# 25 gallon fish tank 55 fishes help?



## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

25 gallon tropical fish tank, 55 fish?

I have created a beautifull home for my 55 tropical fish, they live in a 25 gallon tank I was wondering if another 8 more neon tetras would discomfort them, I have the following fish: 
8 neon tertas 
11 penguin tetras 
2 scissor tales 
7 zebra danios 
2 mollies 
3 african dwarf frogs 
2 weather loach 
10 platties 
2 guromies 
1 bumble bee catfish 
1 pleco 
4 mountain minous 
6 guppies

What are your thoughts on 8 more neon tetras because they are not schooling


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

If this is really a 25 gallon tank, you have way too many fish in it now. And some of these are not compatible, which makes it even worse for the fish.

Are there live plants? How often do you do water changes, and how much water is changed?

Byron.


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## sik80 (Mar 16, 2010)

I' d say you already have far too many fish for that tank. You don't need more neons - 8 should be fine. They will not form a tight shoal as such unless they are stressed by a predator or something. Most common shoaling fish don't keep in a tight shoal but are usually dispersed throught the tank, with the exception of rummy nose tetras and maybe some others.


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## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

I change 30% of the water once a week, which fish are not compatable as they seem ok together?


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm going to guess..

1. Gouramis and tetras since the Gouramis are calm, sedate fish and tetras are active.

2. Mountain minnows are coldwater fish, and the rest are tropical.

3. Weather loaches can get up to 16 inches, and are too big for the tank.
3a. Weather loaches (like all loaches) need a group to thrive.

4. Scissor tales can be agressive.

I agree the tanks overstocked. Can you test the water with a liquid test kit? I'm curious to see your nitrite and ammonia levels.

What kind of filtration are you using?

To answer your original question, tetras probably won't school by adding more, and your tank is quite overstocked.

Plus your tank and livestock into this for me.
http://aqadvisor.com/


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## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

I also have java moss, I will test the water now and get back to you


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## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

Ammonia 0.5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 25 
Ph 7.6
The filter is a fluvel U2 I also have an air pump


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## LasColinasCichlids (Jan 4, 2011)

I agree with redchigh and byron completely. When I saw your list of fish in a 25 gal tank, I was in shock. Which I am not blaming you, you just might not have known or had been incorrectly informed by someone.

I mean the tank would be stocked (even possibly overstocked) with just the platy, guppy, molly, danios, and ADFs. 

Dont know what kind of pleco you have, but I am going to guess its one of the larger species in which a 25 gal is way too small (not to mention they have huge bioloads). The pleco & the loaches, they need a MUCH larger tank. And as redchigh said, they need a larger group for the loaches.

I'd think the gourami would be okay with the neons, as neons from my experience are rather slow compared to other tetra, at least when they arent stressing out. Dont know what kind of gouami you have, but some require a much larger tank as well. But the other tetra could stress the gourami out, if not them then the hyper guppies for sure.

Are you able to set up a second tank? Setting up a 55 gallon and transfering some of your current fish to it would be a great option. Or is it possible to re-home some of those fish? How long have you had this many fish in that tank? How long has the tank been set up? 

With that many fish in that size tank, I doubt there is ample room or reason for the tetras to school.


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## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

My tank had been like this for a few months as a friends tank was leaking and was going to flush them so I felt compelled to take them into my tank, times are hard and I cannot afford another tank to put some fish into x
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## LasColinasCichlids (Jan 4, 2011)

fishlover91 said:


> My tank had been like this for a few months as a friends tank was leaking and was going to flush them so I felt compelled to take them into my tank, times are hard and I cannot afford another tank to put some fish into x
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I understand finaces and situations of rescue. 
However, i wouldnt be adding any fish to this tank for any reason.
And for the health of the fish, have you thought about trying to re-home some of them, or maybe seeing if a local fish store will take some in for store credit?


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## fishlover91 (Apr 23, 2011)

My lfs is useless all of the fish I have had from there have had white spot so I would not trusr giving him my fishes, what do you think the chances of survival are keeping them this way?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Situations arise and we must do what we can. While the fish may seem fine now, they probably are not, and stress from overcrowding, non-compatible tankmates, or insufficient numbers of shoaling species will take its toll eventually. This can show up as more frequent health issues, susceptibility to disease, and early death. I can't go into all the reasons now, sorry, but I will suggest remedies.

