55 gallon overstocked?

[Sneakers28]

Would it be alright to stock a 55g long tank with a red oscar, electric blue dempsey and a convict? Most of what I read on the web suggests 150g would be the minimum for these three fish, but it seems like from the You Tube Videos and what members here stock that you can get away with a lot more. Any thoughts? If I used heavy filtration and frequent water changes would it be alright, or is it more of a space issue? If 55g is too small, what should i consider the minimum to keep the fish healthy?

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[Mike fail]

there would be some problems i think, a full grown oscar is to big for a 55 and those three full grown, there would be aggression problems.

 

[Kobeclone]

You are right, some people on here do keep fish in conditions that the average fishkeeper would call overstocked, but these people do it with massive filtration and fish that are compatible.

With those 3 fish in a 55 gallon tank, agro problems will arise, and so will water quality issues. THe bare minimum for an oscar is 55g. Period, end of discussion. Besides needing the volume of water because they are messy, they need the room to turn around, as 14 inches is not uncommon. I would personally go another 20 gallons for the convict, because he may be small, be they are fricking bada$$. I have heard stories of a 4 inch convict bullying a 10 inch oscar. I would leave the ebjd out because they are fairly fragile, and with the bioload of an oscar and a con, it probably wouldn't work out.

For the oscar and con, I say 75 gallons min. But remember, minimum tank size means maximum maintenance and filtration.

For all 3 I say go by the book, and look for 100-150 gallons.

 

[DABoepple]

i kept an oscar regular jack and a male con for three years in a 55 with no problems but maybe i was just lucky my oscar only hit 11 inches and my jack 9 but my convict got massive it was like 6 inches but i also overfilterd and did daily water changes so i think u could try it

 

[dragonfish]

On the small side. The EBJD probably would not last with it's slow growth rate and non aggression compared to the others.

 

[beno]

If you got past the aggression issues you could do it if you overfiltered a lot. Or did waterchanges every day. Overfiltering would be the best option.

 

[princess]

i kept an oscar regular jack and a male con for three years in a 55 with no problems but maybe i was just lucky my oscar only hit 11 inches and my jack 9 but my convict got massive it was like 6 inches but i also overfilterd and did daily water changes so i think u could try it

maybe if it had a bigger tank it would have grown bigger. i don't get why people can say over filteration and frequent water changes can replace the space of a bigger tank? i agree to that to a certain degree but it doesn't make the tank any bigger

 

[mojo2776]

If you got past the aggression issues you could do it if you overfiltered a lot. Or did waterchanges every day. Overfiltering would be the best option.

It's going to take both overfiltering and very frequent water changes; filtration can't take the place of water changes in reducing nitrates.

 

[Lupin]

It's going to take both overfiltering and very frequent water changes; filtration can't take the place of water changes in reducing nitrates.

I agree with that. Daily is better although you can try every 2-3 days or as long as nitrates don't exceed 40 ppm.

 

[Newt]

IMO a 55 is too small for those three fish. I think a 75 gallon or 90 would work better. I wouldn't worry about the convict bullying the oscar because it is just one convict and not a pair. The only fish I can see a problem with is the EBJD. They are more delicate than a regular JD and are really slow growers. The oscar will bully it for sure.