what is the limit on the number of fish you can keep in a tank

[adamsri]

i got a 33 gal tank with
1 - bosemani rainbow
1 - iranian rainbow
5 - x-ray tetras
9 - very young gold barbs
1 - keyhole cichlid
1 - pleco
1 - clown loach

I was just wondering if I had too many fish for this tank. I was thinking of adding another rainbow or maybe a buddy for my clown loach.

[Sponsors]

[Torpedobarb]

general rule is 1" of adult fish per gallon.. so with a 33gal tank.. that would be 16 2" fish ect. it also depends on how much filtration you have. I have 2 rena xp3 filters running on a 75gal.. so I can overstock a little bit.. but only after the tank is cycled.. good luck

[macclellan]

Yes, you have way too many fish for that tank. Pleco or clown loach are too big for that tank by themselves. Absolutely don't add anything else, and you must remove the clown loach, and pleco too or they and basically everything will likely die once they grow (or pleco only survives...they are bombproof). Please read up on the species you keep...a single clown loach can get 16", which is half your tank length by my estimate....obviously inappropriate in anything less than 125g.

[adamsri]

thats funny cause i've had this tank going for two years now and the only thing i've added have been the gold barbs. I've got a biowheel filter on the back and an undergravel filter with a powerhead up top. Everything but the barbs have grown as much as they are gonna grow in my tank. The water stay surprisingly clean and I haven't had any deaths except when my rainbow slowly ate 8 neons I had about a year ago. and plecos are most certainly not bombproof. I couldn't keep any sort of algae eater for the LIFE of me for the longest time until i got the guy i got now

[macclellan]

I fail to see what is funny about that.

[adamsri]

I just found it funny cause my loach has stayed the same size for almost two years.

[valerietheangel]

If your loach isn't growing it's probably because it isn't getting enough food. If your plecos and algae eaters are dying, again, it's probably because they're not getting enough food. "Bottom feeders" and "scavengers" like corydoras, loaches, and plecos (including otos!) all need their own food. They can't live off of whatever falls and makes it to the bottom. Most plecos that die in an aquarium starve to death. Examine your pleco's tummy. Is it sunken or flat? If it's either, it's not getting enough food. My 10 going on 11 year old pleco eats 1/3 of a small zucchini (close to a 2" cube) every other day.

As an aside, rainbowfish and clown loaches are schooling fish and need at least 3 to really come out of their shells. With your 33 gallon, you don't have room to keep either of these species comfortably.

As for your attitude, it kind of sucks. You asked and got an answer and attacked the person who was trying to help. What's up with that? If you aren't open to constructive criticism, maybe this isn't the best place for you. Not everyone will agree with you when you ask for advice, but you will get some great answers and great information. Everyone on this forum has varied knowledge and experience and can really contribute to your enjoyment of the hobby.

[adamsri]

there's some over reaction here cause things don't transfer well in typing. I said it was funny cause if loaches are supposed to get that huge I just thought it was crazy that in two years it hadn't grown really at all and I couldn't possibly imagine a loach that big in my tank. i always thought that fish grew to the size of their environments. I'm obviously wrong. I feed them bloodworms just about every day. I couldn't imagine feeding them that much more. As far as the lecture on my attitude I really don't need it.

[lauraleellbp]

It is possible to unnaturally stunt a fish's growth by keeping it in a tank too small for it- that's where the whole "a fish will only grow to the size of it's tank" myth came from in the first place.

It's unhealthy, however, and cruel.

That being said, clown loaches do grow somewhat slowly. My clown loaches are about 8 years old and about 6" ATM- they're about to "upgrade" from my 46gal into a 90gal tank.

Your rainbows are already too large for the tank- especially as they need to be kept in schools and schools need swimming room.

If your pleco is a "common" pleco then they actually can grow well over 14"- and plecos grow rather quickly.

So I personally believe you have some serious problems with your current stocking, and a conscientious fishkeeper would want what's best for their fish and address the issues sooner rather than later.

