# Stocking question



## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

I keep changing my mind on what I am going to stock in my new tank and want to make sure I am not overcrowding.

In a 92 gallon freshwater tank:
10 zebra danios
10 harlequin and hengal's rasboras
4 gold barbs
8 neon tetra
4 female guppies
4 dwarf frogs
9 black skirt tetra

Is that too many fish for my tank? Any suggestions or changes?


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## TheBoss (Apr 1, 2008)

The general rule is 1" of fish per gallon of tank space.


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Using the 1" per fish rule, that is:
20" zebra danios
10" harlequin and hengal's rasboras
8" gold barbs
8" neon tetra
8" female guppies
4" dwarf frogs
18" black skirt tetra 

That equals about 76 inches of fish, but that is 49 fish in total. That just seems like a huge number to me, but then I have never had this big of a tank before. What is the ideal number for a school of fish? A friend of mine said you should have a minimum of 12 which would be difficult for all these fish.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Sounds Ok to me.

Have you thought about bottom dwelling fish? Seems like a lot of schooling fish for the upper levels but no bottom dwellers. if it were me I'd add a group, or 2 groups of cories.


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

I was thinking of some kind of cory, but would I have enough room for a school of them?


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Yep i'd say so. A group of 6-8 would be good.

I pay no attention to the 1" rule. It rarely works out and rather I take into account swimming space, agression, territories and bioload. i would never put a 12" plec in a 12g tank obviously, that would just be silly, but it satisfies the rule. you have some actice swimmers but the tank is large enough to satisfy them. Your fish chosen so far are peaceful with the exception of a bit of fin nipping, and none are of a particularly large bioload.

One thing I would do however is increase the number of neons to 12, and maybe ditch another fish or 2 somewhere. In such a large tank in comparasin to the size of the fish I think they would feelfar more secure in a larger group.


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## dougz (Apr 1, 2008)

What do you have for filtration?

I would definitely get more tatras, and I would get Cardinals, instead of neons..

In my opinion they are nicer looking than neons, and not as prone to disease..

You could have a school of 15..

In fact, I would get 20-25, and maybe get rid of 1-2 other groups of fish..

IMHO it looks weird and artificial when you have too many different type fish together in one tank..

Go big or go home.. (ie, nix the *4 *barbs, for example)

And cardinals especially look absolutely stunning in a large group, moving as one.. And the more swimming space you give them, the less crowded they'll feel, and the more apt the are to exhibit this behavior, rather than each doing their own thing..

I would add some bottom feeders and algae eaters, too, and knock the amount of other fish down further.. A school of 6 corys and 1-2 bristlenose plecos, for example..

That would add the bottom of the tank as an area of interest, instead of having all the fish in the top and middle, and they would help keep your tank clean..

Just my 2 cents....


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

The reason I have those specific fish is that I already have a few of each of them. I got them to go in my 55 gal from a lfs that said that schooling fish only needed to be kept in groups of 3 or 4. Basically, I am trying to fill out the schools of each of the fish so that they will be as content as possible. I will be putting together at least one, if not two, 75 gallon tanks in August that I can split the different groups into. But until then, I am limited to having only one tank with fish in it over the summer.


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Falina said:


> Your fish chosen so far are peaceful with the exception of a bit of fin nipping, and none are of a particularly large bioload.


Which of the fish would you say are fin nippers?



dougz said:


> What do you have for filtration?


A corner overflow connected to a Tidepool II Bio-Wheel. The outflow from it was so strong that I turned it into a reverse flow undergravel filtration unit.


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## dougz (Apr 1, 2008)

> a lfs that said that schooling fish only needed to be kept in groups of 3 or 4.


Wrong, and proof that you should ALWAYS take what you hear from ANYONE with a grain of salt.. Get second and third opinions, from sources you _HAVE REASON_ to trust (people not trying to sell you something, and who are aquarists themselves, like the people here, are a good source, I would say.. LOL).

MINIMUM for schooling fish is 6-8..

It really is to bad that you already have too many different types of fish, but I would suggest you not make the problem worse by adding across the board..

But let us know how you make out, in any case..

What are your water parameters? Ammonia, etc?


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

dougz said:


> Wrong, and proof that you should ALWAYS take what you hear from ANYONE with a grain of salt.. Get second and third opinions, from sources you HAVE REASON to trust (people not trying to sell you something, and who are aquarists themselves, like the people here, are a good source, I would say.. LOL).
> 
> MINIMUM for schooling fish is 6-8..


I understand this now. I realize that I made a hugely stupid error. Since I have learned this, I have consulted on everything I do by checking on this forum, reading literature and discussing changes with a friend that used to run an aquarium maintenance company for many years and is highly educated. I also consult with fish vets with any medical issues. 



dougz said:


> It really is to bad that you already have too many different types of fish, but I would suggest you not make the problem worse by adding across the board..


