Is There Too Many Fish In My Aquarium?

Question

I have a 55 gallon, with lots of plants (tall and small) and a large drift wood. Do I currently have too many fish? And if not can I add another small schooling fish?

Currently have 3 small angelfish, 6 cardinal tetras (they get along fine), 1 plecostomus, 1 rainbow shark, and 2 kuhlii loaches.

They have been fine for awhile now, is the tank large enough to add another small schooling fish? Like 5 tetras or danios? I know the pleco, shark, and angelfish will grow large. But will they be too large for my 55gallon?

Answer 1

No, you do not have too many fish in your 55 gallon tank. You can easily add another school or two of tetras or danios. If you like danios, check out the longfin zebra danios, they are very pretty and reasonable priced. Adult size is about 2 inches, max.

You need at least 6 of most danios or tetras to see the schooling behavior. Giant danios are also very pretty and good schooling fish. They only get to be about 2.5-3 inches long.

I wouldn't recommend neons, because they are very particular about their water and as the angels grow, they will make a meal of the neons.

The pleco can reach a length of 24 inches (yes, two feet). When they get large, around 10 inches, they get real lazy and just wait around for you to feed them. They also seem to put out more waste than the amount of food and algae they eat. They get to be real poop machines.

At about a foot, the pleco would be too big for the 55. Not to mention that he would be uprooting your plants as he forages for food. Also, when they get very large, they may start eating the plants if they don't get enough fiber in their diets. Plecos also need a piece of driftwood to chew on, it helps them with their digestion. Boiled zucchini is also a big favorite.

My personal favorites for algae eaters and scavengers are the bushynosed plecos. They are only about 6 inches tops when they are adults and are usually always busy doing clean-up work. They do not eat plants, other than algae, and if you are lucky enough to get a male and female, they will spawn for you in a small cave or under a flat rock. Be advised, angelfish are very good fry (baby fish) hunters.

Remember, 25-30% weekly water changes are the single most important thing you can do to keep your fish and tank healthy and happy and looking good.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me. But remember, you have to enter your email address twice into this answers site to confirm it so you can receive emails back.

Answer 2

You can likely add a few more fish to your tank. The pleco, angels, and shark won't get to large for a 55 gallon tank, but they will get big and try to eat your tetras. A pleco will reach 4 inches to over a foot depending on the species. Depend on his temperament he might swallow a tetras. (They are generally to slow, but he'll chow down on a sick or injured one.) The angels will pair up, and bully the entire tank. (Well not the pleco.) The rainbow shark will start eating the tetras as soon as he gets big enough. Zebra danios, and other large minnow type would be likely be okay as they are quick, and not to small.

I'd recommend adding at least 1 more angelfish, then look at some of the more peaceful gourami. The pearl gourami won't get agressive, but will get big enough to not be bullied. Dwarf gourami won't get any bigger, but are to big to be a meal, and good at avoiding aggressive fish. Avoid the 3 spot (2 spot + eye). kissing, and paradise gouramis as they might be too aggressive for your tank.

Guppy, platties, and other live bearers might be good, but are hard water fish. (If you had hard water your cardinal tetras would be dropping like flies.) Certainly any water good for cardinal tetra would be bad for mollies.

You could also try killifish (killi is ditch in dutch), and rainbow fish. If you can find them. A ghost knife, or a elephant nose would be cool as well. (Be sure to buy a ghost tube or create sort of hiding spot for it.)

Answer 3

I havn't had an aquarium for quit a while, but the rule-of-thumb that I remember is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. As long as they are small you could add some more, but as they get larger, you would eventually have to get rid of some.

Answer 4

A pleco will reach over a foot in length, just to let you know. (I've kept three.) And the angels will get pretty big too, but you know that.

I wouldn't recommend getting any more fish. Just because you already have so many fish that will get big. Best of luck to you. ^_^

Answer 5

Stick with what you have.
The 1 inch of fish per gallon of water rule is for the adult size of the fish. You are looking at some big adult fish, so let it be.

Answer 6

a rule of thumb to use when determining if you have too many fish is you should only have 2 one inch fish per gallon. So if you have fish that you know will grow bigger than one inch you have to account for that. you have to determine the normal size of an adult fish and figure that into how many fish your tank will be able to handle once they are all an adult size. if you add more fish than your tank can handle you run the risk of killing all of your fish.

Answer 7

no, as long as you have good filtration and do regular water changes you can add some more fish, especially if you add ones that don't get very large

Answer 8

Did you say 55 galons????? You can keep a small sized Shark in it if you want. It's really big!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Seems like plenty of room.

Answer 10

don't know the real name for them, but have you tried some neons?