[Natty]

Originally Posted by pwrmacG4

general rule is 1" of adult fish per gallon.. so with a 33gal tank.. that would be 16 2" fish ect. it also depends on how much filtration you have. I have 2 rena xp3 filters running on a 75gal.. so I can overstock a little bit.. but only after the tank is cycled.. good luck

To me your definition of general rule is more on the cautionary safe than sorry kind of rule. I've broken that rule numerous times and most of the time I don't get any problems. What I mainly look for when determining how many I can actually keep in the tank is:

1. Filtration: If your water quality starts getting bad and the filtration can't handle all of the waste that's when you know you have too many in there. Another side effect of bad filtration is of course, sickness and death, or problems such as ich/ick.

2. Space: No matter how clean your water is, if the tank looks too crowded to the point where there's no place for one fish to escape to a more secluded quiet area of the tank because it's all filled up, that's when you know you should start selling off your stock.

The most fish I've ever had in a small space were around 200 or so feeder guppies in a 5 gallon plastic container hung inside a larger 50 gallon glass tank.

Hard to tell the numbers but I was very certain it was well over 200. After a few months they eventually died off because of diseases. I was 9.

But indeed, the general rule is a good rule for any caring aquarist. At the time I was more busy on quantity than quality.

[crazie.eddie]

There are several posts regarding stocking guides here.

The stocking rule/guide is basically a general guide. This does not account for the size of the fish. For example, you could have (10) 1" fish in a 10 gallon tank without being overcrowded, but you cannot have a 10" fish in a 10 gallon tank.

I also consider the swimming level of the fish. For example, you can have a balance of middle/top level dwellers and bottom dwellers. IMO,your tank is overstocked. I would actually get rid of some of your middle/top dwelling fish and maybe adding a couple of more clown loaches. Clown loaches are shy/nervous fish and do better in groups (Safety in numbers). They do take awhile to grow, so be prepared to move them to a larger tank. Otherwise, if you want other bottom dwellers, look into cory catfishes or dwarf loaches.

Regarding your pleco, if it's a common pleco, it will probably outgrow the tank and create more waste.

One last thing, I'm not familiar with keyhole cichlids. You may need to check the compability with the other fish.

[newshound]

when stocking you must also take into account the worst power loss in your area every 10 yrs.
If the power goes out and your over stocked things go badly very quickly.
Did I mention VERY QUICKLY!
A over stocked tank can be pushed over the edge due to one fish dieing. A LFS had a 30ish gallon way overstocked including a great RTS and a clown loach. One fish died unnoticed and boom the tank went sour and almost everything died...

Clown loaches do grow slowly.
One can stunt the growth of any animal by a variety of ways--
poor environment. poor water quality, lack of O2, over crowding, lack of buddys, stress etc...
a lack of food. Humans in general are at least 12" higher then they had been for all of history. All because of diet.
Stresses during shipping. It can be argued that young fish can have had longterm damage due to toxins building up during shipping.

[newshound]

o ya a tank with one of everything is really hard to watch.
a large school of one type of fish is a thing to behold!

[adamsri]

thanks for the info, in regards to the keyhole cichlid you should check them out. My LFS sells them in the community fish section cause they are extremely peaceful. Cool fish to look at. The real bastard is the bosemani. He's the alpha male of the tank

[rasetsu]

Originally Posted by adamsri

thanks for the info, in regards to the keyhole cichlid you should check them out. My LFS sells them in the community fish section cause they are extremely peaceful. Cool fish to look at. The real bastard is the bosemani. He's the alpha male of the tank

That's probably because he belongs in a group of 5 or more. I have 6 in a 75 gallon and all are extremely peaceful. The males will display to each other, but never fight or chase.

If you want to take this hobby seriously and give the best care for your fish, you are on the right track by posting on here. You have to learn to accept people's advice though. There are a lot of folks here who have kept many different kinds of fish for many years and know what they are talking about. My advice is to get a bigger tank with appropriate tank mates or get smaller fish.