Grossly over stocked?

[onedayaway]

Been out of the hobby for at least 10 years. Mind you back then we only had 1 Oscar, pair of convicts, and pair of firemouths.

Bought a used 55 gallon set up and off we went to petsmart to grab an extra filter and see what our options were for fish.

After talking to the guy there and him seeming quite confident with what he was saying I think we've ended up with far too many fish than our tank will support, especially after reading up on here. It sounds like we're grossly overstocked. Maybe not right at the minute, but certainly one these guys start growing. I had always just remembered the 1" per gallon and that's what he was preaching as well. He assured us we ever had room for another fish if we wanted. I just didn't want a breeding pair again, it was impossible to keep up with the convicts we had before. I see another tank... or two in our very near future.

The list is as follows
2 firemouths (1.5"and 2.5") I think they're both males
1 convict (1.5") female
1 jack dempsey (1.5")
1 green terror (2.5")
1 red devil / Midas (2.5")
1 red tail black shark (2.5")

How long do I have before all hell breaks lose and what am I even going to need for tank sizes to keep these guys happy? Currently the large firemouth is running the show, but I'm sure that'll be short lived. From what I've read the midevils are real nasty fish, but it has yet to show any of that. That's if that's even what it is. It has a point mouth with huge lips. lol Would rather split them up and have a few tanks than one huge tank.

Thanks guys!

 

[probassfisher010]

Will definitely turn bad soon, as soon as fish start hitting 4-5" is when you will be on limited time. I think if you left it the way it is, midevil will kill everything before its even 7"


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[maxxximus87]

^yup

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[onedayaway]

Sorry for the crappy pics, all taken with my phone. I can't believe how much more intense the colors have become on these fish now that they've been home for a couple days, although its very hard to capture on a cell phone.

 

[pbass510]

If this was a 10g yea it would be pretty bad. But these fish average like 4-9" except the convict but yea just use the motto Jdm lol

 

[nigaharu]

Anyone of those fish can and will go crazy in a couple of months.


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[ecoli73]

Frankly not too bad. You need to get rid of the red devil though, else you will end up with one red devil.

You will probably end up with a Jd, gt and convicts...the fire mouths are pretty wimpy and in a 55 most likely can not stand up to the attention of your rest.


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[PoopSmart]

The RD is the only thing that screams trouble in that tank. If you over-filtrate, keep them happy and full, and there aren't any pairs or interbreeding with that female convict, then I don't see why you couldn't have an "overstocked" style tank with that selection (as long as there are enough places or objects in the tank for the fish to claim separate territories and block each other's view when necessary). Just pay attention to it, it's such a specific scenario every time. If it starts getting bad then obviously re-home the troublemaker(s).

 

[strollo22]

Yea you're going to run into a compatibility issue long before you run into an overstock issue.


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[GrantA94]

I have to dissagre with pretty much everyone here. I say yes, you will be grossly overstocked. IMO, you need a 55 purely for the JD or the GT (alone!). So having a FM (you'll likely end up with only one because the smaller looks malnourished and will soon be picked off) and a Con with them both is way too much. As for the RD, everyone has said it, it will turn phsyco one day.

So IMO, you shouldpock one ofthe following:

- Keep the FM('s) and the Con. Get rid of the rest.

- Keep the GT. (If it's male*) Get rid of the rest.

- Keep the JD. (If it's male*) Get rid of the rest.

- Keep the RD. Get rid of the rest.

You don't have to neccessarily remove them all now, but if you wished to keep the RD then I would. It's always good to have a plan of stock before executing, otherwise you end up with a jumble of fish and an overstocked tank.

*If the GT or JD are female you could add more tank mates. They could both stay or any combination of them FM and Convict.

Just my thoughs