My 20 gallon is a combination of fish I bought when I first started the hobby, from my local PetSmart. The Molly and the Neon Tetras had more schoolmates but sadly died early on.
Is my 20 gallon too crowded?
I've been cycling a 75 gallon and I'd like to put most of the 20 gallon inhabitants in it, especially because I feel like they're ever so slightly cramped in their current tank.
Under the dashed line are fish I'd love to get eventually. I can only assume the combined population of my 20 gallon and my remaining wishlist is too much for a 75. I've heard that you pretty much want a gallon of water per inch of fish, but I feel like certain fish could possibly bend that rule, like the very narrow loaches and whiptails, but I'd like confirmation on that.
I'll probably be getting a 36 gallon set up pretty soon, as well as keeping my old 20 for cherry shrimp as well as perhaps a school of small fish, so I won't be crushed if reality and humanity dictate that I need to downsize my 75 gallon plans.
P.S. I wonder, is it a cruelty to keep the Swordtail and Molly as lone members of their species? I know livebearers can be kind of prolific breeders which doesn't sound like much fun at the moment, but are they going to lead a significantly worse life being alone?
As well as the 2 male guppies; at least once a day I see them scrapping and wonder if they'd be better off separated, or if granting them greater roaming space in the 75 gallon would be sufficient to keep them happy.
Posted by VanJurkow
10 Comments
How’d you make the pic that’s sick
The inch of fish per gallon has come off to me more as a general rule than a real concept. If you have 2 or 3 gourami in a 20 gal with bristlenose Pleco and a few tetras, plus the plants, rocks, etc, it just looks crowded. I try to account for decorations as well when going off that. If a tank looks crowded or fish seem uncomfy, then they probably are. I’d rather they have lots of space and hiding places than be crowded.
Please take my advice with a grain of salt as I have had no tank bigger than a 29 gal and it was species only shrimp.
I’d say your hypo has a lot of bottom feeders and not enough of mid and upper swimmers, meaning fish that swim on the upper level near the surface and fish that prefer to swim in the middle section of your tank. Now, I’ve never had a 75 gallon so I can’t attest that that is truly crowded on the bottom. I can assume that there is a lot of bottom to cover and idk how much those fish grow or consume individually.
I would say to make sure to buy the proper food to feed your bottom feeders with. They certainly won’t be able to live off just scavenging off extra fish food, biofilm, and waste that goes to the bottom.
The danios are 100% too nasty for the glass cats, the swordtail might be as well. You’ll need to keep the other inhabitants as passive and placid as possible for those guys.
Mollys are pretty easy to sex, do you have a photo?
I also upgraded from a 20 to a 75 recently.
Best decision ever.
Me personally, I would trade the 6 new loaches with bolstering the cory group. I have 10 adolfoi cories and watching them scurry across the sand when it’s feeding time is great, and you will see them more often than the loaches. I know you have a lot of bottom feeders but you can just buy the appropriate sinking food for them and they’ll be good. I have a preference for mid-level fish and a disdain for surface-level fish lol.
I also have 3 red lizard whiptail cats in there and I usually see each of them once a day out and about. They have very low bioloads but make sure they have ample caves and crevices to hide in, or large/long leaves like Amazon swords. If you have driftwood in your old tank then they’d love to munch on the biofilm on it.
https://preview.redd.it/nnb0b3y2ew8g1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a0d8262b57f26d2dabfe4a7aaa5bb8809556bff
I’d also be careful of the glass cats, they’re very sensitive to water parameters.
I don’t like the only 3 Cory’s most people say 6 is minimum and I tend to agree. It would all definitely fit in a 75 gallon but it may look crowded. With this many species and not many of each it will look too busy in my opinion. Also sick graph!
You need to add more cory cats to your shoal, add more neons and more of your live bearers. Try going to aqadvisor.com if you want advice on overstock and compatability but keep in mind a tank that is heavily stocked with live plants, those plants are added biological filtration so take the advice on “you need more filtration” with a grain of salt. I have 17 plants in a 20 gallon tank and snow white gravel. It’s a 17 year old tank with some of the fish living 5/6/7ish years (cherry barbs, cardinal, and neon tetras)
Do not add salt for the brackish fish, the corydoras dont tolerate well
Now read it to the tune of 12 days of christmas!
Yes, but they will all be unhappy. So, no.
Vastly different temperaments and activity levels. The Molly and swordfish will fight or interbreed. They will also eat the amano shrimp.
You have 3 each of many different schoolers. Get 10 or 15 of each.
The glass catfish need a quiet, ideally species only tank, not a boisterous community tank. I would avoid them and get more if the other schoolers.
You have so many bottom dwellers and they will fight over territory. Pick 1 or 2. 3 schools is crazy pants. 6 whiptails isn’t a great idea.
Try playing with your set up here:
[https://aqadvisor.com/](https://aqadvisor.com/)