Am I overstocked?

lorindaleigh1

I really want to get more fish in a few weeks. However, I have a feeling that I'm already overstocked. :(

Here is what I have

1 male betta
2 mollies
4 mickey mouse platies
4 Neon Tetra's
a 5 inch pleco
2 apple snails
1 mystery snail (I know same thing as an Apple Snail just a different color)

Am I overstocked? If I can get more what can I get? I really want 2 more tetra's as I read that they need to be in groups of 6 and one other fish but I'm not sure what yet.

onefish2fish

its impossible to answer until you post tank size.

what kind of pleco?

lorindaleigh1

OMG I'm so sorry. It's a 20 gallon tank. I have no idea what kind of pleco he is. He came with the tank. I'll go get a picture. :)

onefish2fish

mollies, guppies and swordtails are all in the livebearer catagory so they will multiply rapidly.

common plecos get over a foot in size. im willing to bet that is what you have, so your over stocked
it prob. would be in the best interest of your neon tetras that you get 2 more as they are schooling fish

Lupin

Mystery snail is still Apple Snail. It is best referred to as diffusa, brig or bridgesii. It used to be called Pomacea bridgesii but the name has been replaced by Ken Hayes with Pomacea diffusa so it is officially a Pomacea diffusa although the existence of P. bridgesii being the alleged subspecies is still being debated until now.

Your other apple snails could still be Pomacea diffusa assuming you were calling them different names due to their colors otherwise you might have the Pomacea canaliculata, Pomacea insularum, Pomacea haustrum, Pomacea paludosa or salton seas. All of which contribute too much bioload for most small tanks and therefore require more than usual maintenance routine. All these species mentioned minus the P. diffusa can reach baseball size and possibly bigger if P. insularum. A 20g should be able to support all three though but judging from your stocks, you need to do at least 2-3 times water changes a week depending on how your nitrates keep up to no more than 40.

MsFrosty

I have the same amount of Almost the same fish in my 33 gallon and I think it is too much. Your fish might be small now but give them time to grow a little before you cram more fish in so that they can't grow at all. I have 3 cardinals and one x ray and they school together and I haven't had a problem. Although what works for one hobbyist might not work for the other.

My Tank:

Four Guppies
2 High Fin Platys
1 Sunburst Platy
1 Brownish Oange Uknown Platy
1 Mickey Mouse Platy
1 Balloon Molly
3 Cardinal Tetras
1 X-Ray Tetra
1 Male Betta

WisFish

I don't think your over stocked yet. But as others pointed out, you will be over time as the pleco grows. Adding 3 neons at thsi point won't add much of a load. But lost in all this is also filtration and water movement. The amount of water movement (to address the oxygen issue) and type of filtration (for the biological needs) help determine what a given tank can hold. Increases in both, to a point, allow you to increase a tank's load.

veganchick

I agree with what they said about the pleco....best in a 50+ gallon

MsFrosty

Be Careful if your platies decide to breed to, unless you have a seperate tank for them to grow out in and then sell/trade them.

Tyyrlym

I wouldn't harp on the pleco until we can get some confirmation of what type it is. If its one of the smaller types then she should be ok. If it's common it'll be a problem.

Other than that I'd say the tank is fine. I'd recommend a few more neons but that's about it. I wouldn't add more than that though since you've got three potentially large snails and one pleco that even if its a smaller one will still put a lot of load on the biofilter.