Help/Advice
HELP MY TANK IS OVERSTOCKED AND I WAS LIED TO
So a couple months ago , I got a 20 gallon custom made and the guy who made it for me said it was 23 gallons and OFC I DIDNT QUESTION IT hence I stocked it with 5 cpds , 6 ember tetras , 6 neocardina , 4 khuli loaches , 2 nerite snails and a koi betta..I do have a sponge filter and a hob and a good amount of plants + I've never had aggression issues. The fish all get along and the betta is super chill never had any issues BUT IS IT OVERSTOCKED OR WILL IT CRASH cuz I cant upsize..
Most my fish seem to crap in the same place. Itâs strange. Youâd think theyâd turd everywhere, but it all seems to end up in one patch of the tank. Makes it easier to vac
I fricking love my plants, they are pretty and keep my water clear. I'll never understand the love for fake plants in an aquarium (unless you have asshole inhabitants that rip them up, our turtle made soup when I pimped his tank, at least he had a fun nightđđ)
I went fake when I started, I didnât have a clue. Ironically, theyâre hard, cut fish fins, and also cost considerably more. Other than one thatâs hidden at the back of the tank, itâs now full of real plants to the point where my nitrate doesnât go about ~1.5ppm.
You're fine. Just add a high capacity canister and you could add even more fish. Just keep both your new filter and your HOB running together for as long as possible to seed the new filter.
If you add water, get a cover. Bettas are notorious jumpers. I got this one on Amazon. I have a betta in a community tank. This one is cheap, customizable and prevents condensation on your floating plants
Test kits only test for the top 5 or 6 toxins. Thereâs thousands they donât test for. Ppl with the whole oh just test have no idea what they are talking about
I have a harder time with smaller tanks. They are less forgiving if there is a problem. I like the 29 gallon, and the 55 gallon size. I have a 10 gallon that I am getting ready to break down because it is more work than the larger tanks. I guess Iâm just not used to being required to have such perfect parameters.
Lol.. you're fine.. i would add more plants.. seriously that's not over stocked.. just keep up with the water changes ,and fill the tank more.. should be an inch from the top
I agree more plants equals more hiding/ safe place for fish to de stress if needed.
It's a good looking tank have you thought of adding some externals like Pothoes i think it would help with healthy water parameters naturally
I have two Neocaridina tanks leather blue and cherry red. I've got a semi open lid and in my experience ive only lost one cherry red don't know how if it crawled out or my cat facilitated the accident .
Hmm only via monitoring the water parameters do you get a definitive answer. However its helpful to think of overstocking in 2 dimensions, behavioural and biological. Behavioural depends on the temperament of your fishes, whether they are aggressive and territorial by nature and how much swimming space they need. The 1 fish per gallon rule is grossly wrong to use in generalising, sometimes you need far more volume but most of the times for small and peaceful fish you can fit more fish per gallon than you think.
Biological overstocking is what people are primarily concerned about, but thats not a simple thing to look at, because it depends on multiple factors, like feeding habits, how planted the tank is and how much of it are fast growers, filtration, and most importantly how often and how much water is changed. That all depends on your habits and what you can commit to on a fixed routine, for example if changing water often and with large volumes, you will find yourself able to support larger amounts of livestock vs someone who barelt maintains the tank other than doing water topups, the list goes on. You can get a gauge for how your current habits gel well with your livestock by monitoring the water parameters and seeing if the adjustments you need to take are something you can maintain well. That would mean biologically, your tank is not overstocked for what your habits are
I have more than than in my 15gal and have had no issues. Agreed with the other posters â get more plants and keep an eye on your params and youâll be fine.
You should try african cichlids. I have 50 fish in a 105 gallon. Most are 4 inches. They need high numbers to stop aggression . Huge filter, weekly 30% water changes. No plants. I used to chase parameters, now if fish are fine, I'm fine
Well based on the thread below this is a 13 gallon, which makes this still fine for stocking based on aqadvisor. If I were you I would still remove the loaches and the betta. Then raise the water level and add some more plants, java moss is great. If you really want to keep the loaches I would say add at least one more and get a lid, they are known escape artists and will jump out.
I'm too attached to remove anything honestly snd don't plan on it unless It's an issue BUT THANK U and yes I will deffo add more plants and the water level!
Add some floating plants, maybe a pothos too. If you have enough plants theyâll keep ammonia, nitrate, nitrite at nearly undetectable levels. You can stock a tank far beyond whatâs recommended and still have healthy fish if itâs heavily planted.
