fish compatibilty help

[daboyprince23]

I have a 55 gallon tank with natural medium sized rocks with 3 aquatic plants. I have the tank divided right now about 2/3's the bigger side holding my jacket dempsey(approx 7-8 inches) and my 2 gars i think 1 is florida and the other is spotted both about 10 inches and i have 2 6 inch plecos in the same side. The other side I have a elephant nose(4-5 inches), black ghost(4-5 inches) and lima shovel nose(5 inches). Im keeping them divided till the little guys get bigger I have a feel when my back is turned they gonna tear those little guys up. before i got the divider there was no elephant or ghost just the lima and they let him live for a few dats wit the exception of a little nick on his tail.

 

[bigspizz]

Too many fish. will be o.k for a short while research the potential size of your fish. good rule of thumb is an inch per gallon ie 55 gal 55 potential inches. there are several oppinions on this matter but that will help you not "overstock" your tank. a fish that will only grow 1 inch will need less water than a 1 inch fish that will be 12 inches plus. try to keep aggresiveness in mind when buying a fish. community fish will get eaten by aggressive fish.

 

[is300zx]

I disagree with that so called an inch per gallon rule of thumb. That "rule" doesn't account for body type, body mass, bio load, and fish behavior. If you hold that rule to be true then you should have no problems putting a 24 inch arowana in a 29 gallon tank.

The gars, the black ghost, and I think the lima will eventually outgrow a 55 gallon. Possibly your plecos too depending on what type they are can also outgrow a 55 gal. Because you have such a small tank you'll run into a lot of aggression/territorial problems. Not to mention that as the fish gets larger you would have to do more maintenance on your tank just to keep your water quality up. You really should consider giving those fish up if you're not able to house them properly. Also you should thoroughly research the fish you're interested in before buying them.

 

[bigspizz]

I disagree with that so called an inch per gallon rule of thumb. That "rule" doesn't account for body type, body mass, bio load, and fish behavior. If you hold that rule to be true then you should have no problems putting a 24 inch arowana in a 29 gallon tank.


Still good for newbees to have a number to not go over. I don't follow that either I was just letting him know gently he has too many fish. once you get to MONSTER, that rule goes out the window completely and you'll find yourself putting a single oscar in a 90 with little to no mates. for newbs who should start small and work there way up to monster, it is an o.k. barometer to follow as a critical maximum!