How many Fish??????

[soccerkd245]

Hi, i was wondering how many fish i could have in my 30g aquarium. I have a fluval 304, 5 neons, 5 tiger barbs,2 ghost catfish, 1 placastmis catfish,some live plants, and i do 20% water changes every week.. Also how many times a day can I feed them? Could i get away with only 1 feeding/day? Thanks

 

[PlecoCollector]

I only feed mine once a day and they're all fine. You could probably be fine with a few more small fish, since most of yours are small, but nothing too big, so your tank doesn't get crowded.

 

[soccerkd245]

even with a fluval 304?

 

[Fishchaser]

i have a 25 gallon tan and have about 5 more fish than that there all small and they seem to do fine

 

[soccerkd245]

wut filter u have?

 

[Fishchaser]

i have an aquaclear 150 which is now called a aquaclear 30 i believe and it cleans up the tank nice

 

[soccerkd245]

how often do you change your water?

 

[geekrockgirl85]

what kind of plec do you have?

 

[discus4everGrl]

filter type is not a good rule to use in justifying overstocking. For one thing oxygen exchange ratio is dictated by the size of the tanks open area not the filters cleaning capacity.

 

[soccerkd245]

i got a 30" by 12" tank and a air pump . what you think of that?

 

[soccerkd245]

i also have some live plants which might help alittle.

 

[Fishchaser]

yeah i have live plants in mine and they seem to help alot

 

[Fishchaser]

and i change my water a bout once every 2 months

 

[Fishchaser]

geekrockgirl were you askin me what kind of pleco i have or what kind soccerkid has?

 

[geekrockgirl85]

ok... well... even with overfiltration (the 304 is rated up to 70g), you're not exactly in a good set. going by the one inch per gallon rule, you're already well overstocked. it may be fine if all your fish are juveniles right now, but tiger barbs get about 3" apiece, ghost cats are 6" full grown, and if you've got a common pl*c he can get a foot and a half long.

so
15" of tiger barb
12" of glass cat
5" of neon
+12-18" of pl*c
-----------------------------------------
44-50" of fish. or more.

get a bigger tank (55 gal) for the pleco or be prepared to give him back when he outgrows the 30gallon.

i don't think the glass cats will be very happy in a 30 either. they are very social shoalers and get upset (and have been known to die prematurely) if not kept in schools of 5 or more, so unless you're planning on doing a species-only glass cat tank, they should go back to the lfs as well. cory cats are a viable option if you still want to keep catfish.. they're much smaller and hardier (and cuter imo )

tiger barbs are notoriously aggressive and nippy... so unless the fish you add (after you resolve your overstocking issue of course) can stand up to them (i.e. danios, gourami, etc.),you are going to have some stressed, unhappy tankmates. wimpy fish like guppies, bettas, etc, are out of the question.

fishchaser: i was asking soccerkd. but while you're at it... you should probably start thinking about a bigger home for your pl*c as well

i don't mean to sound scold-ish... just trying to let you know what's best for you and your fish. hope i've helped.

 

[longtyme68]

geekrockgirl has laid out pretty much all the info for this situation. I always use adult size of the fish to determine where I stand on overpopulating issues. A common pleco often takes out a large chunk of the 1" (fish) = 1 gallon (water) rule and may be used a little looser due to the nature of the fish. Common plecos are gerneally against walls or the subtrate and seldom actually take up swimming area in the center of the tank. With this in mind, they generally can be in largely populated tanks if there surface areas (i.e. walls & floors) are larger. Like a 20 gallon long vice a normal 20 gallon would allow for an aquarist to keep more fish with the commom pleco. I hope this helps a little more.

 

[soccerkd245]

hey, I got one more glass catfish. to try to help the others out. my pleco 3-4 in. and if he gets much bigger(6-7")i plan to do something with him or start another tank(i have a 10 gallon with nothing in it). my glass catfish i dunno if they would apply to the gallon rule because they only have a very small area of stomach and head and that stuff. and like you said my neons are only about 3/4-1 inch.
Is suffication the most common result of overstocking?? thanks

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'd say "the most common result of overstocking" is poor water conditions-nitrates that rise too high to keep up with by water changes. Plants will help out with this, which is why heavily planted tanks can overstock safely. That, plus if you develop a problem (disease), it is much harder to treat and tends to wreck more havok if the tank is overpopulated. More active fish (danios, barbs, etc.) can have problems in an overstocked tank if there is not enough surface movement to keep the water well oxygenated.

 

[soccerkd245]

if i have a aire pump running constintly, and the filter putting out the water at the top, will that let enough oxygen come into the water??

 

[Seleya]

Actually, the reason you can keep more fish in a 20 long than 20 high is due to the surface area. Going by gallons is the easy way to get a rough idea of what fish can be accommodated, but it's really the surface area that is key.

With that in mind, the pleco may be small now but will likely outgrow your tank in no time at all with proper care. Using a 10 gallon to solve this particular problem is like stuffing a sofa into a compact car because it didn't fit your SUV.