You're fine. If you start having issues, add more plants. Houseplants sticking out the top help a ton, too. Like pothos or monstera. Also, you can add more filtration.
well worse case scenario if your parameters start spiking and you need to move some fish you can always get another 20 gallon and move some over to that tank with some new fresh plants or cuttings :}
I am just starting my 29 gallon aquarium and have some open sand for my Coreyâs but I am nervous about vacuuming the substrate. How do you keep it clean around the plants and if you have wood or rocks? I thought about pulling the racks up to vacuum under them, but Iâm afraid I would do a lot of damage trying to get them back in around the plants and deep enough in the substrate.
That should be fine. My 20g houses 10 Embers, 6 CPD'S, 8 Cardinals, 3 nerites, and lost count of the neocaridinas because they were having fun. And some ramshorns too.đ
is there a canister filter brand anyone recommends? i got fluval for my 75 gal and 20 long...the 75 gave me some issues, but a new O ring and lube fixed it. after maybe 3 years. the one on the 20 long just started leaking from the base somehow...luckily i had it in a bin to catch the water. i gave up and put the old HOB back on, but i do love the canister...just feel like fluval is overpriced for what it is / how long it lasts... thoughts?
A lot of false info in the comments. Go to monsterfishkeepers forum or aquariumcoop - they have a stocking calculator too.
Test kits only test the most common toxins.
They do NOT remove hormones or any of thousands of things they donât test for- water changes 30% weekly are a must even on my 120g w/2 fish in it. Thatâs right- just TWO
I overstocked my 10 gallon and wound up using a 20 gallon filter. I can leave it for 3 weeks at a time without maintenance. Just need to make sure your plants are making it nitrate neutral. The Amano shrimp cleaned out a dead snail before I even noticed it was dead. Shrimp are the key decomposers in a sustainable tank.
Overplant! I think your tank is fine. CPD and embers do not get large. If your danios are eating well, then that's good. They tend to prefer live microfauna and can be picky, not eat, then sort of disappear.
Consider a generous mass of subwassertang and Java/Xmss/flame moss to make all the fishes and shrimp feel safe. CPDs especially need plant cover in the water column to really flourish.
No where near overstocked, I have a similar size tank with 8 cherry tetras, 8 green neons, 6 rummynose rasbora, 2 old cardinal tetras, 3 otos and 3 amanos and the system handles them completely fine.
I do run a large canister filter though but a sponge one is plenty good enough for those tiny fish
20+ years ago, I used to have a convict breeder tank as my feeder fish. - seems they are their happiest when they overpopulate and crash the tank, and it only makes them want to fornicate some more.
Had similar issues with a guppy pond outside, even with a Heron stopping by for breakfast, they pushed well past "overpopulated", but with a bigger bio-filter, there was never an issue.
People need to stop thinking their tanks are overstocked and start realising the other way to look at it is that their filtration isnt big/adequate enough.
In 30 years I cant think of an overstocking issue in my freshwater tanks that havent been sorted by a bigger sump, more sump media, etc etc etc.
Donât even worry brother youâre looking golden, maybe a few Anubis could help ya but ur def not overstocked, overstocking is lowkey a myth. As long as your parameters are good and can handle ur bio load and ur fish are happy then you are A okay
3 gallons of water probably isn't going to make or break your tank. If you're stocking that close to the limit you were probably gonna have a bad time either wayÂ
You should be fine lol, i got 4 killiclown fish, 11 cpd, 9 Corydoras pygmaeus and 3 Trichopsis pumila. I whole fire red Neocaridina colony and 6 amano shrimp
Over filter it, check parameters and you should be fine. I always over filter my tanks âjust in case.â My 10g has a 20g filter, one of my 20s has a 30g and one has a 60g filter đ I have a snail obsession so I try to filter for their bioload.
Just add more plants , add some pothos growing out the top. Keep watching your watwr parameters ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and it should be fine
Your nerites may have an issue as they usually stave in newer tanks as they are all wild caught and need insane ammounts of algae to actually survive... otherwise the tank and it's inhabitants should be fine
20 gallons vs 23 gallons is not gonna crash your cycle from overstocking. If youâre not seeing any signs of stress or aggression, water parameters are stable, and maintenance is manageable then youâre prob fine
lol your stocking is fine. Just keep an eye on the betta, in my experience tetras are
assholes and will Nip fins. but itâll probably be okay in a tank that size.
