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Am I overstocked?

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  iamntbatman 
#1 ·
125 US gallon tank:

(all purchased yesterday at pet store)
2x oscars
6x silver dollars
2x pictus catfishes
 
#2 ·
I'm not sure. But I think there are two factors to look for. 1) is the filter able to keep up with the waste (ammonia and nitrite levels are next to 0) 2) are the fish getting enough oxygen (are they up at the top gasping for air) You can add more filtration for the first and a powerhead to move the water to help the second.
 
#3 ·
Depending on the kind of filtration you have and how often/ how much water you change you should be fine. I would have a lot of filtration on that tank, and change 25% of the water every week.
 
#5 ·
I would probably do 2 XP3's and possibly an HOB also. You want a lot of water movement to move the waste to the filter intakes. Oscars are very messy fish and need lots of filtration. It's not uncommon for cichlid keepers to have 10x filtration.
 
#6 ·
That stocking plan should work. Of course, your oscars might not get along with one another, but that's a risk you take when housing more than one cichlid in the same tank. As others have mentioned, I would definitely massively over-filter that tank. If I was in your position, I'd get something like two Emperor 400 HOB power filters and two Magnum 350 canisters.
 
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