yeah you are going to have to be doing daily water changes on that 55g, 3 severums and an acara is WAY to much for a little 55g tank. as for the large tank its still definitely WAY overstocked but if thats the way you want to go then thats your business, just dont be surprised if they start killing each other and make sure you are doing enough water changes to keep the nitrates below 20ppm
with current stock should i add...
- Thread starter freebyrd
- Start date
OK. heres part of solution to my problem, tell me what you guys think.
55gallon stock:
3 severums
and ?? (what else would you guys suggest?)
i found a home for the acara and 2 blood parrots.
150gallon stock:
1 festae (female)
1 GT
1 red texas hybrid
1 Nic
2 loiselli
2 carpintis
i found a home for the cyanoguttatus
i still have the 2 jack dempseys and 2 convicts i dont know what to do with
55gallon stock:
3 severums
and ?? (what else would you guys suggest?)
i found a home for the acara and 2 blood parrots.
150gallon stock:
1 festae (female)
1 GT
1 red texas hybrid
1 Nic
2 loiselli
2 carpintis
i found a home for the cyanoguttatus
i still have the 2 jack dempseys and 2 convicts i dont know what to do with
I think you need to setup a drip system, otherwise you're going to have a tough time keeping up the water quality to allow these fish to grow properly. Also, a single full grown adult severum in a 55 gallon looks cramped....I'd be looking for a larger home for the 3 you have and I wouldn't add anything else with them.
im not understanding how im so overstocked, i see people on here with 2+ arrowanas, and like 5+ more fish in tanks the size of mine, what makes it so overstocked - is it the 1" per gallon fish rule? 137" of fish is a crap ton, 137 gallons volume, according to the calculator on this site. still im nowhere near that, a drip system, seriously? what is the main issue here, the aggression or the size of tank to keep the fish healthy? im running one rena xp3 at the moment, doing weekly water changes and plan on getting another xp3 soon
freebyrd;4393294; said:
no the inch per gallon rule is crap and is only a guideline for little tetra and guppy fish, and those people that have arros and other fish in that size of a tank are madly overstocked as well, arros should be kept in any tank less than 32" wide as a BARE minimum so those people are definitely NOT good role models to stock your tank after. whats makes you overstocked is the aggression level as well as the adult size of all of these fish, all except for the cons will get 10+ inches and especially if any of those pairs breed they will want to claim half the tank, i would only do 1 male of each species and that red texas is most likely going to try and take everything out once it reaches maturity, right now you are not necessarily overstocked, when we say you are overstocked we are referring to the adult size of all of these fish
and yeah dont add anything to the 55g its already way overstocked, one severum needs a 55g to itself if they are the regular pet store "severums" and not true heros severus which stay smaller and you might be able to get away with 2 (which they wouldnt be unless you special ordered them or have an AMAZING fish store)
Aggression, adult size, and potential breeding is your problem now. The Cichlids that you have will grow to large sizes. With the growth in size comes the elevated level of aggression because of natural temperment and cramped quarters. Like Sarah said, If you have a breeding pair in that stock that will make things worse. The pair will want a territory to raise and defend their fry. Once the fry are free swimming the aggression will get worse as the parents try to defend their venturing young. I know that some people love to overstock and some people make work successfully with frequent water changes. You may be able to do it if you are willing to invest in all of that endless work. But I still think that you should rethink the stock for that size tank. It's going to be trouble down the line.
