michael.qian Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Hi all. Thinking of getting more fishes but just want to make sure the tank can handle it. Tanks is 135L, 75cm long, 40cm wide, 50cm tall. With a good amount of plants. Currently have 16 white clouds, 4 swordtails, 5 lepoard danios, 3 bristlenose catfish. Want to add the following - 4 Swordtails (optional) - 5 Zebra danios (optional) - 20 neon tetras (much preferred) - 2 or 3 clown loach for the first 2 years when they are small (much perferred) - A few corydoras (if the above is too much than I wouldn't bother) Is all this going to overcrowd my tank? I'm trying to get fishes that swim at different levels inthe tank so they would be evenly spread out. Cheers for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 How good is your filtration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Yeah what Milet said. Filtration?? I'd say it'd be ok, but I'd pass on the swords, I always found they got a little too 'nippy' for my liking, but never know, haven't had them in a while, and you already have 4 so it must be ok. Highly recommend ditching the neons, corys, and danios and getting some cardinal tetras, they look the same as the neons, but the colouration is soooo much better. They also grow a little larger and live longer. Almost any tank with cardinals stands out, paticularly in larger groups. Fully recommend the clown loaches too, they're awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Oh gotta keep the "clean up crew" that being Corys, a nice communal tank is nothing without Corys as an added feature JMO 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Aeration is the most critical factor then filtration. With a good filter that breaks the water surface as it returns to the tank to aerate the water would do the trick. I wouldn't add the clown loaches at all as they like it hot and are likely to get white spot at low temps and all your other fish prefer low to medium temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Thanks for all the replies. I use an Eheim 2010 (I think), anyway it can filter up to 160L of water. I've tried my air pump with two airstones at the end and the current is creates when air bubbles rise up to the surface is too strong, all the plants are swaying slightly and I don't think my fish like it too much, will try air pump with just one outlet later. If I use only one outlet on my current airpump it's really loud. Right now temperature is about 22-23 I can bring it up to 25 for the clown loaches, they will all be ok in that temperature wouldn't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Yesterday I went to pick up my 3 bristlenoses, and their setup is quite a nice one with lots large fish in an average size tank, which makes me think that all the fishes I want to get will be ok in my tank. It was a 3 foot tank, not too tall, I'm estimating about 170L, in the tank there was one massive golden algae eater (I mean MASSIVE), 2 HUGE swordtails, 2 medium sized clown loach (about 12cm), 1 big shark, a few other medium sized fish I couldn't name, lots of bristlenoses and lots and lots of bristlenose babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 What matters when it comes to how many fish you can put in a tank is the surface area not how many Lt are in a tank. Often over crowded tanks run just fine, right up until the filter or aeration stops. Lots of small young fish will use much more O2 then full grown large fish that = the same volume of total fish. I don't think your tank will have way to many fish. By the way neons like it cool 18-22C, if you keep them hotter their 5 year life span will be much shortened, just because you want clown's in the tank. But in the end it is up to you as it is your tank. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Cardinals work well in the higher range as an alternative to neons. I've kept clowns at 26 with no problems. WCMM wont like much higher though. Might not be ideal as stu said, but could be made to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtv Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Hey there, this may not be technically correct and people, please feel free to correct me but I have a bubble wall in my tank so only need one inlet from my air pump. It was very noisy for some time, I tried putting tape over the other inlet which works temporarily but works lose with time. Now I just have a piece of air hose (about 40cm) hanging towards the floor outside the tank from the spare inlet, it is much quieter! Lana Good luck with the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Hey Lana, i have the same, i used a t-section to put both outelt into one tube, then put it on a low setting. Is fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Hi Lana Thanks for your idea I've just tried it and it works perfectly, no noise at all, all I did was take one airline out, take off the airstone on one end and leave the airline in the cabinet still attached to the airpump. So all it's doing is pumping out air from one airline into air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 ALL THE ABOVE IS RELEVANT INFORMATION. But remember the old ways are the surest Guarantee that you wont get breakdowns and power cuts. I'm an "OLD FART" so you can do the modern calculations in metrics. ALLOW 1 INCH OF A FISHES BODY (EXCLUDING THE TAIL) FOR EVERY 8 SQUARE INCHES OF SURFACE AREA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Loaches @ 25 degrees can be a pain. Mine all got whitespot, and it refused to go away over the course of a month and 1/2 (kept coming back with continued treatment), so put the tank up to 28. Problems solved immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted July 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 That's bad news Right now my tank is at 25 degrees, or very close, about 24.8, even though heater is only set to 23, it is a 150W Jebo. If I have to heat my tank up to 28 degrees all the other fish won't be too happy, I have already got 20 neon tetras and 2 more female swordtails. Won't be getting anymore danios or corys though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lickindip Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 I may have a over crowding problem too (see list below) but ive got a ehiem 2213 and a fluval 104 (i think) the fluval doesnt put very much water through it (stuff all really) but im hesitent to clean it out because the excess bacterial may be the only thing keeping the tank going id have to agree with the others on the filteration bit, i neglect my tank a quite a bit and just wondering when its gonna kick me in the ass cos it looks good, ive only filtered out the gravel once in the 6months ive had the tank but everything seems to be going well. so on the final note ... if your seriously concerned, buy another filter, get it settled in and add a few more fish (i take no resposibilty for dead fish) :evil: cherri O Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
je_suis_ketan Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Hey just a word about the Clown Loaches from my experience. I had 2 CL's and hardly saw them at all. I got 2 more and put them in the tank and boom instantly they are all out and about in the tank. I have read that 6 should be the minimum you put in a tank, so I tried to step it up from 2 to 4 to see what response I'd get before putting 6 in there. So what I'm saying I guess is prob better to get more than 2-3 of them. Hope it's some useful information for you. Good luck :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted July 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 My tank isn't too big that's the problem. I think it can handle 4 small clown loaches at a max, though I will start with two, see how they go and add another 1 or 2 sometime afterwards. My tank surface area measure 75cm X 40cm, it's 135L, so not big enough for a big group of them, also got lots of plants in it which might reduce swimming area by a bit. I'm going to rearrange the plants tomorrow though to free up a bit more space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Clown loaches can start to imatate other fish. So, if you have a lot of danios, watch the clowns trying to join them. mine think they are bala sharks 1/2 the time. Bloody funny to watch ^.^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Amazonian- Are you talking square inches/mass of the fishes body also? Reason i ask is because one inch of an adult oscars body is a heap bigger than one inch of a adult neons body so the forumula would need to be altered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 There isn't really isn't a set rule on how many fish you can keep in a tank - it mainly depends on how quickly nitrates accumulate and how often you'll be doing water changes to reduce them. Obviously though, adequate aeration is required for whatever your stocking density. Personally I tend to stock lightly and plant heavily so that even with a month without water changes my nitrate levels don't even get over 10ppm (and my really heavily planted tanks don't have any nitrates at all...ever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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