Do I have too many fish in my 29 gal tank? ?

Question

These are the fish I have....

4 long fin zebra danios

4 short fin zebra danios

8 emerald green cory catfish

Tank Set Up:

two whisper 40 filters

two air pumps at each end of the tank

Visi-Therm stealth 100W heater

Test rusults using a API master test kit:

PH: 7.6

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 20pm

Is my tank overstocked?

Answer 1

Love the emerald green Cory Cats....I have had mine spawn 3 times...didn't want 120 plus fry each time...but did get 10 fry out of it.

Your tank is not overstocked.  I would say you are at the limit with top dwellers and bottom feeders. Think about addding something for the middle.  I also like the Zebra Danios (short finned).  Have 5 of those myself.  (also have the Leopard Danios long finned).

Your top and bottom are full.  But you could put a school of neons in there...about 6 or so and maybe even a Dwarf Gourami.  Also add 1 Mystery Snail.  Your filter is more than adequate and it sounds like you have a great grip on things.

Very nice and sensible.  Great use of top and bottom of tank.

Jon V has a lot of positive information.  As far as the Dwarf Gourami...they stay to the middle to top of the tank and with the zebras, you might have a run in every now and again, but that is with any fish that feels cramped in space they occupy.  I have a Dwarf Blue Gourami with my Zebras...and this has not been an issue...your tank is big enough for them to have some distance.  Have medium plant cover and you should find your Dwarf hanging out around there quite a bit.  If you had a smaller tank...the Dwarf and the Danios maybe more of an issue as they would probably come in contact more often...it also depends of the temperment of the fish and the space  they have to occupy.  My only experience with my Dwarf Gourami showing any aggression is when I had to float a container with a male Betta in the top of the tank...while I was making some changes to the tank I had the Betta in.  The Betta flared up more, but after a couple of hours the Dwarf would swim right by ignoring the Betta in the floating container all together.  This was somewhat expected due to Gourami and Bettas being in the same family and the possible aggressive nature of each to Males in the two species.

Loaches are great fish and a great addition to any tank.  In this case I would personally not add them.  You have 8 bottom feeders already and when you start adding some more, you may have some aggression issues...lots of hiding spots could make this an ok thing...yet the bottom of your tank is covered and your Cory Cats will get nice and round.  

You have a great volume cover on the levels...adding more bottom dwellers could make your tank appear a bit overcrowded on the bottom part.

Best of Luck!

Answer 2

no dude

there no overstocked

its just fine

it would be overstocked if u had goldfish but u dont

good luck ::]

Answer 3

Not overstocked.

None of the fish will outgrow the tank or anything.

The main thing is to watch your water quality, if the tank is overstocked then you will have problems maintaining water quality, and yours is fine.

But an understocked tank is easier to maintian, so if you are happy with that number of fish, then stick with it.

Personally I would add a few Oto catfish or a Small pleco species to help control algae , but thats just a personal opinion.

Ian

Answer 4

What is it they say? 5 gallons of water per inch of fish? It's something along those lines... However, not knowing the length of said fishies, I'd say, yes, it is overstocked... However, I've got about the same amount of fish in a 20 gallon, and they have lived for quite some time now, we just have to do cleanings and water changes more than usual.

Answer 5

Yes it is!!! One cory catfish per 10 gallon. So you need a 80 gallon tank.  

Answer 6

i dont think so

Answer 7

No that sounds like you are in the grove...

Answer 8

no its fine its under stoked

Answer 9

In no way shape or form are you over stocked.  If anything, it's pretty under stocked.  You have room for another schooling type fish in there.  The waste output and O2 consumption in your tank is very low, you still have enough footprint to support more if you wish.  You could get a shoal of Tetra's or Barbs should you wish, a larger bottom feeder, prehaps a Hop Lo catfish even?  You have plenty of room.

I happen to be a fan of dual filtration like you use.  I think that's wonderful.  You don't have to have 2 air pumps though.  Your call on that, but I just though I'd mention, as long as one of those are generating bubbles on the surface, you should easily meet your O2 needs for that tank.

I would not follow any type of inch counting per gallon or liter "rules" simply because you should account for mass in the tank, levels of occupation which Rowdy kindly pointed out, O2 consumption, waste production which you have more room for with dual filtration, and temperments.

Suggestions of a dwarf Gourami are not too shabby at all.  It would give different color to your tank, and have a decent sized fish for bulk.  It will not crank out large amounts of waste, and the only issue you might find is just your Danio's get chased if they occupy the same area as he would.

If you wanted, you could just as easily opt for some colorful Botia's or Loaches that do not grow very large.  Even small Clown Loaches will work fine as they grow extremely slow.  Just keep in mind, the final size of Clown Loaches end up being about 12 inches, so after a few years, they'd have to be re-homed is all.  You have more options out there then many will suggest.

Answer 10

you are not overstocked at all. It also sounds like you take great care of your tank.  

Answer 11

you are most definatly NOT overstocked!

especially running double filtration!

i want to first say THANK YOU!

1: for keeping your cory in a nice big group! you will definatly enjoy them more!

2: for running a good set up!

3: for testing your water!

because your running double filtration on your tank you could easily get away with another (though slightly smaller 5-6) group of small schooling fish AND a single larger central specimin!

Well Done!

Answer 12

yes

Answer 13

yes i would think so

Answer 14

Your tank is definetly not overstocked and you still have room for a few more fish depending on size like a small group of tetras, 1 drawf gourami, small group of rasboras or swords.  Overall your tank sounds well cared for and in good shape.

You basically have 20 - 24in worth of fish in a 29 gallon tank so you have space for roughly 5-9 more inches worth of tropical community fish.