FishProfiles.com Message Forums

hey guys,im a bit confused at present on stockingive herd the ol stocking rule,1 inch of water to 1 inch of fish(or whateva it is)but ive also herd that it dosent alawys apply,for examlpe a 10 inch oscar is going to have heaps more biolaod than a tetra,so ill list my fish and filtration,and you guys can tell me if you think im getting over stocked or im ok.the tank im confused with is a 55gal,i run a external viaaqua 1200,a internal atman 881,and ive also got a atman powerhead in there too.the fish are
2- 3 inch bns
1-2 inch pleco
3 convicts,mum is 2-3inches,dads about 3-4 inches,and usually got a batch of fry,and 1 under a inch(leftover baby,that i took pity on
1-4 inch salvini
1-4 inch green terror
1-7-8 inch green severum
1-8 inch blue acara.
ok thats my filtration and all the fish in that tank can someone breakdown the stocking for me.to me it dosent look like im overstocked,my filtration is handling them no probs,but they are all getting bigger faster than i thought they would.
ps,also if this helps,the gt and ba are partners,and occassionally have a large batch of fry.

Youre not currently overstocked chemically in regard to bioload,(although the fry can boost things up) but you will be soon. Its only because you have young specimens and subadults that youre getting away with it thus far. Those fish when mature will be approximately double the bioload your tank should be expected to take. Give it three or four months and youll be getting ammonia spikes, and the acara in particular which responds to poor water quality with a natural urge to kill cagemates- thats what their excretions are for( population density monitoring)will start trouble.

The convicts being the tougher fish might kill the acara if it kicks off.

Given the hostility issues between these species- you have some fairly aggressive fish- id go for another 55 in addition to the one you have over upgrading to a 120.The convicts will probably have to be split from all but the toughest of the others. The salvini might get mean too.

The severum will like none of this and will wish it was in a quieter tank.

The plec if its a common will be a monster in a few years, the male convict will double in size, the blue acara is a heavy polluter, and the green terror will end up similar in that regard.Ultimately in your case I think aggression will decide the tanksizes you need, and you might have to split the fish.

Basically id put the gt, the acara, the bns, and the severum in one tank, and the Convicts, the salvini, and the common plec in the other.

If you dont seperate them you might end up with the convicts and the acara going on killing sprees, and the gt might back the acara up. The salvini will freak and the severum may start to wane.

actuuly,its not that bad,my cons are well behaved,the green sev is boss,and my blue acara and gt have been great,i got 2 nasty fish,that just arent nasty.the salvini he just hangs with the green sev,anyway,ive got a 75gal(flowerhorn in there)and a 200gal(with 2 jds)and a goldspot plec.so i was thinking of trading up my jds,(getting big and nasty fast,and wont tolerate tankmates anymore)putting all the fish mentioned above, in the 200gal,then use my 55gal,to do something i havet kept yet,its just this combo of fish(in the 55gal has been working for me well for ages,it took me a while to get it to work too),so do you think should move them all now,or wait untill i have to move them
ps,just to give you a idea,when my gt and ba spawn at the same time as the cons,they each take a end of the tank,and the sev and sal,hang in the middle,its sounds weird,but they do coexsist well with each other,but as i said everyone is growing alot faster then a thought.

The fish's behaviour will probably change as they age. Convicts in particular often change from being brusque to downright murderous.Im glad youre having good luck with them at the moment, but their character as it is now is not set in stone. It will probably change.As the fish get bigger so do their eyes for territory.

It might be prudent to put a bit of cash away for that rainy day when they might get truly nasty with each other.

ok,ponit taken.so do you rekon move them all now,or wait untill im forced to from aggresion.im getting rather bored with my jds,so i think i mite move them all to the 200 gal and see how i go from there.that way it will be plenty of room.