How many fish per gallon

[Merlinhoot]

I read that plecos can grow 2 feet and Violet Goby's get even bigger
will my tank be too crowded when these grow up?
I Googled "an inch of fish per gallon of water" so I know I'm good for now.

This picture makes it look empty actually but there all in there

135 gallon "Seaclear" brand acrylic
5 Serpae Tetra
5 Red eyed Tetra
5 Tiger Barbs
3 Tin foil Barbs
1 Tete Sea catfish aka black fin shark
1 Albino Corydoras
1 Violet Goby aka Dragon fish
2 Plecostomus

fish purchased and named at Walmart so I had a time of it Googling some of these.
That catfish needs to be in saltwater when it is bigger? Thanks Walmart.

I bought Malaysian wood specially for it's sinking properties and only one sank.
The other is lodged up on top hopefully not getting moved over by the sweeping powerheads.

By the way, where can I find a good back ground image for my size tank to hide those cords? I would like a blown up image of pool water reflections maybe.


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[DesignsOnYou]

Hi Merlin, welcome to the tank. I'm not sure about all of the species you have in there, I don't know much about the catfish or goby that you have. The schooling fish that you have, the serpae tetra, red eye tetra, tiger and tinfoil barb, should be fine in your tank size wise. The cory actually prefers a school, so you might want to look at adding a few more. And yes, common plecos, which is most likely what you have, can get huge. I noticed that you link to wikipedia in your post. I've never used wikipedia to look up fish before. It's probably a fine way to get general info, but you're probably better off checking multiple sites to compare what they all say, and also using places that specialize in fish profiles. This site has a few, and it's easy to find others by googling. Oh, it's a silver tip shark. (It has a lot of names). Yes, these really need to be in brackish water, and can also get huge. They're one of my favorite fishes, so I understand the appeal, and I have one (not in my tank anymore), that's about 4 years old and still in freshwater, but I don't think it's recommended. He's probably a good one to take back considering everything else you have is freshwater. Here's a link to a profile about your dragon goby. Dragon Goby He gets pretty big too, but you've got a pretty big tank, so he might be fine size wise, but you should check out compatibility.

Now, on to the part you didn't ask about. If you didn't cycle your tank, and just put all of those fish in there, you have a rough road ahead of you. We've all done it, or most of us have, so I'm not chastising you, but it's something that you should read up on now if you don't want to start losing fish, especially if you're starting with WalMart fish, which are not known for being overly hardy. There's a great link to cycling in MissFishy's profile, which will tell you all you need to know. Basically, you need to wait until your tank can establish enough of a bacteria colony to keep up with the amount of waste your fish produce. So, read up on that, and let us know if you have any more questions. Also, someone else might chime in with more about your stocking compatibility.

edit - I forgot you asked about backgrounds. I just have black paper on the back of my tank, and it actually looks pretty good, I think. Also, fish stores sell backgrounds that are kind of shiny that have different pictures on them. For the specific image you want, you could maybe try getting a couple of large prints, either at a photo shop or maybe just wal mart that have the image you want on them and maybe taping them together on the back of the tank.

 

[unwritten law]

the tetras and the barbs seem okay.,... the catfish you know about and the violet goby should be brackish water..

do you know about cycling?

 

[MissFishy]

Oh gosh, it's a good thing you researched your fish. The first thing you absolutely need to do is read up on cycling a fish tank, otherwise all those fish will soon be suffering from ammonia poisoning. Check the freshwater stickies or the link in my signature for cycling information.

A Local Fish Store (LFS) would have a backdrop. Your tank also needs some plants to make your fish more comfortable, they need cover to feel safe. Welcome! Let us know what questions you have after you've read up on cycling a bit.

 

[Merlinhoot]

I was very impulsive in buying fish and not reading about cycling. I feel like kicking myself. *crazysmil
I use to have a tall Octogon 35 gal acrylic with salt water and started with one damsel fish. I should of thought of that when I added all these fish. It has been over a decade since I had an aquarium. I checked out the stickies. I didn't find anything for my predicament of fish to soon scenario. I bought a No Spill® gravel vacuum tube hose thing like I had before only this one has a long 25 ft extension. I also bought a Pondcare® Master Liquid Test Kit.