First, is larger water changes. At least 50% of the tank volume, preferably 70%, every week. And one large water change is better than smaller more frequent changes in terms of "fixing" the water. Provided the water parameters (pH and hardness) between tap water and tank water are close, this will cause no problem for the fish, quite the opposite. Use a good conditioner.

Ammonia at .5 is one sign something is wrong, i.e., too many fish. Ammonia and nitrite should never be above zero in an established tank. Nitrates at 25 also indicates the problem. While this is not overly high, it is higher than the fish prefer. Nitrates should be below 20ppm in tanks without plants, and major water changes are the best way to achieve this. Live plants assist by assimilating ammonia (as ammonium) and less goes through the bacteria cycle to become nitrite and then nitrate. Even something as simple as stem plants floating would help with water quality.

The above is the immediate plan. Beyond this, you should try to find other homes for some of the fish. How about other aquarists? Other stores except the one? If you have a local fish club, ask them if anyone can help you out.

Byron.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

If you're brave, you can actually make quite a bit of money selling fish online, and shipping them through the mail. (I do, but I would only do it for the hardier species like livebearers, danios, etc.)

Also try craigslist, aquarium clubs, or just get a rubbermaid container, stick it outside (if it's warm) with a bunch of plants, and put all the livebearers in it. 

I'll be glad to help you mail some of the fish if you decide to sell them online. There's no out of pocket cost, since you can wait until you get money to purchase the supplies...


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## LasColinasCichlids (Jan 4, 2011)

fishlover91 said:


> My lfs is useless all of the fish I have had from there have had white spot so I would not trusr giving him my fishes, what do you think the chances of survival are keeping them this way?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Byron will be the best to give the details on what can and will probably happen to them if kept in that size tank with that many of them.

Overcrowding and uncompatable fish (not only by behavior but by water parameters as well) will stress the fish, weaken their immune system, make them vulnerable to illness and disease, and eventually death...in a nutshell. 

With that many fish in that size tank, you also will find that some of the fish that wouldnt normally be very aggressive may become overly aggressive as they dont have their required space.

You will have a very difficult time also on keeping your water parameters in check. As your posted test results show, you have ammonia present. And I doubt there is enough surface area in a 25 gallon tank for the appropriate amount of beneficial bacteria to grow to be able to maintain that amount of fish. 

You should try giving away some of the larger species and the ones that have the most out of sync compatability wise (like the minnows) to lighten the load not only for the sake of their survival, but for the quality of life of the fish. 

I cant say an expected amount of time or even a precentage of survival. But I can say the side effects of a severely overcrowded tank will eventually catch up to the fish, and I can promise they wont get to their even close to their average lifespan. Eventually some of the fish will start to die off and then you will get down to a correct number of fish, and the ones that were further out of their comfort zone by water parameters, temp, and tank size will probably be the first to go, thus leaving you with a more appropriately stocked tank...however, I doubt that is how you want to get to that stocking.

You can also try re-homeing some of them by posting on TFK or craigslist, if you choose to go that route.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

No, there is not room in that size of a tank for any more fish, it is already over crowded.


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## LasColinasCichlids (Jan 4, 2011)

This is a duplicate thread that has already been answered today:

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/25-gallon-fish-tank-55-fishes-68719/


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

LasColinasCichlids said:


> This is a duplicate thread that has already been answered today:
> 
> http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/25-gallon-fish-tank-55-fishes-68719/


For the record, there were three identical threads started so I have moved the posts from two of them into this (longer) thread and deleted the other two threads. We are now all on the same page, so to speak.

Byron.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

> First, is larger water changes. At least 50% of the tank volume, preferably 70%, every week. And one large water change is better than smaller more frequent changes in terms of "fixing" the water. Provided the water parameters (pH and hardness) between tap water and tank water are close, this will cause no problem for the fish, quite the opposite. Use a good conditioner.


Something came to mind here, don't jump into this major a change quickly, work into it slowly. The existing state has to be slowly corrected, via small frequent (2-3 a week) water changes over a couple weeks, to work up to a more realistic state for the bio-load.


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