55g overstocked?

[kebuchan]

Hi all,

Would this be over stocking in a 55G:

8 Juvi rainbow cichlids (herotilapia multispinosa), .75 to 2.5"
8 Juvi Honduran Red Points, 0.75 - 3.5" (only 1 3.5" fish)
2 Ancistrus sp. (Starry night pleco) 2.5"

That's it for now. Will be giving away 2-3 of the rainbows in the next month or so to my cousin who wants to try spawning them in a classroom tank.

If and when the rainbows start to pair up I think this setup might be a problem but it's basically a cichlid tank.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Katie217]

I think it would be too much.
What I would try and do is a pair of each, and one of the plecos and maybe some fast danio dithers to take some of the agression away

 

[SinisterKisses]

Yep, WAY too many. As suggested, I'd do a pair of each...though you may not have things to as smoothly as you like with those species. In theory it should be fine, they both are fairly "mellow", but they may be similar enough that sharing a tank could cause problems. Definitely try it, see how it works out, but stick to just a pair of each.

 

[kebuchan]

Thanks Katie & SK.

One pair of the HRP already spawned and I had fry (about 25). On about day 3 the male went off to woo another female and they were in and out of another cave for a few days. He never did come back to help the female with the fry, she watched them 24x7. The fry lasted 12 days and then all disappeared :-( I guess HRP aren't monogamous. Also had another couple doing a similar thing at another cave.

I don't know how Rainbows operate but with the HRPs they only seemed to care about the immediate area around their cave and then around the fry.

Kevin