Help?

ladayen

38 fish in a 5 gallon.. how much money did that cost? Most people would likely have killed those fish quite quickly then gone back and bought more. If as I would recommend you purchased a betta instead for your 5 gallon how much would that cost?

A fish store is a business, it is by nature designed to make money. Regardless what an individual employee feels they must bend to the demand of making money. Always take a stores advice with a grain of salt and do your own individual research. Normally I would say more but with your dedication and discipline to the hobby I think you will find your own path. Just dont make any rapid changes. Patience and water changes, the most important things in this hobby.

Fishnoodle

Ok its easy enough for me to move them out to one of the other tanks
Thanks everyone

Fishnoodle

Hard to measure the figure after so long
Its been running as is for about 8 months but I take my time setting up and adding fish so the whole process took at least 2-3 months to finish
I couldnt tell you how much I spent during that time

I understand the concept of it being a business but until today, the LFS has been my guide and to date have not failed me. The only reason I came online is because I felt something was not right with what they were telling me

PLEASE feel free to say more! The more informed I am, the better my fish will be. I always knew that the tank is more crowded than is normal (my 3 big tanks are considerably less stocked) but the LFS advised that if they were looking and behaving the same then I had no problems.

I intend to take the female back to the shop tonight/tomorrow
And I will take out most of the fish and disperse them around my other tanks which have much more room

Sanguinefox

It's wonderful that you are going to disperse them into different tanks. Just remember to make sure you put them in tanks with fish they are compatible with. That way you don't have further issues with fish not getting along.

jaysee

I have a lot of experience overstocking, and I'll say that there is a straw that breaks the camel's back. Things have been working for 8 months, and while that is respectable, it's still a relatively short amount of time. As fish grow and mature, the dynamics of the tank can change. There is certainly a balance that you have going on, and it seems like adding the female has disrupted that. Whether or not it SHOULD work is irrelevant, because the tank is telling you it's not. When a tank is heavily stocked, those last additions are always the trickiest.

Also, on a separate note, it's really important to quarantine new fish. You've gotten lucky so far, but all it takes is one sick fish to bring it all crashing down.

Byron

Hi Fishnoodle and welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.

Well, other members have said it, and I needn't beat it to death as you seem prepared to accept the suggestions concerning your stocking. I can't enlarge the avatar photo to see it clearly...are you sure it is a 22 liter tank? Presumably the fish are quite small.

Your two and three times weekly water changes plus the thick plant growth is what is saving the fish. Though this should not be allowed to continue as damage is being done that is not visible and at some point, as I think one member mentioned, this will almost certainly snap.

We have fish profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page. If a common or scientific name is used in a post identical to that in the profile it will shade and you can click that for the species' profile, example Neon Tetra or Paracheirodon innesi. In each profile there is data on numbers of the species, minimum tank size, compatibility, etc. This data is reliable; I wrote most of the profiles and I have several sources from biologists and ichthyologists for the data.

To try and put what's happening in your present tank in perspective, have a read of this article on stress:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...um-fish-98852/

And never hesitate to post questions, many members here have considerable experience and are willing to help.

Byron.

Fishnoodle

Thanks everyone for your help!!
By the time I got back home she seemed to have settled in and he was quite accepting of her. So I have kept her and him together (no further aggression issues to report either)
I have moved all but one bristlenose to my other tanks where there is much more room. I will move him out shortly though too

Jaysee, I use a quarantine tank without exception. The LFS advised it some years ago after I failed epically with my first tank. Since then I used it every purchase

Byron, thanks for that information. Hopefully moving my fish will reduce their stress levels. The harlequins are approx 1-1.5 inches in length. The neons are all approx 1 inch.
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Termato

picture?

I zoomed into that 5 gallon and in ratio to the tank size the neons and rasboras are both small.

Can you measure the tank and post LxWxH.

That would help a lot. If the tank is bigger than five gallons than your options would certainly increase in stocking.

Fishnoodle

38cm x 36.5cm x 28cm
22 litres
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Termato

Those measurements are of a 10 gallon tank which is 38.83L.

You have a 10 gallon not a 5 gallon.