so I heared "im doing it all wrong" can we say OVERSTOCKED!

[PICO LOCS]

i got a 55g bare bottom acrylic hexagon and have been going fish crazy ever since it cycled. staight up over stocked but im having hella fun doing it! I set up my tank then after 2 weeks dumped in 6 feeder goldfish antother 2-3 week added 3 zebra danios and a emerald green cory catfish. about a month went by and i added red flame gourami, common pleco, red glass barb (which thinks he's a goldfish). (???somewhere here a danio went missing and my ???gourami got eatin???)about 2 weeks went and I bought a spotted cory catfish, male convict and a albino tiger oscar which the dumb petco guy bagged them together and the convict just worked the oscar over and wasn't looking too good by the time i got him in the tank so i took the oscar back the next day (he made it through the night). i did a 15g water change and a week later i got a jack dempsey a red firemouth and a green terror. 2 weeks later did another 15g water change and got another jack dempsey, female convict, managuese, and a albino tiger oscar. as soon as i put my lbino tiger in the water he started acting funny and didn't make it through the night. added a circulating pump 700gph added chemi-pure carbon and traded in the albino for a badd ass tiger oscar.i still got a few more fish i wanna get I HELLA NEED ANOTHER TANK or TWO! all my fish are no bigger than 3 inches the killer goldfish are the biggest. i just had to put all this out there! im going to add some pics when i can and get another tank ASAP. what do you guys think i kno im mising or mixing some info in my lil story. cant wait for the feed back tips critisism or ?'s. im a just a new new mfk member thanks to nganasty.....haha damn im bored rite now. what up sjnut i know your gonna be reading this soon homes!

 

[PICO LOCS]

DAMN I HAVE UGLY WATER NOW!!!! ANY ADVICE???? i think i have sea monkeys HAHA....

 

[Gruff Master]

Welcome to MFK! Honestly, you are seriously overstocked! Some of the larger growing cichlids that you have will require between a 75 and 90gal minimum for just one alone. Some others will do fine together in a standard 55 without overcrowding. There is no way that all of those fish will live long and healthy lives in such a small tank of those restrictive dimensions. The ones that do make it will have physical problems due to the lack of space and water conditions. Many of the smaller fish will become food. Changing 15 gallons of water every two weeks just won't cut it. Your water parameters will continue to be poor. At this time you should be doing at least two 50% changes a week with that stock. That filter is way too small for such a heavy stock. Unless you plan on getting several large tanks to divide the fish or one VERY large tank to house them all together, you should consider giving the common pleco, Oscar, Jack Dempseys, Managuense, and Green Terror to other people with the means to properly keep them. Many people new to the hobby will buy every fish that catches their eye. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. But the best way to keep cichlids and enjoy them for many years is to devote the time and research to find the proper ways to house them. Tank space will really dictate what and how many fish you can keep. That goes for all of us. Best of luck to you.

 

[TahoeFish]

Wow Gruff Master gave you the best information in the nicest way. Basically your boredom and your impulsiveness are going to kill a lot of fish. SLOOOOWWWWW DOOWWWNNN. Really. Focus on learning the art of the hobby. Read about the hex tanks. Just because it is 55 gallons does not mean you can stock it like a 55 gallon. The footprint is too small. This tank will limit you to small fish or a pair of medium cichlids. Why not turn it into a goldfish tank? Take back all the other fish. Get a larger tank and slow down as you research what fish can live in your tank in healthy manner. Also I always say that you are first a water manager and second a fish keeper. You need a good test kit and a good understanding of filtration. Also just lurk on this site for a while and you will learn a lot.

 

[rich_one]

Honestly, this tank would make a poor goldfish tank as well. Goldfish grow as large as oscars do, and larger, and are just as messy, as far as eating goes.

This is a tank for a pair of medium cichlids like rainbow cichlids or something, or for various tetras, or stuff like that, imo. Or maybe some african shellies, or something like that.

