Is my tank over stocked?

[EChambers89]

I have a 55 gallon tank with 1 pleco, 2 tiger barbs, 1 red tail shark, 1 jack dempsey (about 2.5 inches), 1 red peacock cichlid, and 4 african cichlids that i don't know the exact species of. The tank has a cascade 1200 canister filter on it. So is this tank over stocked, or is it fine as is? Also, i know jack dempseys get around 10 inches, so he will be goin into a bigger tank eventually.

 

[convict360]

Bioload is manageable, its the aggression that I'd say will become your main problem; as you identified

IMO, most tanks that need around 75% water changes a week, are overstocked; that's not set in stone, but it comes back to the metaphor about toilet water etc, and what is healthy.

 

[smitty03281964]

you are okay stock wise and you have sufficient filtration. About the JD, yes they can get 10 inches but it may only get 6 inches.

 

[EChambers89]

I dont really have problems with aggression in the tank, they all get along decently. Just cant put anything that has long flowing fins in there. Thats when they get aggressive. And as for the water changes, i do about 20% to 25% per week, that seems to keep the parameters in check.

 

[EChambers89]

you are okay stock wise and you have sufficient filtration. About the JD, yes they can get 10 inches but it may only get 6 inches.

I would be completely fine with the JD only getting up to 6 inches, as long as its not from any health reasons, such as stunted growth due to insufficient tank size.

 

[duanes]

Tank size does not stunt a fishes growth. Low water quality is the real cause of stunting, and by low water quality, I'm not just talking about nitrate.
Beyond constant urination produced by freshwater fish, they are constantly giving off hormones and pheromones that can build up in water, and cause stunting or other health problems. If you change a little water once per week those chemicals build up, and are only partially removed.
But beside taking out undesirable components, water changes are done to add useful components like alkalinity buffers and other minerals that add to a fishes health and longevity.
Although your tank may not be overstocked at the moment, (because your fish are young), if you provide proper conditions, growth will soon over stock it for you, if you maintain all the fish you currently have.

 

[EChambers89]

Tank size does not stunt a fishes growth. Low water quality is the real cause of stunting, and by low water quality, I'm not just talking about nitrate.
Beyond constant urination produced by freshwater fish, they are constantly giving off hormones and pheromones that can build up in water, and cause stunting or other health problems. If you change a little water once per week those chemicals build up, and are only partially removed.
But beside taking out undesirable components, water changes are done to add useful components like alkalinity buffers and other minerals that add to a fishes health and longevity.
Although your tank may not be overstocked at the moment, (because your fish are young), if you provide proper conditions, growth will soon over stock it for you, if you maintain all the fish you currently have.

Thank you for all the usefull information, 3 of the cichlids plus the JD are all still young, around 2 inches or so, 1 of them is right at 6, a nother right at 5, the tiger barbs are just under 2, the shark is 4 to 4.5 inches, and the poop factory (pleco) is just over 5 inches. Hope this extra info helps. Should i be doing water changes more frequently or just at higher volumes?

 

[duanes]

To my way of calculating appropriate fish, for appropriate tank size, I use 10 gallons per inch size.
To me this means, a 55 gallon tank should not have any fish larger 5.5". I figure you could have a number of 5.5" fish in the tank, depending on your water change schedule, and filtration. If I had your tank and those fish in it, I'd add another 2 or 3 hang on back filters to what is already there, and do 30% water changes every other day, cleaning out the mechanical media on at least 1 of the the HOB filters with every water change.
I like more water change frequency, rather than fewer large ones, because I believe more changes helps maintain water stability.
Some people might consider my water quality routine overkill, I don't.

 

[Ocean Railroader]

I have four Goldfish that are growing past eight inches long in a 75 gallon fish tank and I'm in the process of looking for a 180 or 240 gallon fish tank to upgrade them to. To keep this Goldfish tank clean I have to empty out 70% of the water once a week. And this water comes out very thick and brown when I clean the under gravel filter.