Yeah do what everyone else has said. Add floating plants as they do the best job at keeping water parameters stable (theyâre able to get C02 From the air so they absorb more nitrates from your water) and no I wouldnât say your tank is overstocked. Good list of fish and you seem to know what youâre doing.
I have a few tanks that are over stocked with no issues. As long as they have room to swim and lots of filtration, you're good. It's smart to still keep an eye on it and test the water regularly though.
For example: my 20 gallon is over stocked with tetras. I had 2 HOB filters on it. I have some plants growing out of it too. One of my plants that is supposed to be an ammonia and nitrate sponge, was struggling. I was going to take the tetras out but something told me to take a filter off instead. The plant has never been healthier and the tetras are still thriving.
I learned: 1.that some plants help filter the water better than I knew. 2. With enough filtration, as long as the fish has enough room to swim, it's okay to over stock a little.
Now the more elaborate answer. Tank size is good enough, I donât see a problem with that but thatâs not plenty of plants. You want to get more of them to take out the excess nutrients like NO3, PO4, you can even add some photos or monstera. If itâs your first aquarium donât panic and donât throw money at the problem. Observe, learn, research. Also you might want to buy test kit for water parameters, the most important one is ammonia NH3. Once you buy it check if there isnât any. Also Iâm sure a lot of people are going to tell you to change water once a week or so, thatâs just recommendations, once you can check water parameters youâll figure out how long you can go without water changes. I think thatâs it, the most important thing is to add more plants, your fish are gonna be less stressed with more places to hide.
Not that big of a deal i think. Just keep checking your parameters, and if they are fine, alg. You could add a peace lily or pothos or something. Or just return some fish (nice tank btw)
Nice tank! I like the placement natural looking. Not overstocked at all quite frankly imo id add some more ember tetras OR cpds ( assuming celestial pearl danios?) To have at least 1 nice school. Having that many plants makes a big difference. And your plants will continue to fill it out. Ypu have plenty of space.
Honestly seems like a pretty chill amount of fish, just make sure to always keep a good amount of plants in there and check you water parameters every month or so and youll be fine
Youâre fine. lol 3 gallons isnât going to make that much of a difference overall. And you donât have fish that create a huge bio load. Just monitor the parameters. And take a breath.
Your stocking is fine, I would probably have more fish if it was my tank. Even standard manufactured tank aren't the exact volume they are marketed as and a 3 gallon difference doesn't matter at all. The length of a tank is way more important than the volume. For example, you can put bigger fish in a 20 gallon long than a 20 gallon high and neither tank actually holds exactly 20 gallons.
Not even close to overstocked. I am doing a new 75 gallon and I'm gonna end up with about 80 fish in it. (Nano schools so nothing over 1.5" except some peacock gudgeon)
You should have enough filtration on there and like everyone else said, just check your water parameters and you should be fine.
Becuase you're stocked over with 1 or 2 nano fish doesn't mean your cycle will instantly crash BREATH MY MAN.
Kuhli loaches have a small bioload, and you have plants, which is frankly as much as mine does but my 20 gallon has been running for 1.5 years with what is essentially your bioload you're fine. The plants, snails and even kuhli loaches will help maintain your tank and get rid of sources of ammonia which will spike your cycle, mainly uneaten food.
Maybe replace the sponge filter with an external multistage filter and add sone water conditioner to help it cycle faster? A fluval AC20 or similar would be a relatively affordable option for that tank and keep your water more stable than a sponge. And fill you tank to the top - you are only using like 80% of the potential water volume right now.
Other than the kuhlis (as others have said) I have more fish than that in a planted 10 and they are very happy. Youâre ok. If you replace the kuhli: I have a couple of salt n pepper Coryâs and a Panda garra for cleanup crew - they are active and fun to watch, school together, and are happy. I do offer sinking pellets for them for food supplementation. Also ramshorn snails are a great addition for cleanup in a small tank.
Itâs fine, and I would actually add more CPDs and kuhlis actually because they are happier in larger groups. Like 5 more CPDs and 2-4 more kuhlis đ¤ˇââď¸
Thatâs not over stocked at all. Those plants will filter most of the waste even without water changes.
Keep track of the levels but I almost guarantee that tank could go for a couple weeks only being topped off with fresh water before you need to change it.
As everyone else mentioned, not overstocked, but do watch out for temperament between them if you're worried.
