55g stocking sanity check

[Conchonius]

Well, it is now my turn to be judged before the fish council. After an outbreak in the 55g, I've decided to do a rehaul and reduce my stocking to a level that I think is reasonable in the long run. But what I think doesn't matter compared to the people here who have been doing this for decades, so here's my final list for your judgement. Is this sustainable, or should I cut some more?

Tank dimensions: 100 cm x 50 cm x 40 cm, 200 L/~53g
Filtration: JBL E1502, 1500 L/h

Cories:
5x Hoplisoma trilineatum, 5cm/2" (false julii cory)
7x Osteogaster sp. "false eques", 5cm/2" (this is the "Czech eques" that sometimes also shows up in the US, not the real deal but probably a color morph of schultzei like the orange and black Venezuela cories)

Plecos:
1x L106, 15cm/6" (orange seam pleco)
1x L448, 10 cm/4" (Meta clown pleco... I think? It was a straggler I received as a gift, the store wasn't sure of the ID either)
1x L201, 10 cm/4" (polkadot pleco)
1x L333, 8 cm/3" (maze zebra pleco)

Others:
1x featherfin synodontis, 20cm/8"
1x striped raphael, 15cm/6"
1x rainbow shark, 15cm/6"
?x kuhli loaches (there's a few in there, but in typical kuhli fashion they've disappeared into the scape and can't be removed without dismantling the whole tank)

In other words, something to the tune of 12x cories, 4x bristlenose plecos, 1x featherfin, 1x striped raphael, 1x rainbow shark. Some of the fish are not at their maximum sizes, but most are getting there.

I am a bit iffy about the L201 - it is a pretty fish and very outgoing for a pleco, but also the most quarrelsome animal I own. Beyond that, I might move the cories to a different tank and go with a larger-fish-only setup, but they do a good job dithering for the more anxious plecos. Any opinions?

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Well, it is now my turn to be judged before the fish council. After an outbreak in the 55g, I've decided to do a rehaul and reduce my stocking to a level that I think is reasonable in the long run. But what I think doesn't matter compared to the people here who have been doing this for decades, so here's my final list for your judgement. Is this sustainable, or should I cut some more?

Tank dimensions: 100 cm x 50 cm x 40 cm, 200 L/~53g
Filtration: JBL E1502, 1500 L/h

Cories:
5x Hoplisoma trilineatum, 5cm/2" (false julii cory)
7x Osteogaster sp. "false eques", 5cm/2" (this is the "Czech eques" that sometimes also shows up in the US, not the real deal but probably a color morph of schultzei like the orange and black Venezuela cories)

Plecos:
1x L106, 15cm/6" (orange seam pleco)
1x L448, 10 cm/4" (Meta clown pleco... I think? It was a straggler I received as a gift, the store wasn't sure of the ID either)
1x L201, 10 cm/4" (polkadot pleco)
1x L333, 8 cm/3" (maze zebra pleco)

Others:
1x featherfin synodontis, 20cm/8"
1x striped raphael, 15cm/6"
1x rainbow shark, 15cm/6"
?x kuhli loaches (there's a few in there, but in typical kuhli fashion they've disappeared into the scape and can't be removed without dismantling the whole tank)

In other words, something to the tune of 12x cories, 4x bristlenose plecos, 1x featherfin, 1x striped raphael, 1x rainbow shark. Some of the fish are not at their maximum sizes, but most are getting there.

I am a bit iffy about the L201 - it is a pretty fish and very outgoing for a pleco, but also the most quarrelsome animal I own. Beyond that, I might move the cories to a different tank and go with a larger-fish-only setup, but they do a good job dithering for the more anxious plecos. Any opinions?

While I don't have decades of experience or anything, I've had some experience with a lot of the fish you've listed, especially regarding the Striped raphs (which are some of my favorite fish in the hobby period ).

I would be mostly concerned about mixing so many bottom dwellers together. I feel like you need to spread out the stock more (maybe some tetras for the center, hachetfish for the top or something along those lines?). It would be a fight for territory with that many bottom dwellers.

Also, I wouldn't personally mix small cories or very small plecos with larger catfish such as Striped Raphs or Featherfin Squeakers. I don't worry about the larger cats eating the smaller ones (except for the Kuhli loaches, I think those would be like ramen noodles even if they hide well from the predators), however Featherfins can be a bit of a bully so it may harm your smaller cats.

I hope this helps!

 

[skjl47]

reduce my stocking to a level that I think is reasonable in the long run.

should I cut some more?