-Rich

 

[DFishFox]

Rams would do great and look very stunning, lil on the sensitive side for water. So might wanna consider Kribensis and some fast dithers like harlequin rasboras plus a rubber lip pleco cause they don't get big. JAI

 

[Aquanero]

Welcome to MFK! Honestly, you are seriously overstocked! Some of the larger growing cichlids that you have will require between a 75 and 90gal minimum for just one alone. Some others will do fine together in a standard 55 without overcrowding. There is no way that all of those fish will live long and healthy lives in such a small tank of those restrictive dimensions. The ones that do make it will have physical problems due to the lack of space and water conditions. Many of the smaller fish will become food. Changing 15 gallons of water every two weeks just won't cut it. Your water parameters will continue to be poor. At this time you should be doing at least two 50% changes a week with that stock. That filter is way too small for such a heavy stock. Unless you plan on getting several large tanks to divide the fish or one VERY large tank to house them all together, you should consider giving the common pleco, Oscar, Jack Dempseys, Managuense, and Green Terror to other people with the means to properly keep them. Many people new to the hobby will buy every fish that catches their eye. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. But the best way to keep cichlids and enjoy them for many years is to devote the time and research to find the proper ways to house them. Tank space will really dictate what and how many fish you can keep. That goes for all of us. Best of luck to you.

+1

 

[Jc1119]

I have about 500 gallons worth of tanks and I wouldn't even think about keeping your stocklist. Personally, I wouldn't keep a single Jd in a 55 hex longterm. Footprint and surface area is how you determine stocking density.... not water volume.

Research is usually best done BEFORE you buy fish, not after. Take most of your fish back or setup another tank now. Just my 2c of course, but your setting yourself up to fail.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

Welcome to MFK! Honestly, you are seriously overstocked! Some of the larger growing cichlids that you have will require between a 75 and 90gal minimum for just one alone. Some others will do fine together in a standard 55 without overcrowding. There is no way that all of those fish will live long and healthy lives in such a small tank of those restrictive dimensions. The ones that do make it will have physical problems due to the lack of space and water conditions. Many of the smaller fish will become food. Changing 15 gallons of water every two weeks just won't cut it. Your water parameters will continue to be poor. At this time you should be doing at least two 50% changes a week with that stock. That filter is way too small for such a heavy stock. Unless you plan on getting several large tanks to divide the fish or one VERY large tank to house them all together, you should consider giving the common pleco, Oscar, Jack Dempseys, Managuense, and Green Terror to other people with the means to properly keep them. Many people new to the hobby will buy every fish that catches their eye. It has happened to all of us at one time or another. But the best way to keep cichlids and enjoy them for many years is to devote the time and research to find the proper ways to house them. Tank space will really dictate what and how many fish you can keep. That goes for all of us. Best of luck to you.

++++2

 

[RLHam3]

please completely start your tank over. all of your cichlids (and pleco) are MUCH too big for a hex tank. The jack dempsey will get around 10" and the jag can get up to 16". they both require not only a larger volume of water but a MUCH larger space to swim around in. With your current sized tank, you couldn't even keep one cichlid of this size by itself. Also, all of these tank mates are very inapropriate to keep with cichlids. (not to mention that you also have too many of these to fit comfotably in a tank of this size as well). Cichlids are aggressive and will first pick on and then kill/eat any of these fish besides the pleco and maybe cory cats(they both have bone plate scales and are considered armored catfish).

I'm guessing that the person working at the petstore told you that all of this would be ok in your tank, but people working in chain petstores RARELY know what they're talking about. Basically, if you keep your current stock, even if you were to be doing 100% water changes daily, your fish would all be unhealthy, cramped, and their growth will be stunted by the amount of ammonia that such an overstocked tank will produce.

Please do not go get another aquarium yet. Instead work on the aquarium that you do have. I would start by taking out the pleco which can literally grow to over 2 feet as well as any oscars/green terrors/ jaguars/firemouths that are still alive to your LFS (local fish store). The gold fish also have to go The regular "rosy red goldfish can get over a foot and goldfish in general produce 2 times more waste than other fish of their size and are cool water fish (the rest of yours are tropical and need a heater) Then you've already started the next step. (this is the most important step) DO RESEARCH. Its great that your already interested enough in the hobby to seek out a forum and this is a great first forum. Do some reading around and decide what fish that you like could actually live in that tank for life.