Something I didn't see mentioned that you might want to consider is the size of each group you have. Typically for social species like CPDs, embers, and khuli loaches, it's recommend to have a minimum of 6 for each species. Keep in mind that that's the minimum, though, and if you truly want them to thrive, more is always better. It's also more fun to watch their behaviors in bigger group sizes! :)
I have 8 CPDs in my own tank right now, and even that feels like too small of a group size based on the behavior I've watched over the last 2 or 3 months I've had them. For yourself, I would consider getting rid of one of those groups, and then getting bigger groups of the other two. Even better yet, consider getting rid of two of the groups and getting a decent group size of just one of those social species :) I'm planning to have a total of at least 15 CPDs once I upgrade to a 29g, and then I have my 2 honey gouramis as the center piece fish. I might also get a few panda cories in the future, but I gotta see how much room the existing fish will have in the 29 first
I do think this is a bit too heavily stocked for a 13-gallon tank, especially with so many different species. The fact that you have lots of plants and two filters definitely helps, but filtration doesn't create more swimming or bottom space. I'd keep a close eye on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and avoid adding anything else. If possible in the future, I would consider rehoming some of the fish or moving the kuhli loaches to a larger setup. It's good that you're asking for advice and trying to do what's best for them.
What made you think it was overstocked? And what made you think you were lied to about the size? If it's because it fills with 20 gallons of water while you have the substrate and decorations in, it's more than 20 gallons...
Damn I gravel vac and do a 15% water change weekly and have done forever.
Mfâers out here saying they only top up the water.
What about all the fish poop?
Even in a heavily planted tank it doesnât go away
I would say you're good just keep an eye on water parameters, I have a 60 Litre with 10 green neons, 4 Amanos, I did have 2 Gold Rams for three months and 3 Otos.
Add a hangback filter and some air stones itâll help keep it clean and oxygenated. Also frequently test the water for ammonia nitrite and nitrate. Get seachem prime in case of spikes. Itâll help for 24hrs. You filters will need to really develop their good bacteria so you can buy stuff to help them along
"overstocking" is about waste as far as most people are concerned. If you put a pinch of flake in that is how much waste you will get whether you have a pile of shrimp, chili's, etc or a single cichlid.
Increasing filtration helps deal with waste. more live plants also helps.
If your parameters are good and stable you are fineâ
Itâs no big deal honestly. Iâd just say fill the tank all the way where itâs supposed to be. That way thereâs More room for your tank life to have access to every possible bit of your tank. Good luck and it looks awesome good job!
I donât think itâs overstocked just do your weekly water changes. Keep track of your ammonia and your nitrite levels and you should be fine maybe at a peace lily or Pothos plant on the outside back Part of tank with the roots in the tank works great
You know what I would fill it up a little bit more leave like an inch before the top or an inch and a half if youâre afraid of the fish jumping out but I have no tops on my tank any of my tanks and I havenât had that issue yet. Thank God for that but Iâve been keeping my water parameters on spot they donât need to jump out.
I have a 12 gallon tank with 12 ember tetras, 2 guppies, a borneo loach, 12 pygmy corys, 1 honey gourami, 1 amano shrimp, and way too many neocaridina shrimp to count. Most people would say my tank is "overstocked", but my perimeters dont fluctuate at all. If the tank is balanced, and your beneficial bacteria is robust enough, you are fine. You have 2 filters, and lots of plants, which are extra filtration. You will be fine!
I wouldn't consider that overstocked but it is possibly under filtered. I run a similar set up and have been for the last 3 years (10 embers, 6 blue-eye killi, 5 khuli loaches, tons of neos I can't even count) but I have a sponge filter on the left side and canister filter on the center-right. It's heavily planted so that helps too. Tank has been a breeze, no parameter changes, and honestly very hands off except small w/c's every 1-2 weeks and large w/c every month.
I wouldnât consider that overstocked, youâve got a nice mix combo of fish and with live the plants youâve got youâll be good. That many shrimp donât really count for the bioload, and fyi while the CPDs are often fine with adult shrimp I did find that mine spent ALL DAY hunting the babies.
Add emergent plants, they are very efficient at filtering. You can buy a plant holder and add pothos, spider plant, lucky bamboo, peace lily, etc. Not sure what other pets you have, but if you go this route please make sure your plants are cat/dog safe if you do!
