Do I have too many decorations?

I have a 55 gallon tank that looks like this:



I was wondering if maybe I have too many decorations in there. It's kind of a hassle to re-bury them after vacuuming the gravel. Should I remove some of them or does it look alright the way it is now?

 

What kind and how many decorations to have is a matter of opinion. If you like it, it's fine!

What concerns me is the fact that the stand is not big enough for the tank and both ends are not supported.

 

looks fine to me

personally I think you could have even more if you wanted

 

I think it looks lovely and I'm sure the fish like it aswell!!!

 

It looks great IMO!

You can never have to much decor!
look good

 

I'd say you haven't even come close to "too many" yet, since you've chosen decor that looks good together.

I would, however, be concerned that without support under the ends of the tank, you may be placing extra stress on the bottom glass and be in danger of cracking over time... or I could be wrong and it's fine. Hopefully someone who knows more about the stresses involved can chime in, but getting a "real" stand might be something to consider.

 

What kind and how many decorations to have is a matter of opinion. If you like it, it's fine!

What concerns me is the fact that the stand is not big enough for the tank and both ends are not supported.

Its on some kind of flat platform that's on the shelf, by what I can see from the picture. Its not strait onto the glass there is something under it.

 

It looks great IMO!

You can never have to much decor!
look good

I TOTALLY AGREE! I think it gives a tank lots of charm and I know the fish enjoy it!!!!!!!

 

I think the decor looks great!
But I am also very concerned about the stand

 

Yeah actually I just noticed the stand myself, and that is kinda concerning.....

 

One problem. Its to clean!!!! haha jk! Looks great, I wish my tank were that clean looking.

That stand is VERY concerning. It should extend all the way across the bottom of the tank. You are asking for a flood like that. Its only a matter of time.

 

That is a "real" stand. It has reinforced sides and bottom. The bottom glass of the tank does not sit directly on the stand. It is the black rI'm that sits on it and there's a quarter inch space between the bottom glass and the stand.

I would, however, be concerned that without support under the ends of the tank, you may be placing extra stress on the bottom glass and be in danger of cracking over time... or I could be wrong and it's fine. Hopefully someone who knows more about the stresses involved can chime in, but getting a "real" stand might be something to consider.

 

^
^ that's what I was saying! aswell

 

I think it looks great you could have a few more if you liked, but that stand concerns me thou I think it would need more support on the ends that a lot of wieght on those end but other than that it looks great

 

very nice...maybe a background..but I like it

 

I think it looks good, I agree about the background.

Am I looking at the picture wrong? Is the stand the same length as the tank? If not, that would be a concern.

 

Yes that is the concern. It doesn't matter if its on the glass or the rim, if some is hanging over its still putting pressure points on parts of the rI'm instead of the whole rI'm equally.

 

That stand is VERY concerning. It should extend all the way across the bottom of the tank. You are asking for a flood like that. Its only a matter of time

My point exactly. It vital that a tank be not only level, but equally supported on the entire rI'm so no one spot has more pressure.

I would get a stand of the proper size asap. I really fear you'll come home to disaster and it WILL happen.

 

Could you get a sheet of plywood the same dimensions as the bottom of the tank and place that under the tank ( secured to the stand of course) ? Would that support it as well??

 

My husband and I decided to take up this hobby and are really enjoying it but we don't know the first thing when it comes to creating the perfect tank environment. We have been going through a local specialized fish store for all of our equipment and fish. The owner seems very knowledgeable and has been super helpful. I do still have some concerns. First let me tell you what we have done so far:

We bought the 15 gal vertical tank kit 3 weeks ago and let it cycle for a week before introducing any fish, which was 2 weeks ago. We started with 3 mollies, 3 neon tetras, 2 ghost catfish, 3 orange swordtails, an eel, a pleco, and on other white fish that we forgot to ask about. We also chose a small pirate ship, some fake plants, a large coral structure, a barrel decor, a pirate skull, and rocks to decorate the tank. We use a filter, circulation pump, heater, and thermometer. That is our set-up.

Well, 2 days after bringing them home, we lost our male swordtail. The next day I noticed on of our remaining females had a much larger tummy. Yes, she is definitely pregnant. So today we went out and bought some more live plants for her to give birth in. When we got home, we noticed that one of our mollies had passed as well. I checked the water levels and everything was within the normal range. We had also picked up an Angel Fish at the store and got it all settled in.

Here is my main concern: should we ditch some of the decorations now that we have the extra foliage? Because the tank is vertical, we have to make sure the fish have enough room to swim comfortably. I am thinking of removing the pirate ship and maybe the barrels also. I am trying to make each species happy so any input or advice would be great. I have posted a pic below for you to see what it looks like. The only difference is that the right corner is all filled with live plants. Thank you so much!

