Would this be overcrowded?

Question

1 Dwarf Gourami

6 Neon Tetras

5 Platies

4 Guppies

These fish in a 12 gallon.. not a 21 gallon, a 12 gallon tank.

I know the "1 inch rule" but still.. I have seen 10 Gouramis in a 10 Gallon tank at a pet store but they seem fine and happy. All vibrant and everything.. I just don't know any more. Anyways, answers appreciated as always. Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes that is a little overstocked. I suggest

1 Dwarf Gourami

5 Neon Tetras

2 Platys

3 Guppies

This is much better stocking for a 12 gallon tank and you can still keep all of the type of fish you want, and they will be happy/

You should only keep one dwarf gourami to every 10 gallons

5 fish = a school for your neons

Platys and guppies aren't schooling fish but need at least one other of their kind

And by the way the 1" of fish per gallon rule is completely c**p. when it comes to stocking your tank you need to consider how much room you need for each fish. You could easily keep 5 neons in a 2 gallon tank because they school and have a small bioload. Platys need about 2 gallons a piece because they are a bigger bioload. And guppies need about a gallon each because they are livebearers and have bigger bioloads than neons. Dwarf Gouramis need 10 gallon but because they are top dwellers they will have all that space in your tank to themselves. Now do the math on that:

  5 tetras = 2 gallons

+2 Platys = 4 gallons

+3 Guppies = 3 gallons  

total = 9 gallons but because you are adding the gourami it brings you at a perfect amount for your 12 gallon tank.

That is how you properly stock a tank...not the 1" of fish per gallon rule.

Edit: Umm and I just wanted to add to a later posters comment all of your fish need freshwater aquarium salt. For some reason people believe that only livebearers need it and I have even heard it called livebearer salt but this is not true. All fish need freshwater aquarium salt in the amount of 1 Tablespoon per 5 gallons to help aide in their respiration.

Edit 2: RowdyBull I usually agree with you but the whole thing about corys not tolerating any salt is not true. I keep my corys and my snail in a tank with salt and they do about 10x better than when I kept my corys in a tank without salt. I never used to use aquarium salt but i promise you...if you use it and notice the difference in your fish...you will never go back to not using it.

Answer 2

Yeah that's overcrowded.  Did ya ever wonder why pet stores can keep so many fish in a tank.  Well, the filtration is the key.  And the filtration at Petco and Petsmart and so on is usually a professional system that cycles way more water per hour than anything on the shelf they sell at pet stores.  So because the filtration is great and they are in the business of selling fish...these tanks are usually show tanks and not true 10 gallon tank...so because they do it doesn't mean it's going to be appropriate for you to do it.

The one inch rule is a little misleading.  Try putting a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon tank...no room to turn and no room to swim.  And even little fish...honestly you need to look at the species and their minimum space they need to decide how many and if they will thrive.

I would do the 1 Dwarf Gourami and 6 Neons..,maybe add 3 cory cats and 1 Mystery Snail and you should be covered.  Put medium plant cover (plastic or fake) and you will be OK.

As far as platies and guppies...these critters breed like nuts...so if you wanted to do some of them...Do 3 - 4 Platy and 3 -4 Guppies all male or all female.  That way you would have bout 8 and no fry to worry about and possibly overload your tank in the future.

If you insist on wanting all these fish...add in a couple of Platy OR and couple of guppies.

Recap

1 Dwarf Gourami

6 Neon Tetra

3 Cory Cats

2 Platy (optional)

1 Mystery Snail

This will give you variation.  Dwarf Gourami will stay in the middle to top of tank.  The 6 neons will school together in the middle to bottom of tank. The Cory Cats will be good bottom feeders and make sure you have something to get any wasted food on the bottom.  If you decided on the 2 platies...(I prefer the platies over guppies)...they would go from top to middle to bottom of the tank.  The Mystery Snail is a great cleaner also...but get only one to start out with...these things can breed like nuts too.

For your filtration...use a filter rated for a15-20 gallon tank and you would be doing great...I would do anything bigger for fear of too much turbulence or current.  

Either way, if you want your fish to thrive and not be overcrowded, better safe than sorry.

EDIT...Mollies prefer a bit of salt in the tank...not so much with the platies and guppies...but I do hear for livebearers it is ok...but consider all the fish in the tank.  Below is an article debating the use of salt with some pros and cons.  Salt seems to be a diverse issue and many are split over the issue.  Some fish like Cory Cats have no tolerance...forget having snails in the tank with salt, and other fish may not do so well.  Either way, Be cautious if ya use it...not all fish are going to be so forgiving.

EDIT:  Yeah Mystery Snails have a habit of eating plants...LOL...and before I knew it I have a Golden Mystery Snail and a Black Mystery Snail mate and now have about 15 other snails...kind of cool though...the offspring came out with a lighter to light shell...and one even came out yellow on the back to a darker on the top to front...LOL!

Best of Luck!

Answer 3

its ok. i've kept much more in a heavily planted 15 gallons tank.

Answer 4

The reason they have so many fish in the tanks at pet stores is because the store doesn't expect them to be there long (thought they are often there for a while). So the pet stores rules are somewhat different.

I really don't think you should put that many fish in your tank though. Considering gouramis get to be about 3 inches, tetras get to be about 1.5 inches, platys get to be about 2.5 inches and guppies at about 1.5.

I wouldn't do it.  

Answer 5

I think you should skip the guppies, unless they are all the same s*x.

You'll have more guppies than you know what to do with before too long.

Platies (and guppies) like salt in their water the rest do not.

yeah I wondered if people actually thought the overstocked tanks of fish stores were how you were supposed to keep fish based on the questions I see.. I guess I was right.

Sure they are happy, they probably were just added. Go back in 3-4 weeks if all 10 are still there I bet they wont be so vibrant and happy. But more than likely they do frequent water changes to ensure the fish dont die until they can be sold. But in 3-4 weeks i'm sure the stock tank wont still have 10 in it. Some will have been sold.. or died.