[Lossofbreath]

Never posted anything before, so bear with me. Got a mess of fish in my tank. Love 'em all and would hate to part with any of them, but was looking on some advice on maintaining a tank that is likely overstocked. Laugh, I know... but the majority of them are still young, and really just seeking out some advice.

 

[Olympia]

Live plants and heavy weekly water changes is what I do with my overstocked tanks..

But, there are different types of overstocking. Having a bunch of small peaceful schooling fish is one thing, but it sounds to me like you may have cichilds or something that can grow large and aggressive? With fish that stake out territories, you really have to be careful giving everyone space.. Most of the fish will do fine together until hitting sexual maturity.

What exactly is the tank size, stocking, filtration/plants?

 

[Lossofbreath]

Just filled out some information on my profile... can you see that info?

 

[Olympia]

Yep.. To me, it doesn't seem too bad for a 90 gallon tank. The cories do like to live in groups, to note..
The hillstream loach has some specialized needs, and I don't think it fits in well with the other fish, you may want to look into that one specifically..
The tiger barbs could cause trouble eventually, as they can be aggressive.
The two angelfish may or may not cause trouble later on, I believe grown angel fish can eat neon tetras, and they may turn on each other once they grow older. That's all I can see wrong, really..

 

[jaysee]

welcome to the forum

are you experiencing any issues at the moment or are you just looking to the future?

 

[thekoimaiden]

Welcome to the forum! It's not nearly as bad as some other overstocked tanks. It's probably quite do-able.

The hillstream loach is probably your biggest problem as they have very specific needs with regards to oxygen and water flow. If you were going to remove one fish, that's the one I would take out. This is a great article about hillstream loaches and their needs: Hillstream Loaches: The Specialists at Life In The Fast Lane - Loaches Online

Another large problem I can see for the future is the gourami and the angelfish. Both are territorial and semi-aggressive. I've seen people keep both in a tank peacefully, but things can change at the drop of a hat.

If anything you want to add fish. The cories, like Olimpia said, like to be in groups of 6 or more of the same species. The tetra and tiger barbs, too. They need large groups of their own species to make them feel comfortable. Doubling the amount of neon tetra and rummynose would be a good idea.

 

[Byron]

I basically second what others have suggested. You need to add more of several of the fish listed, but some are not going to be compatible with others long-term, so some have to go.

Some general comments first. All tetra, barbs, danio, rasbora, corys, and loaches are shoaling fish. This means they live in large groups and must have a decent sized group or they will not be in the best of health, and may turn aggressive. The minimum number for a group somewhat depends upon species. Please check up on these in our profiles [most are included], second heading from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page. If the common or scientific name is used identically in a post, it will shade to form a link to that profile, so for ease I will list them here and you can click each:

Hillstream Loach
Emerald Green Cory--this could be the Bronze Cory or the Emerald Catfish
Pepper Cory
Brilliant Rummy nose Tetra
Neon Tetra
Cherry Barb
Tiger Barb
Pearl Gourami
Boeseman Rainbowfish
Scalare Angelfish

But before going ahead on this, we need to know the water parameters are there are fish here that do not like the same water as some others listed. Also, the temperature is an issue, as the profiles will show.

To a couple of serious specifics. I would re-home the Hillstream Loach as there is no way at all that the best environment for this fish will suit most of the others, due to temperature and water current. I would also re-think the Tiger Barb and re-home; both angelfish and gourami can be victims of nipping by TB, especially in such a small group.

I will just explain the shoaling/group issue very briefly. Shoaling fish that are kept in too small a group have been proven to develop increased aggression, and peaceful species have turned aggressive. This is because of the stress they feel over the improper environment.

Hope this helps.

Byron.

 

[Lossofbreath]

Wow! Gotta say thanks for all the great replies. I will have to make a correction to my list of fish because I have no tiger barbs, I have roseline sharks. Really don't remember keying that in either, sorry.
Currently, not experiencing any issues with any of the fish or the water... okay, I lied... had some algae bloom when I put in some plants but that has since subsided. I moved some of the fish in from a smaller tank when I started, including the cories, rummies, and neons. They just kinda hang out and are slowly dying off cause I've had them for several years. Not real intent on replacing them... but who knows, they are pretty. The balance of the tankmates save for the newest additions the Boesemans, and the Torquoise, (one week) have all been in the tank almost the whole time. They all interact with each other quite well... so far.
On a different note, my sting ray pleco, or whatever, is just really awesome to look at. When I first acquired him he was so small we made a game out of finding him. He seems happy, and has grown quite a bit. He's not really afraid of anyone anymore... and really does work on the glass. Would be sad to see him go. Is he gonna turn into the Incredible Hulk or something?

