set it up and ran it for 24 hours because that's what they were told at their LFS. That simply isn't true. You can only tell if it's cycled by testing it with a test kit and seeing if your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero and nitrates are showing up in low amounts.

 

[mattgirl]

It at least gives you something to go by instead of just stocking your tank and with the kind of fish he has, he has no territorial fish except maybe the Dwarf gourami, that rule of thumb is fine for his stocking. As long as he waits until the tank is fully cycled (his beneficial bacteria can handle the bio load of the fish he stocks it with) and uses the size of fish they will get as adults and not the size they are now.
And you can not assume his tank is cycled by him saying air cycled. Most people think there tank is cycled because they set it up and ran it for 24 hours because that's what they were told at their LFS. That simply isn't true. You can only tell if it's cycled by testing it with a test kit and seeing if your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero and nitrates are showing up in low amounts.

It really isn't an assumption. In this case we know the tank is already cycled. Thankfully the fine folks here on the forum helped get it done and now have moved on to the stocking phase.