Is my aquarium overstocked?

[Pixelitis]

I have a 10 gallon aquarium. I want to know is it overstocked. I have a filter,heater,live plants,a cave, and a lighting system with 8WPG. I do a 10% water change weekly. I have 4 guppies,2 platys,1 female betta fish, and 3 ghost shrimp. I want to know if I could add a few more fish. I plan on replacing my ghost shrimp with red cherry shrimp(RCS),replace my 4 guppies and 2 platys for 4 zebra danios add 1 dwarf gourami and 4 glow-light tetras.

[hunterlook]

Need some more specifics like what filter are you running, how planted is the tank and what do you mean by "cave"? Would you happen to have a picture of your setup? With well planted tanks, you can generally get away with a slight overstock but you;ll always get the people that will chime in and tell you that you're cruel for keeping a smaller tank overstocked.

Your current stock seems fine for that tank but your new stock would put you over the general "1 inch per gallong" rule. Like I said, depending on the amount of plants and equipment on the tank, you could get away with it just be prepared for any issues that may arise.

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by Pixelitis

I have a 10 gallon aquarium. I want to know is it overstocked. I have a filter,heater,live plants,a cave, and a lighting system with 8WPG. I do a 10% water change weekly. I have 4 guppies,2 platys,1 female betta fish, and 3 ghost shrimp. I want to know if I could add a few more fish. I plan on replacing my ghost shrimp with red cherry shrimp(RCS),replace my 4 guppies and 2 platys for 4 zebra danios add 1 dwarf gourami and 4 glow-light tetras.

Your current stocking is OK but the fish aren't really all compatible.

Zebra danios, glow light tetras need larger tanks. 20 gallons is recommended. They like to school and swim.

Your betta could get along poorly with the gourami.

I would leave things as is.

[thedudeabides]

Yeah I find with gourami's / bettas you need to keep either a single specimen or lots of them to displace aggression or they will fight and stress each other until only one remains.

[Pixelitis]

Originally Posted by MABJ

Your current stocking is OK but the fish aren't really all compatible.

Zebra danios, glow light tetras need larger tanks. 20 gallons is recommended. They like to school and swim.

Your betta could get along poorly with the gourami.

I would leave things as is.

Well ok thanks for the advice. But what about the shrimp? If I remove my ghost shrimp and use Red Cherry Shrimp will they be fine? Are there any other fish I can add or will I overstock my aquarium if I do.

[assasin6547]

Fish will terrorize your shrimp.

[MABJ]

My man if things are working for you leave them as is.

I think you could change the direction of your tank if you removed all the fish.

Adding a certain one will just throw off whatever odd balance you've achieved.

[Pixelitis]

Originally Posted by MABJ

My man if things are working for you leave them as is.

I think you could change the direction of your tank if you removed all the fish.

Adding a certain one will just throw off whatever odd balance you've achieved.

I guess your right. Thanks for the info though. Without the info I would have thrown my aquarium off of its odd balance.

[MABJ]

I have achieved some odd balances in my day.

You could do some neat things with your tank, but you'd have to rehome most/all of your fish.

And most bettas hunt shrimp they easily can see, so ghost shrimp are ideal because they can't really see them well.

[darthmilmo]

Although not an exact science, http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php offers an interesting insight as to how to stock your tank. As someone suggested, the figures may be modified if you have plants (ie, overstocking a planted tank is safer than an non-planted tank).

[BBradbury]

Originally Posted by Pixelitis

I have a 10 gallon aquarium. I want to know is it overstocked. I have a filter,heater,live plants,a cave, and a lighting system with 8WPG. I do a 10% water change weekly. I have 4 guppies,2 platys,1 female betta fish, and 3 ghost shrimp. I want to know if I could add a few more fish. I plan on replacing my ghost shrimp with red cherry shrimp(RCS),replace my 4 guppies and 2 platys for 4 zebra danios add 1 dwarf gourami and 4 glow-light tetras.

Hello Pix...

Your tank is quite small and will be a challenge to keep clean. 10 percent water changes will do next to nothing to keep the water chemistry stable. You'll need to remove and replace half the water every week.

Small tanks aren't the best unless you keep a fish or two that is relatively inactive, like Loaches.

Livebearers (your Guppies and Platys) are very active swimmers, as are Danios and Tetras. A Gourami is peaceful enough, although males can get a little testy. I wouldn't keep them in such a small tank. A 20 gallon minimum is more suitable for a small group of active fish.

I think you'll find larger tanks are much easier to maintain.

B