Overstocked? not sure

by **arran** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:27 am

Hello, i have a 42 US gallon (160 litre tank) In it I have 4 gourami, 3 dwarf gourami, 3 angels, 1 hoplo catfish, 1 albino tiger shark, 1 suckermouth pleco, 6 glowlights,1 bristlenose catfish. I've had no water issues, the filter is a box filter accomodating 2 carbon sections, 1 bioballs section and one noodle section. My LFS owner assures me the tank is not overstocked. I'm a bit nervy about it tho because there are some wildly differing opions about overstockng. My tank is 3 foot long, 2 foot tall, 1 1/2 foot wide. To me, the tank doesn't appear overcrowded. It also has some very secluded "retreats" for the fish to retire to. I'd welcome all considered, informed opinions. Thanks in advance. Cheers!

by **natalie265** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:45 pm

The pleco can grow well over a foot in length. The catfish is up to 9 inches. I'm not sure what species the "albino tiger shark" is, but many shark type fish grow to be quite large. In my opinion, you will be over stocked when all your fish reach maturity.

by **arran** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:55 pm

Hello Natalie, thanks indeed for your advice. I made a mistake when I said "albino tiger shark" I meant "albino rainbow shark" which I understand can grow to 15 cm. I think the pleco and one of the angels may have to be moved to another tank. I'd very much like to keep the rest as I totally love them. Thanks again.

by **dream2reef** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:08 pm

Easy. Find out all the FULL GROWN sizes and stick to the one inch per gallon rule. Done.

by **dream2reef** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:12 pm

I love my rainbow shark he's the senior tenant of my 125 and noone messes with him. I only hope you have the less aggressive one he doesn't let any of my cichlids mess with him. From a 12" Jack to a 7" green terror. He is really the secret king of my tank. Tried to put another one in there even after rearranging my tank several times and using time out he still killed that other shark lol. Good luck

by **arran** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:29 am

dream2reef wrote:
> I love my rainbow shark he's the senior tenant of my 125 and noone messes
> with him. I only hope you have the less aggressive one he doesn't let any
> of my cichlids mess with him. From a 12" Jack to a 7" green
> terror. He is really the secret king of my tank. Tried to put another one
> in there even after rearranging my tank several times and using time out he
> still killed that other shark lol. Good luck

I love mine too! He/She's easy going, occasionely chases another about but really, I've had no problems. I've been reading few horror stories about people's rainbow sharks, mine's about 5-6 inches and nver had a problem with him. thanks!

by **arran** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:37 am

dream2reef wrote:
> Easy. Find out all the FULL GROWN sizes and stick to the one inch per
> gallon rule. Done.

Hello, that would seem to be the clearest solution, thing is, there are so many variations on this rule (so I've read on a million different websites anyway!)

To be quite honest with you, I'm satisfied (for now) that my fish are fine in terms of water quality and territories, but I think the angel fish would prefer to have less boisterous tank mates than the gourami. So, I'm getting a new tank (100 litre/25 gallons) and rehoming said gourami in it. That way I can avoid that guilty feeling I get whenever I see people say things like "oh! no!, THOSE fish need a million litres Maximum!"

Thanks very much for your response, and everyone's. Cheers

Overstocked? not sure

7 posts