 

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? If your tank is a week only a week old and you are loosing fish then your tank might not be cycled. Even if cycles adding that much fish to an new tank will be too much for it.

I would not worry about the decorations yet. What's more important is the water quality. Do you have a API master test kit. If not it is probably the best investment you can make. You can find it online for about $20.

 

Hi! Welcome to fishlore!

I don't think you have too many decorations as long as there aren't very many bottom feeder (which from your list it doesn't sound like there are but it sounds like you have quite a few fish that get pretty large. How did you cycle your tank? Your profile says that that you do not know about the nitrogen cycle I would recommend reading about it (the words nitrogen cycle should become a link) it may have the reason your swordtail and mollie passed.

 

Holy moly! Forget the decorations, my friend - you're severely fish-overstocked. Swordtails, mollies and especially Plecos and eels do not belong in a 15 gallon tank. A tall is even worse because of the reduced footprint. Neons should be in a group of five or more (same as most tetras). They are fine for the size tank but need a bigger school. You'd also best ID that white fish ASAP. Another issue with eels is that nearly every so-called freshwater eel must be acclimated to brackish water as they age. Glass cats are OK-ish but need a school, much like the neons, and really should be in at least a 20 gallon normal. They are also fragile and need tank mates that are less potentially aggressive than mollies and eels. I don't know what that guy told you but I think you got duped, new friend.

Did you do anything to cycle this tank before or after adding fish? Unless it was Tetra Safe Start or a fishless cycle with an ammonia source, you must begin 50% daily water changes IMMEDIATELY. Do you have a test kit? It is CRITICAL that you take care of this immediately. Ammonia may already be building to deadly levels.

Once you get this stuff in order - I strongly recommend rehoming all but the neons and glass cats, and bumping up their schools, plus getting your tank cycled - THEN you can worry about decorations. You have much bigger problems here. I know a helpful video for you and will post it as soon as I can.

The white fish may be able to stay. Depends on what it is. Once you get your current stock straightened out you may be able to think about adding a small centerpiece fish, such as a dwarf or better a honey gourami.

EDIT: Here's the video. This should help you understand the nitrogen cycle.

 

Greetings and welcome. Another concern is the small surface area of a vertical tank.gas exchange happens through the surface area. Example, a 15 gal that is low and wide has a greater surface area than one that is tall. The tank with the smaller surface area will be able to support less fish. An air stone, waterfall HOB filter or a power head with a diffuser will help with maintaining a good O2 level in the tank. Also keep in mind that neons prefer water that is cooler than many other tropical fish like, and tend to be fin nippers.

 

wow, I can't believe you have that many fish in what is basically a betta tank. how big is the pleco? they need at least a 75 gl tank since they can get huge. with such a small bottom area that pleco is in real danger and may not live long. I can see this not ending well. don't let it get you down tho, let it be a major learning experience and an opportunity to advance your knowledge and skills in the fish keeping hobby. but drastic changes are gonna need to be made.

 

wow, I can't believe you have that many fish in what is basically a betta tank. how big is the pleco? they need at least a 75 gl tank since they can get huge. with such a small bottom area that pleco is in real danger and may not live long. I can see this not ending well. don't let it get you down tho, let it be a major learning experience and an opportunity to advance your knowledge and skills in the fish keeping hobby. but drastic changes are gonna need to be made.

Hold on there. Pleco is a generic term to describe some 3 to 4 hundred species, Many of which only get 3 to 4 inches in size. We would need to know the species to be able to address if this tank is too small or not. But that said, you are still overstocked in a 15 gallon tank.

 

There is only one Pleco suitable for a 15, and that's a bulldog. You are not likely to have one of those. A photo would help, though.

 

HI everybody and thank you so much for your responses. I also was very concerned about the number of fish we have (or had) but I am shocked to hear how wrong we have done this whole thing since we went to what I thought was a very reputable specialized fish store called Global Aquatics. They were even featured on the "Tanked" TV show website. We did add some more live plants to increase the 02 levels and we do have a circulating pump. The owner at Global Aquatics said the surface area was fine when we showed him pictures. Unfortunately, we bought the tank because it was on sale BEFORE we did any research about fish tanks. We will never buy a vertical tank again! We were planning to upgrade this tank to at least a 30 gal in the next couple of weeks. Maybe even bgger. We would really like a 50 gal.

Thank you for the advice about the schooling fish. The few that we do have are always together with their other species. As for our eel. We were told that he would be just fine in our tank and to be honest, he does seem very happy. He is very active and interactive with the other fish. He is so much fun to watch.

