92 gallon and it's inhabitants.

Redknee

As i said in my intro post i have a 92 gallon freshwater tank that is populated mostly by fish that became unwanted by the owners. This is not because i can't actually buy fish it's because i find it hard to say no to someone who wants to give me a fish and also telling me that if i dont want it the fish is going down the toilet.
So here i find myself with a 92 gallon planted aquarium with the following fish:
30 Neon Tetra, 4 Melanotaenia boesemani, 2 freshwater angelfish, 5 barbus tetrazona, 5 Dwarf Gourami(the oned with orange body and blue upper fin), 1 ancistrus and 3 algae eaters that i have yet to identify(they are pretty small and dont think they will ever grow as they are about 1 year old).
And now i'm fighting myself to say NO! to another 20 neon tetras as the tank seems to be overcrowded as it is. It's not that it looks overcrowded(in fact judjeing by how it looks it seems underpopulated).
Any advice on the population and how 20 more tetras would impact the aquarium?
Is it a must to say no? Or do you think they it can take 20 more little ones?
Thanks, Dan.

1077

I think you have more than enough room. My only concern with accepting fishes from others, is possible introduction of disease or pathogens unknown to my aquarium. If you can quarantine them for two to three weeks, then I say go for it if that is your wish.

Redknee

A well i always keep new fish on lockdown in a 100L aquarium till i am sure is all ok(2 weeks usually).
As for taking fish from others... I really would not since my 92 gallon was actually made to house 5 Discus BUT i just cant let someone dump the fish in the toilet so my dream Discus aquarium has turned into a... home for the abandoned/homeless fish shelter :D.
My worry was the liter/fish thingy as i read that for a angelsifh u need 50 liters and a Neon Tetra needs about 6 liters each thus 100 liters gone for the angelfish and another 180 gone for the 30 tetras it's 280 liters already leaving 70 liters for the 5 gourami+5 tetrazona+4 boesemani and the algae eaters.
Not to mention the 120 liters the 20 new tetras would need.
But i guess they will be ok even with less then the perfect liter/fish ballance as if you see the aquarium u'll notice that there are parts of it totally empty since all the fish seem to enjoy only the left side of the tank for some unknown reason...
Here's a picture of it, not even half finished but i am waiting for the rest of the plants and for a serious CO2 sistem as the one u can see in the pic is not even 10% enough for the aquarium but as things move slow here all one can do is wait and hope :)
Enjoy, awaiting remarks be they positive or negative.

iamntbatman

Gorgeous tank you've got there!

I think you're going to have problems with this mix of fish in the long term. The dwarf gouramis are territorial and as they settle in you may start to notice in-fighting with them. Once they get some size on them, the angels are likely to eat the neons. The barbs are also likely to start getting aggressive, both within their own group and with the other fish. I'm not sure what the best solution would be to all of these potential problems but I would be very concerned about your tank remaining peaceful in the long run.

Redknee

Ah thanks for the compliment, cant wait for all the plants to arive so i can finish.
The barbs+gourami+angels are tankmates from a very early age and i never seen any trouble, well a few exceptions when th bigger angel was butkicking the smaler one over some leftover food :P, besides that nothing never hapens. For the angels eating the neons... well it is one of my wories to but i think that as long as i keep them well fed they have no reason to attack my neons and if they ever do there will always someone that wants a angel or 2 for some aquarium(fcourse if i ever donate them it will be to someone who will care for them not keep them in a bowl).
P.S excuse my backwater english but it it my 3rd lang and it was more or less(more then less) self teached.
Again thanks fot the input

molliefan09

it is a very pretty tank!! i do agree with iamntbatman that as the angels, gouramis, barbs mature you may see some aggression. With that being said, each fish has their own personality and your may continue to do well. good luck and look forward to pics of the finished project!!

Byron

Very nice aquascape, well done. When the plants start growing, wow. My only non-fish suggestion is a background, something as simple as plain black or dark brown paper; it will really make your lovely fish and plants, and that beautiful wood, stand out better.

Nice work indeed. Byron.

Redknee

Black background soon to come, i wanted to add it sooner BUT i have a lot on my mind unfortunetly :(.
Again thanks everyone for the input.

aunt kymmie

I agree with everyone else, your tank is beautiful. A black background is going to make that tank *pop*.

Niyona

First, I wanna say what a beautiful tank. And secondly, just a thought, but you might consider re-homing those fish via Craigslist or a fish forum such as this one. I'm sure SOMEONE would love to have the fish. You could even charge a small re-home fee to make sure they go to a good place and to save up $$ for that wonderful Discus tank you talk about. :)