Room for any more?

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divemaster99

divemaster99

Dovii
MFK Member
Jan 10, 2014
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107
Pittsburgh, PA
Currently in my 30 gallon tall (24" x 12" x 24") I have a stock of

3 Penguin Tetras, 1.5-2"
1 Sailfin Molly, 2"
1 Angelfish, 2-2.5"
1 Blue Gourami, 2.5"
2 Bronze Cory, 1.25-1.5"
1 Asian Bunblebee Catfish, 2.75-3"

Filter is a penguin 200 bio wheel and plants. Water changes are weekly 50%.

I'm wondering whether I have room for any more fish since I have a pretty bad algae problem and I know from experience that plecos make more mess than they make up for in eating algae but I'd like to get a small pleco anyways just because there's always been one in it until February when I transferred my gibby to a bigger tank and now it looks empty without a P. Nitrates are about 20 ppm at the end of the week so do I have room for a small pleco? Or if not a pleco any other species of fish, just looks empty now.
 
if you want a pleco there are several smaller species you can go with clown, bushy nose, rubber lips would work. You should also bump up your number of tetras to at least 6.
 
Rivers2k said:
if you want a pleco there are several smaller species you can go with clown, bushy nose, rubber lips would work. You should also bump up your number of tetras to at least 6.
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I was thinking maybe a rare Ancistrus, there were some nice looking super red BNs at my LFC auction the other night.
 
Most if not all of your fish are juvenile size. Some are less than half their full size, so unless they are stunted, they have a lot of growing left to do. The 20 ppm nitrate you have at week's end now is going to be more like 70-80+ ppm when these are full grown, even with a weekly 50% WC. A fish that doubles in length and similarly adds girth, is 8x larger in weight, with a larger food requirement.

I'd probably stick with what you have, as the current mix is attractive, interesting and well balanced. With excellent water quality (as you currently have), they will have great colors, healthy flowing fins, and be lively. Lower water quality dissipates that, so more is actually less.

However, if you are willing to do 50% WC more often, then it should be fine to add more.
 
Drstrangelove said:
Most if not all of your fish are juveniles. Some are less than half their full size. The 20 ppm nitrate you have at week's end now is going to be more like 70-80 ppm when these are full grown, even with a weekly 50% WC. A fish that doubles in length and similarly adds girth, is 8x larger in weight, with a larger food requirement.

I'd probably stick with what you have, as the current mix is attractive, interesting and well balanced. However, if you are willing to do 50% WC more often, then it should be fine to add more.
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Yeah I know they'll all get bigger so I plan on selling a few of them off or upgrading them to my 75 when they get bigger. I may even use my angelfish as a breeder after he recovers and stays healthy for a while.
 
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