Also, thank you for the video on how to do the nitrogen cycle. I will watch it with my husband tonight. We did cycle our tank for a full week before putting any fish in it. We used a conditioner and some liquid bacteria. Our pleco is a small species and he seems to really be thriving as well. I am going to post some more pics in a minute before I go any further. Hopefully, this whole thing can be salvaged because we really enjoy having the tank and the fish.

BTW: My husband added an Angel Fish on Sunday.

 

Here are some pics. I also wanted to mention that we did not buy our tank at Global Aquatics. We saw that on sale at Petsmart. We only bought our fish, food, circulator pump and plants from Global.

 

Hello!

You mentioned upgrading... if I were you, I'd wait til the next $1 per gallon sale (I've seen them around here at Petco and Pet Supplies Plus... I think they also have them at Petsmart) and get the biggest tank possible.

I originally got a 20 gallon tall (not realizing all the shortcomings of a tall tank... so pretty much same situation as you) and quickly realized that I needed bigger... thankfully the sale came in a couple of weeks after I made that decision and I got myself a nice 55 gallon.

I can't tell you how much happier I am with my 55 gallon. I think you will be too.

Best of luck on everything else. I'm sure others on here will give you some good advice for what to do in the meantime but I'll just reiterate one more time that I think your highest priority should be to return some of the fish and get annother bigger tank asap!

 

If you add liquid bacteria, you have to have fish or some other ammonia source at the same time or there's no point. Which bacteria product did you use? Do you have a liquid test kit? If not, get one NOW (API Master kit is good). Get back to us with the values on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If my suspicions are correct, you will have dead fish shortly - you need to know now, so don't wait on it. One week is not enough for any bacteria product to work, so you are most likely not cycled properly.

 

We added the bacteria right before we added the fish. We just cycled the tank through the filter and added the water conditioner for a full week before adding the bacteria and fish.

I have been testing the tank twice a day with the test strips. Everything is within the normal ranges. The only one that is slightly elevated is the hardiness and we do have hard water here, so we may need to add some softener. I will have the owner of the LFS I go to test the water again on Saturday. We have been having him test our water weekly

 

"Normal" meaning what? What exactly are the numbers?

Get a liquid kit. I cannot stress this enough. Most of us here will not even accept results from strips because they can be so unreliable. One person here was testing 0 nitrite on the strips when it turned out to actually be so high it was killing her fish!! This is not an isolated incident. You could save yourself a lot of money and heartache by springing for the liquid kit. Even though the face cost is more expensive, it is actually much less expensive in the long run, and you run a much higher risk of losing fish using the strips.

Do not fool with the pH or hardness right now. Stability is far more important than any specific number there. IF at some point you wish to breed blackwater fish or keep freshly wild-caughts, then worry about it. Not now.

You will need to do more research on your stock before purchasing. First off, you should not be buying any new fish until your tank has been disease-free for at least two weeks. Second, your test values with a reliable kit must be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and more than 0 nitrate. Third, you are apparently still adding fish that do not belong. Angelfish require 29 gallon bare minimum for a single specimen, and will often eat neon tetras when they are adults. Please do not add fish with an intention of upgrading. Too often that upgrade does not happen soon enough and the fish become stunted and stressed.

Just running the water through the filter accomplishes nothing, except perhaps aerating the water. The tank can only be considered to be 'cycling' when there is an ammonia source and the bacteria are growing in to meet that source, turning it into nitrite and then to nitrate. It is considered 'cycled' when the bacteria have grown in enough to keep up with the bioload and make ammonia and nitrite readings stay at 0.

Don't feel bad - the learning curve is steep. I've given myself brainaches trying to figure this stuff out. The main thing right now is to STOP adding fish for now, upgrade and/or rehome the ones that are unsuitable (such as the eel - I can pretty much guarantee you that unless it's a mislabeled loach, it will not survive in Freshwater long-term), and get everyone healthy. Then get yourself a quarantine tank for new fish and when you do buy them, keep them in quarantine for no less than 30 days - even if they appear healthy.

 

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? If your tank is a week only a week old and you are loosing fish then your tank might not be cycled. Even if cycles adding that much fish to an new tank will be too much for it.

I would not worry about the decorations yet. What's more important is the water quality. Do you have a API master test kit. If not it is probably the best investment you can make. You can find it online for about $20.

Adding more fish suddenly can shock even somewhat established bacteria, beacuse well there is suddenly more waste and spike your ammonia and nitrogen. I would be worried that the sudden increase in fish is making the water dangerous.

Also check and see if your decorations are harming your fish. Non natural or even natural decorations can cut, or shred fins and fish. Feel around with your finger in pots, clay things, etc and if it sharp file it or cover it.