 

[Byron]

Wow! Gotta say thanks for all the great replies. I will have to make a correction to my list of fish because I have no tiger barbs, I have roseline sharks. Really don't remember keying that in either, sorry.
Currently, not experiencing any issues with any of the fish or the water... okay, I lied... had some algae bloom when I put in some plants but that has since subsided. I moved some of the fish in from a smaller tank when I started, including the cories, rummies, and neons. They just kinda hang out and are slowly dying off cause I've had them for several years. Not real intent on replacing them... but who knows, they are pretty. The balance of the tankmates save for the newest additions the Boesemans, and the Torquoise, (one week) have all been in the tank almost the whole time. They all interact with each other quite well... so far.
On a different note, my sting ray pleco, or whatever, is just really awesome to look at. When I first acquired him he was so small we made a game out of finding him. He seems happy, and has grown quite a bit. He's not really afraid of anyone anymore... and really does work on the glass. Would be sad to see him go. Is he gonna turn into the Incredible Hulk or something?

By Stingray Pleco, I will assume it is the species Beaufortia kweichowensis which is in our profiles, check the photo there to see if you agree. This species is often encountered under the genus name Gastromyzon, but this is now a synonym for Beaufortia, confirmed by Dr. Maurice Kottelat only last year.

As it notes in the profile, this fish must have very specific conditions. Cooler water than most "tropicals" is mandatory, plus a decent current. Which I now see I already noted.:roll: This could be provided in a fairly small tank, say a 20g long, with a good powerhead. And you could add a few more. The White Cloud Mountain Minnow in a group (say 7) would make a nice companion fish.

Byron.

 

[jentralala]

No, he's not going to turn into the Hulk, he's just always going to be under stress from not being in the right conditions, which will make him more susceptible to disease and have a much shortened lifespan.

 

[Lossofbreath]

Well, that definitely is the fish. Was really looking forward to watching him grow up with all his buddies. I'm sure his tankmates will miss staring at him trying to figure out what to do

On another note, as you read above, I made a mistake somehow keying in the type of fish in my tank. Will having Roseline Sharks in place of Tiger Barbs impact the overall stocking density of my tank. Really trying to keep what I have here.

Just a little note on my tank:
The rummies love to school around with the roselines. The neons with the rummies, mostly. The cories are quite the pair and have tried to breed with each other. The cherry barbs really just go anywhere. The salmon red and the praecox display awesome colors (I dub war paint) when the female praecox spawns. I see the candystripe once a month when he gets bored of being under log. The angels are freakin' pigs... and growing fast. The gouramis are the cats of the aquarium. They hang out most of the time and then all of a sudden decide their bored and wander through every opening in the tank.

Since adding the new rainbows, the Boesemans have begun chasing around some of the Roselines. It's like watching a dog chase a horse. Any thoughts? Or just another weird pairing in the tank.

 

[Byron]

Well, that definitely is the fish. Was really looking forward to watching him grow up with all his buddies. I'm sure his tankmates will miss staring at him trying to figure out what to do

On another note, as you read above, I made a mistake somehow keying in the type of fish in my tank. Will having Roseline Sharks in place of Tiger Barbs impact the overall stocking density of my tank. Really trying to keep what I have here.

Just a little note on my tank:
The rummies love to school around with the roselines. The neons with the rummies, mostly. The cories are quite the pair and have tried to breed with each other. The cherry barbs really just go anywhere. The salmon red and the praecox display awesome colors (I dub war paint) when the female praecox spawns. I see the candystripe once a month when he gets bored of being under log. The angels are freakin' pigs... and growing fast. The gouramis are the cats of the aquarium. They hang out most of the time and then all of a sudden decide their bored and wander through every opening in the tank.

Since adding the new rainbows, the Boesemans have begun chasing around some of the Roselines. It's like watching a dog chase a horse. Any thoughts? Or just another weird pairing in the tank.

The Roseline is probably what we term Denisons Barb in our profiles, Puintius denisonii. As it notes, this fish attains 6 inches, should have a group of 8, and be in a 4-foot or larger tank. It may (when mature) eat smaller fish (neons, rummys, cherry barbs). It also needs cooler temps and some water flow, again opposite to some of the other fish.:-(