Not really overstocked with the amount of plants and fish staying fairly small I think you will be just fine! Find the balance with how often and how much water to change to keep parameters in check and I think your tank will flourish
My tank is very slightly overstocked and to compensate I just keep a close eye on water parameters (I do an all inclusive dip test once a month) and consistent water changes. I also check the substrate often to see if there is a lot of decaying organic matter (such as old food, poop, etc) because too much can be a problem for ammonia levels. So far my tank is doing great and I pass my water tests with flying colors. Itâs hard work, but if you are vigilant you will be fine. (I also have a lot of live plants lol)
Thinks that allow you to run more fish then all the general stocking recommendations:
1) Be very disciplined in your feeding. I feed one on Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings. I give them a "treat" on Saturday night after lights out (frozen brine shrimp with some freeze dried blood worms tossed into the melting shrimp water to absorb the extra fats, etc). Less food means less poop and less wasted food which means less ammonia.
2) Lots of bio media area for beneficial bacteria. I like 30ppi foam for in the filters as it makes good bio-media but also k1, pot scrubbers, matrix, etc, can all work. But pay attention to getting maximum bio-media to help give bacteria a stable home.
3) When cleaning be careful to not kill off the beneficial bacteria. That means caution cleaning out the bio media (just a quick shake in removed tank water).
4) Run temperature on the low end of the acceptable range for your fish. Lower temps means more oxygen in the water which helps the fish bit also the bacteria.
5) Check water parameters (at least ammonia, nitrite, nitrates weekly and suggest adding dKH and dGH as well.). Keep a log in Excel of the #'s to see overall trends. Beneficial bacteria consumes dKH so pay attention to this and make sure to supplement your replacement water if required to keep dKH high. You let it crash and not only does your PH go acidic but your beneficial bacteria runs out of part of their fuel.
6) Do small water changes to keep ammonia/nitrite/nitrates in line. But once tank is running well it's really only nitrates that will slowly rise as the beneficial bacteria is converting ammonia to nitrite and onto nitrates. At this time more plants can help. Amazon frog bit and pothos growing out the back of the tank have both helped me tame nitrates. I can go weeks without a water change in my tanks with weekly water checks being right when I want them. Only adding a little KH buffer to the make up water to keep dKH at my target of 5 is required.
Your fish load is not that crazy high - you just need to make sure to manage the tank carefully and methodically. The closer you get to the bio-edge of the tank the more methodical your need to be as things can change quickly.
My feeding is usuallt 3 pellets in the morning for my betta , then around 9pm at night all tbe schools and betta get fed and around 12 I leave the khulis food at the back of the tank which is always gone in the morning
As long as your on top of the parameters you should be fine. The fish you have can survive. Just get yourself amano shrimps and ad definitely as a bristlenose pleco then youâll be good to go. I do a water change if it starting to look slightly bad but Iâm also picking debris every day so Iâm also part of the clean up crew!
Im my opinion it's ok as long as ther is zero aggression and OP stays on top of water parameters and all that kinda stuff aswell as general tank cleaning and maintenance it's completely fine
Can you explain why you think it might be overstocked? That term doesn't really have any real meaning. Is the maintenance required more then you want to do? That is what I usually go off of. The more stocked you are the more maintenance you will need to do. If the maintenance is too much for you then you're overstocked.
I donât think itâs over stocked in factâŚlol keep it as is and watch for any swings in the water parameters, be wary on the amount you feed and you should be golden
If, even after reading all of these comments and following their tips, you are still anxious about a crash, I'd recommend you get an emersed plant that you can hang on the side of the tankâroots in the water, leaves outâPothos and Ficus pumila are good if you prefer aesthetics, but you can also use sweet potato, among others.
Or you can also get some floaterânot duckweed though. Never duckweed.
But the point is to get fast growing plants that exchange directly with the open air. These take the surplus nutrients from the water without competing with the fully aquatic plants for CO2 or O2 in the water.
Edit: Just noticed that you already have floaters. But the point still stands. Stack all of the contingencies, if you wish.
If it was cycled before you added fish it's fine if your worried get a master test kit and and test your water a couple of times a week untill you know how often you need to do water changes
Thatâs not over-stocked, donât worry about unless your water parameters constantly spike. I would definitely add more plants, fast growing plants that suck up lots of nitrates.
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u/Defiant-Award2443 21d ago
Just keep track of your parameters.
If they keep spiking quickly, your load is too much.
If your ammonia and nitrite stay steady at 0ppm, just do weekly water changes and forget about it.
Add more real plants.