stocking question

[stacic8679]

I think we are almost done with the cycling on our 23 gallon but now I need to know how many fish I should add. I know 2 at a time and I know the 1" per gallon but that seems like a lot. Right now we have 4 tiger barbs, 1 dwarf guarami, and 1 platy (sunburst I think). I was thinking 1 more guarami and 1 more platy. Husband wants 2 more tiger barbs too. What do you all think? I have read guaramis do better alone. Agree?

 

[jo3olous]

I think we are almost done with the cycling on our 23 gallon but now I need to know how many fish I should add. I know 2 at a time and I know the 1" per gallon but that seems like a lot. Right now we have 4 tiger barbs, 1 dwarf guarami, and 1 platy (sunburst I think). I was thinking 1 more guarami and 1 more platy. Husband wants 2 more tiger barbs too. What do you all think? I have read guaramis do better alone. Agree?

Agree. No more gouramis. 2 more tiger barbs would be nice. Idk about the platy. How is your platy doing with the tiger barbs? Tiger barbs n gouramis doesnt sound good. Have the tiger barbs been nipping at the gouramis feelers yet???

 

[stacic8679]

tiger barbs stay to themselves. 3 seem pretty calm but one chases the others around all the time. They have to hide from him. platy does his own little thing as does the guarami. They really don't intermingle at all. My only concern about getting another platy is that I have to make sure they are the same sex because I have heard they like to make babies. lol I don't know what I would do if that happened. I just got through cycling I am not ready for babies I think all of the fish are male except for 1 tiger barb.

 

[jo3olous]

tiger barbs stay to themselves. 3 seem pretty calm but one chases the others around all the time. They have to hide from him. platy does his own little thing as does the guarami. They really don't intermingle at all. My only concern about getting another platy is that I have to make sure they are the same sex because I have heard they like to make babies. lol I don't know what I would do if that happened. I just got through cycling I am not ready for babies I think all of the fish are male except for 1 tiger barb.

The 1 tiger chasing the others is the dominant one. If you add a few more he might calm down, but there will always be one leader of the pack. I had 4 too at one point, added 3 more that were slightly bigger, and he was still the bully. I lost 2 barbs ever since (this was back in sept), but the bully is still doing his thing. I could probably try increasing the shoal to 10+++ but I don't feel like caring for more fish at the moment.

 

[bmoraski]

who has time for more maintenance ! lol
i do remember reading that the more fish you have the more the bullying is spread out, which makes sense.
just thought id through my 2cents in! LOL

 

[stacic8679]

How long do I have to wait before I add more fish? I was told to add two fish and wait 2 days, but then I was also told add 2 fish and wait 2 weeks before getting more

 

[jo3olous]

the bigger the tank the more you can add at once and in less time. Since you are pushing your stocking limit and any increase in the bioload would make a big difference in your tank since it's only 23G, I would say you shouldn't add more than 2-3 fish at a time / weekly. You shouldn't be adding more than 2-3 tiger barbs and maybe 2-3 corys. I would not add another platy or other mid/top dwellers. It's going to get too cramped in the mid/top level of your tank. With tiger barbs it's a little complicated because they like all areas of the tank. You should also leave the front end of your tank free of decor so they have room to swim.

Make sure you have lots of hiding places/cover.