Just how overstocked am I?

[Aqualoon]

Space and aggression is another, and much more tricky side of "overstocking".

Yeah, I'm sorry I should have clarified in my original post, this is more or less what I was looking for as I haven't kept these species (except for the saums).

Been in the hobby for 5+ years, I have the water chemistry thing down just not the mixing and matching thing in regards to new worlds.

I don't actually have the JD just yet, was planning on getting one this week. But the rest of the stock listed is what is physically in my tank now.

 

[AcsFoolMike]

It's the same attitude that was shining through on a thread that is few posts down with that one guy who was asking about mixing SA/CA with Africans. There were many people who informed him it wouldn't work and why but you had to add the personal bash on there.

He's new to the forum, heck, probably new to the hobby and doesn't really know much. With a response like that the chances of him returning to this forum and learning how to care for his stock is right next to the number zero.

These forums are here for others to ask questions, get help, talk about their tanks, share their experiences, share pictures and videos of their fish and in general talk shop about their hobby. Getting flamed, bashed, personally attacked, etc. has no place here. I am unsure why you feel the need to respond to threads so aggressively and with so much attitude but in a friendly community forum you'll find that it's not appreciated and not welcomed.

And being upfront, honest and straight to the point is one thing but it's not what I'm talking about.

I really don't think he was bashing you or flaming you. Perhaps he came on a little strong but he was just answering your question to the best of his knowledge and, in his opinion, you are overstocked.

Personally, to me that nitrate test read about 5-10 ppm, which, if tomorrow is your scheduled weekly water change day, isn't too bad at all. If aggression isn't an issue then just make sure you keep an eye on everybody as they grow, because with more size comes more aggression.

Good Luck

 

[HrHagel]

Yeah, I'm sorry I should have clarified in my original post, this is more or less what I was looking for as I haven't kept these species (except for the saums).

Been in the hobby for 5+ years, I have the water chemistry thing down just not the mixing and matching thing in regards to new worlds.

I don't actually have the JD just yet, was planning on getting one this week. But the rest of the stock listed is what is physically in my tank now.

The reason being, that this is the most tricky part to overstocking a tank, is that no one is qualified to give you a direct answer. Each persons experiences differ, simply because each fish's personalities differ.

It really comes down to good old fashion trial & error.

Good luck!

 

[Aqualoon]

I really don't think he was bashing you or flaming you. Perhaps he came on a little strong but he was just answering your question to the best of his knowledge and, in his opinion, you are overstocked.

In this thread it was just the attitude that came off, I was referring to his response in this thread.

 

[jiant2520]

Hey man, I think your tank is fine as of now... as you watch your fish grow you'll see who can stay and who needs to go, which I'm pretty sure some will need to go. Also, you're already aware that those barbs might become lunch. You're aware of water conditions... so really you just need to wait and see how they grow (size & attitude). Nice mix by the way.

 

[Jc1119]

My Jd ate all of my tiger barbs. He's only about 5-6" and the barbs were 1 1/2"-2" fish. Not saying it will happen to you but I can only imagine what my little angel " Buford " is going to try to eat at 12".

Overstocking is a touchy subject for most fishkeepers. The definition is pretty broad and mostly "gray" in it's scope. I'm having a discussion in one of my threads as to my being overstocked in my 300 with a Jd,saum,Midas and a parachromis. I'll have over 2 1/2 times the system volume with less than a third of your stocklist. Problem is the folks telling me I'm overstocked are very educated when it comes to keeping SA/CE cichlids so it's hard to argue when these people speak from experience. This advice has nothing to do with water quality either. All about aggression and space and unfortunately alot of your stock won't really fully develop their cichlid personalities until they approach a much larger size, so you won't know how they are going to behave for a bit.

I generally let water quality and common sense dictate my current stocklists, but large cichlids are different. You may end up with a very manageable tank or an absolute warzone. You just won't know for awhile. If just one of your fish decides it's time to claim the whole tank then you have to be ready to make adjustments as necessary.

There are also lots of folks around here with far worse stocklists that have success with their systems. Things could change very quickly with cichlids but once again.... you just never really know. My silver saum was also the most laid back of all my cichlids but about a month ago, she really came out if her shell. Her personality is totally different now. She gets out of my JD's way but does not take any more crap from him. She used to hide but now she's front and center when anyone approaches the tank.

I think if you posted the thread in the first place, you are aware that there might be a problem down the road. Just be ready to adapt when and if your stock becomes an issue. On a side note, I've seen lots of 12" clown loaches so they might need a bigger home at some point if your intent on keeping the cichlids. Good luck with whatever you chose to keep!

 

[JacobWhitley]

I'm somewhat new to CA/SA so wouldn't mind a few other opinions on just how badly I'm overstocked. I'm use to keeping Africans where overstocking was the norm.

Tank Size: 150 72x18x28
Filtration: 3 x Rena XP3
Stock: 2 x Gold Suam, 1 x Gold Sev, 1 x Vieja Regani, 1 x Nic, 1 x JD, 1 x ZZ Eel, 1 x Peacock Eel, 1 x BN Pleco, 7 x Yoyo Loach, 5 x Clown Loach, 15 Albino Tiger Barb

you will be fine for now but you will need to upgrade later i would love to see pics

 

[Jon M]

They're Tiger Barbs, grow to 2-2.5". I realize they might become lunch but have read people having good results with them as a dither...but on the same foot I've read others that they did become snacks. So hoping my cichlids will leave em be.

If you do end up getting an "eater" in your tank and they start getting picked off you can always move them. I had to do this with my school of 14 GD. I will also add if your Clown Loaches are small now and you do end up having an "eater" in the tank they will also be at risk of becoming lunch. I also had to move my school of 6 CL from the same tank.

All this eating was being done by my one 6" Oscar so It's a good thing you don't have an O in there. I haven't kept a lot of the fish species you have in there but I can say I also had a 6" JD in the same tank and he never bothered or tried to eat any of the GD or CL. He's actually in a 90g with them while they grow out and continues to not bother them at all so you might not have to worry about the JD turning them into lunch.

I feel you with the color being sort of hard to get an exact number. I have bad eyes and always ask my girl friend what she thinks about the results without telling her what I see and compare the two. This looks like 5ppm to me.

 

[Dissy]

Sounds like you have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about.

Aqualoon, as long as you keep reading your nitrate levels as your fish grow, you can then determine yourself when/if you are overstocked.

Personally i do a waterchange whenever i can detect nitrates, reguardless what day of the week it is. But i am probably pretty extreme when it comes to my water quality.

I think though, as long as you stay below 20ppm, you will be just fine.

Space and aggression is another, and much more tricky side of "overstocking".

Where on earth do you get the idea that I have no idea what I'm talking about? Both of my tanks are cichlids - one CA/SA, and the other Tangs. I'm well aware of the sizes, temperaments, territorial disputes, growth rates, full grown sizes, needs, spastic tendencies, and general overall personalities etc of both types of fish.

Fact is, if he doesn't start thinning out, he'll end up with a blood bath. For each fish he removes, as it becomes overly aggressive, or too big, or a problem of some other sort, another one will step into its place. Why not just figure out what you want, and properly stock from the beginning? Why see how many big/mean fish you can cram into a single tank?

 

[Dissy]

You need 9 distinct territories, and that doesn't take in to account your loaches (clowns), which SHOULD be in a school of at least 6, and can hit an easy 9-12". - it just takes in to account your just your territorial fish, and your tank is only 6' long. Right now, you're not even allowing each of your territorial fish 9" of personal space each, and as they grow, and hit the 3-4" mark they will need more than that. As adults, they need more than double that.