For the record, Walmart did not mention cycling, and knew I was introducing fish to a new tank. The first guy said not to buy too much is all. I had 2 Serpae Tetras, 2 Red eye Tetras, 3 Tin foil Barbs and 2 plecos until yesterday when I went for some more.

So when should I change 30% of the water to make this transition work or what should I expect in general. Thanks for all your replies by the way.
P.S. I'm off to the store to buy some plants now that I know this might help the process.

P.P.S. I just found Miss Fishy and her site and it does address this so I am reading it now. Thanks Miss Fishy for making that website.
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[Merlinhoot]

where it stands now June 19 I bought the initial fish then had to watch brothers house (Mom fed them while I was away) till June 23 where I bought more and today the 24th I changed 30% of the water. I am going to get some bacteria laden rocks from the store and some plants.

 

[MissFishy]

Sounds like your on the right track merlin! Keep us updated, some rocks from an established tank will help a lot! I would suggest a larger than 30% water change too ASAP, probably around 50%+ depending on your ammonia levels.

 

[homebunnyj]

If it were me I'd make Walmart take the two brackish fish back, as they will not thrive in a freshwater tank. Then, after studying up on cycling, I'd make plans to up the size of my tetra schools to maybe a dozen each, a bit at a time once my tank is cycled. Larger schools bring out the fish's natural behavior much better, and they will look much more impressive in that size tank. (I am sooo envious!) I've never had barbs so I can't intelligently address how many of them you should have.

You could apply the fish refund (if you get it) to the cost of an API Master Test Kit -- an absolute essential IMHO both during the cycling process and beyond. After reading Miss Fishy's guide you'll know just what to do with it, so I won't go into it here.

 

[MissFishy]

Unfortunately I don't think you'll have much luck with Walmart taking the fish back. I would, however, have a "talk" with the store manager to complain though. Walmart should not be selling fish period. A popular post awhile back was someone who had purchased a green spotted puffer and was keeping it in a goldfish bowl from walmart and couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Very sad.

Anyhow, I would make sure they are healthy then give your local fish stores in the area a call, they may be willing to take them in as trades for store credit. Don't tell them where you got them though.

 

[Merlinhoot]

Thanks everyone. I have noticed one tiger barb is missing or walmart stiffed me. I have to say my favorite is the Tin foil Barbs. I have them eating Hikari algae Wafers which I initially got for the plecos but read that tin foil barbs like to eat greens. I think I fed them lettuce back in 1989 so it was more than a decade without a fish tank. I'll see what they say at two of the local fish stores when those brackish fish need some bracking. I have beef heart flakes, blood & tubifex worms and freeze dried krill. I remember buying frozen beef heart but maybe this way is better. Living in Chicago at the time allowed me to buy live brine shrimp which was really a hoot. I did see cones for breeding them but I think I will pass. My friend died in Jan of ALS and he had me get rid of my aquariums and plants which I didn't mind. I am buying plants now again too and have a variation on an angel wing cane begonia called a Sophie Cecile... but I digress. I didn't find plants for the aquarium at the local store and walmarts are just really sad looking. They did say that the gravel might have bacteria in it and that water conditioner by proline might have it in it. I read the side and it says "Increase or repeat dosages as needed to remove greater amounts of these toxins without adverse effects to animals or plants." I can't find the one they sold me on there page though as mine just says Water Conditioner, Concentrated Dry Formula, Removes & Detoxifies - Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, chlorine & chloramine. so maybe that is why there still all alive.

 

[MissFishy]

Hmm, not sure what's going on with the water conditioner. You just need a basic one that removes chlorine and chloramine from your tap water. If you start getting into products that "detoxify" anything, they can really mess with your water tests and give you inaccurate results, making it very difficult to figure out what exactly is going on in your tank.