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I started off my 20 gallon tank running only 12 gallons of water because I had 6 fiddler crabs. Along with the 6 fiddler crabs I had 5 silver hatchet fish and 2 corys. But then someone I knew threatened to flush her fish down the toilet if no one took them. Well I couldnt allow that to happen so I now also have 2 glass cats, 2 Australian rainbowfish, 1 upside down catfish, and 1 rubber lipped pleco. They have been getting along GREAT for the past few weeks but I am a bit worried about over crowding. It this going to be a problem? I am still only running 12 gallons because my fiddler crabs need to be able to get out of the water. Now they are allowed to craw out of the water on a piece of drift wood. Will this work?

Fish CAN fly!

Sounds overstocked to me. If I were you I'd get a bigger tank and put everyone but the crabs in that and keep the 20 for the crabs.

I personally think you are well over stocked. Over stocking can cause several problems usually leading to sudden deaths.

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Keith

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yeah, overstocked. 20 gallon for the crabs. get a large tank...i am too tired to look up the sizes on each of your fish, so i dunno how big to reccomend, but with that many fish i cant imagine anything smaller than a 29 would work. also, for your corydoras to be happy they need to be in a school. get 4 more corys when you get the big tank, and leave the crabs in your 20 gallon and drain it down again

thestooge,

Hi there, and welcome to FP

What can I say, the previous posters are absolutely right, way too crowded in there.

I would say you have to options:

1) get a bigger tank (or multiple small ones) asap
2) return some fish to the LFS (quite a few actually)

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I also agree that you are overcrowded & you need another tank for the fish & keep the 20 gal. for the Crabs only.



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I wish I am able to get another/larger tank but I have a seasonal job and Im not getting a paycheck right now. I was talking to a friend who might be able to take 2 of the glass cats and the upside down catfish...Will this help my situation? I hate having too many fish but I couldnt let them get flushed!

Fish CAN fly!

You could fill it up and let the crabs climb up sokething else. My red clawed crabs climb up live plants and sit on the broad leaves on the top.
Oh and fiddlers are brackish water so if you get another tank take that into consideration

I am currently running a slightly brackish setup right now. I have added 1 tsp of sea salt per gallon of water. I will look into offering the crabs something taller. Thanks for the idea!

Fish CAN fly!

I have great news! I was able to buy a 29 gallon tnak from my LFS! It emptied my wallet, but it will be worth it if the fish will be happy! I am currently in the process of setting up the new tank and I want to get them in there ASAP but I dont want to rush things. Any thoughts how I can make the process smoother/faster? Thanks for all your input! It really helped out!

Fish CAN fly!

If you have the same filter on both tanks you could take the sponge from the 20 and put it in the filter for the 29. You could also use some of the gravel and water from the 20 to seed the bacteria in the 29. Then you should probably figure out what the hardiest of the fish in the 20 is and put that in the 29 first to get the cycle going.

Great idea! Thanks!

Fish CAN fly!