What would be your suggestion to better remedy the situation? I'd like my fish to be as healthy and content as possible. Right now I have: 
In the 55:
3- rasbora het
3- gold barbs
5- black skirt tetra
4- neon tetra
1- guppy
1- dwarf frog
1- common pleco (will be moving to a new home in May)
In the 92:
8- zebra danios

I am in the process of moving each group of fish every 4-7 days into the 92 (as the water parameters permit). Once those fish are transfered, I am going to start filling out the groups. I would like to have the other tanks up and running, but unfortunately I will be leaving to work from May through August and my roommate is only willing to care for one tank while I am gone.



dougz said:


> What are your water parameters? Ammonia, etc?


With an API liquid test kit in both tanks:
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = 15
pH = 8
GH = 180
KH = 150


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## Holly (Feb 28, 2007)

The barbs would be my thought on the nippers but if you keep them in a school, 6-8, they'll pretty much keep to themselves and chase eachother. I don't think your mixing too many fish. Everyone likes what they like and if this is what you want, then go for it! In a 92g you really have a lot of options. I would definatly add a bottom dweller. Personally, I've fallen in love with my cories. 6-8 would keep them happy. you could throw a pleco in there but make sure you do your homework and know more than the lfs does when it comes to plecos.


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## dougz (Apr 1, 2008)

Wow, that pH is up there.. LOL

15 for nitrates, eh? Is that just after you did a water change, or before?

15-20ppm and you are getting up there..

If your at 15-20ppm again after only a few days of doing a water change, you are overstocked..

I realize you want to have your fish in schools, but until you can get them in other tanks, it isn't worth having _worse_ stressors, like high nitrates..

But let us know.. It could just be your bacteria hasn't adjusted to the new additions, yet..

Is your tank planted?


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Holly said:


> The barbs would be my thought on the nippers but if you keep them in a school, 6-8, they'll pretty much keep to themselves and chase eachother.


Hmm, my gold barbs seem to be pretty friendly right now. They like to school around with the black skirts, but I will definitely keep an eye on them for any aggression issues. I don't tolerate any aggressive behavior in my tank hence why I tried to select peaceful community fish.



Holly said:


> I don't think your mixing too many fish. Everyone likes what they like and if this is what you want, then go for it! In a 92g you really have a lot of options. I would definatly add a bottom dweller. Personally, I've fallen in love with my cories. 6-8 would keep them happy. you could throw a pleco in there but make sure you do your homework and know more than the lfs does when it comes to plecos.


That's exactly why I ended up with so many little groups, I really like the look of the different types of fish. I am pretty sure that I will add a group of cories to the mix when I can. As to the pleco, I have had common and bristlenose ones and (Lupin- cover your ears!) I really don't like them much.



dougz said:


> Wow, that pH is up there.. LOL


Yeah, its the same that comes out of the tap. That's why I only buy locally kept fish, so they are more likely to be adapted to the pH.



dougz said:


> 15 for nitrates, eh? Is that just after you did a water change, or before?


That is before the water change.



dougz said:


> Is your tank planted?


No, but I hope to add some low maintenance.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I appreciate the advice.


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## dougz (Apr 1, 2008)

If that is before a water change, then you might be ok..

Just keep an eye on it, and if it starts to stay around 15ppm just a few days after a water change, then you might want to wait before adding more fish..


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Ok- not to be nitpicky here, but I would like to clarify schooling versus shoaling. Schooling fish swim together all in the same direction, whereas shoaling fish just like to stick together. Most of the fish we think of as schoolers are actually shoalers.


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Which of mine are schoolers versus shoalers?


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## dougz (Apr 1, 2008)

That's a good question..

Personally I think it's splitting hairs, but that's me. 

Thanks for the proper definition!

So to clarify.. the tetras and corys are _shoaling_ fish, and they do form _schools _with their own kind..

Is that better?


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## briggadane (Mar 28, 2008)

*Upsizing*

Are you keeping the 55 or just going with the 92?
Personally, if the barbs and tetras hang out happily together, I would be nclined to LEAVE A GOOD THING ALONE...
As to your other questions, There is nothing wrong with neons. If you have them, and they are doing well, fine. If they hang out together and no one joins them, its ok to add a few more.

Strangely, you only have 1 guppy. If I am remembering correctly, this is actually the only fish you have that is found in higher pH water...
But I certainly would not add livebearers to the mix of fin nippers you have. Also, current fish will eat any fry they have.

Just my $.02


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

briggadane said:


> Are you keeping the 55 or just going with the 92?


The 55 gallon will be left running empty for the summer. Come August it will house a group of tiger barbs, which is what my roommate would like as it is her tank 9the others are all mine). I can only leave one tank running for the summer as I will be gone. 



briggadane said:


> Strangely, you only have 1 guppy.


The one guppy is a long story, but she was a rescue. She likes to swim with the neons, but I will be adding a group of female only guppies once I have the space.



briggadane said:


> But I certainly would not add livebearers to the mix of fin nippers you have.


 Which are you calling fin nippers? None of mine have shown any inclination to do so (not that I am saying they won't, just haven't ever). All these fish are listed as peaceful community fish wherever I look.


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## briggadane (Mar 28, 2008)

*Stocking*

Both barbs and tetras tend to nip. If they wee dogs, they would be border collies, I'm sure!


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