Am i overstocked??
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large_cichlids;520617; said:
i have polys, discus, goby, and an african brown knife in a 90gal. tell me exactly what will outgrow the tank??
Here's a stupid little rule that makes absolutely no sense: One inch of fish per gallon of tank water.
When those polypterus' were little earthworms, they could eat all day and not appreciably contribute to the -bio-load. Now you have to watch what they eat. When one takes a dump, the whole tank knows it. Ten inches of baby bichir's has nothing on one ten inch adult bichir. For those not familiar with bichirs, think of ten baby oscars lined up vs. one ten inch adult oscar. Not quite the same bio-load, is it.
The tank size has less to do with overstocking than it is given credit for. Over crowding on the otherhand should be considered on a per species basis. For instance, a Florida gar over ten inches would have a tough time turning in that tank. They are not flexible like a bichir and need double their length or better for easy turning. One gar would be over crowded. On the other hand, community fish such as cichlids just look better in a crowded tank (my opinion only).
The true key to a tanks stocking limit lies in the filter(s). Twenty gallons of filtration is what you are doing right. To put it into perspective, a 90g tank with 20g of filtration is the same as a ten gallon tank with 2.2 gallons of filtration. No one EVER does that. A hob filter for a ten gallon has right at .012g of filter space. You have 182.5 times the filter volume than a HOB filter manufacturer thinks you need. Keep doing what you have been doing; it works.
When those polypterus' were little earthworms, they could eat all day and not appreciably contribute to the -bio-load. Now you have to watch what they eat. When one takes a dump, the whole tank knows it. Ten inches of baby bichir's has nothing on one ten inch adult bichir. For those not familiar with bichirs, think of ten baby oscars lined up vs. one ten inch adult oscar. Not quite the same bio-load, is it.
The tank size has less to do with overstocking than it is given credit for. Over crowding on the otherhand should be considered on a per species basis. For instance, a Florida gar over ten inches would have a tough time turning in that tank. They are not flexible like a bichir and need double their length or better for easy turning. One gar would be over crowded. On the other hand, community fish such as cichlids just look better in a crowded tank (my opinion only).
The true key to a tanks stocking limit lies in the filter(s). Twenty gallons of filtration is what you are doing right. To put it into perspective, a 90g tank with 20g of filtration is the same as a ten gallon tank with 2.2 gallons of filtration. No one EVER does that. A hob filter for a ten gallon has right at .012g of filter space. You have 182.5 times the filter volume than a HOB filter manufacturer thinks you need. Keep doing what you have been doing; it works.
and on a side note the lima went to a buddy and the gar went a family members pond. great post chompers.
I would start by getting the solitary discus out of there. They are much better in groups and cannot tolerate the high bioloads you will inevitably have.
pheedbak;521062; said:
I totally agree, however,
this is no ordinary discus. it has killed another discus in another tank. i placed it in the 90 temporarily and he loved it. he eats like a champ, looks great, and bullys around the polys like nothing. he chased a 10in geo to death just this last weekend. he stresed the hell out of that poor fish. my discus is freakin mean. dont worry tho he is going into a planted 180 discus tank at my work as soon as hes big enough.