Hello; I am far at the low density end of stocking. Perhaps as in some judged contests you might throw out the highest and lowest response. I currently have a 55 gallon stocked with five or six small fish. Four or five zebra danios and one brilliant rasbora. Not saying i think this stocking is an upper limit by any means. I could add some more fish and still have comfortable stocking. I have pretty much moved on to the plants over having lots of fish the last few decades.
To the point. I consider a tank to be over stocked if it cannot exist for days to weeks without power filters or air bubblers. My current tanks are understocked to below such a point. If the power went out the fish can survive indefinitely. So, my opinion is you are still overstocked.

I took in a pleco from a neighbor many years ago. It grew to over 14 inches and would be a load in a 55 gallon by itself. You have already fish six inches or more. The pleco I had was a nasty fish. Long strings of poo until I added some ramshorn snails. Then lots of fine snail poo. May depend on how big the fish you have will get.

Could i run a tank stocked the way yours is? Yes, I could and have. Too much dependence on power filters and air pumps. Hard to keep up with water changes as they likely need to be done large and often. A large fish dies and is not found for a few days and there can be a somewhat toxic bloom.

This last is conjecture. I find my fish tend to live longer anymore.
Good luck
Note; been keeping tanks since 1959 if that matters. Likely should not so much.

 

[Conchonius]

While I don't have decades of experience or anything, I've had some experience with a lot of the fish you've listed, especially regarding the Striped raphs (which are some of my favorite fish in the hobby period ).

I would be mostly concerned about mixing so many bottom dwellers together. I feel like you need to spread out the stock more (maybe some tetras for the center, hachetfish for the top or something along those lines?). It would be a fight for territory with that many bottom dwellers.

Also, I wouldn't personally mix small cories or very small plecos with larger catfish such as Striped Raphs or Featherfin Squeakers. I don't worry about the larger cats eating the smaller ones (except for the Kuhli loaches, I think those would be like ramen noodles even if they hide well from the predators), however Featherfins can be a bit of a bully so it may harm your smaller cats.

I hope this helps!

The featherfin is a runt with birth defects in the mouth and gills (here's the thread about it on PCF), so it's not exactly in a position to bully anything. The L106 is a big male and often gets the better of it, as does the L201. I target feed it to avoid competition.

The raphael is a bigger worry when it comes to bullying. I got lucky in that it hangs out in the open and feeds with the lights on, which is rare for doradids, but it has no qualms bulldozing everything on its way to algae wafers. I work around it by dropping the wafer in pieces, it's content to grab one and retreat into a tangle of driftwood to feed while cories peck at the rest.

Hello; I am far at the low density end of stocking. Perhaps as in some judged contests you might throw out the highest and lowest response. I currently have a 55 gallon stocked with five or six small fish. Four or five zebra danios and one brilliant rasbora. Not saying i think this stocking is an upper limit by any means. I could add some more fish and still have comfortable stocking. I have pretty much moved on to the plants over having lots of fish the last few decades.
To the point. I consider a tank to be over stocked if it cannot exist for days to weeks without power filters or air bubblers. My current tanks are understocked to below such a point. If the power went out the fish can survive indefinitely. So, my opinion is you are still overstocked.

I took in a pleco from a neighbor many years ago. It grew to over 14 inches and would be a load in a 55 gallon by itself. You have already fish six inches or more. The pleco I had was a nasty fish. Long strings of poo until I added some ramshorn snails. Then lots of fine snail poo. May depend on how big the fish you have will get.

Could i run a tank stocked the way yours is? Yes, I could and have. Too much dependence on power filters and air pumps. Hard to keep up with water changes as they likely need to be done large and often. A large fish dies and is not found for a few days and there can be a somewhat toxic bloom.

This last is conjecture. I find my fish tend to live longer anymore.
Good luck
Note; been keeping tanks since 1959 if that matters. Likely should not so much.

Oh, these are not the common plecos that grow to 20" or more. These "fancy" plecos are different species that remain in the 4-6 inch range, mine are mature adults and unlikely to grow further (with the exception of the L333, which is still juvenile and has a maximum size of 6"). They are still bulky fish with high bioload for their size, however.

Thank you to the both of you. Overall, it seems it's best to move the cories or a couple of the plecos (as well as the kuhlis, if I can catch the darn things) to their own tank. But I probably won't get tetras/hatchets to replace them, as I've little interest in that group and would prefer the reduced bioload. Besides, the tank is open-top and right next to my bed, and that kind of arrangement is antithetical to hatchets unless you like finding them on your face in the middle of the night.

 

[jjohnwm]

...I consider a tank to be over stocked if it cannot exist for days to weeks without power filters or air bubblers. My current tanks are understocked to below such a point. If the power went out the fish can survive indefinitely...

My own tastes run towards tanks that are very lightly stocked; so much so that I never even consider stocking to the point where I worry about a power interruption causing issues with a dangerous lack of aeration or filtration. My concern is more towards heating and temperature control.

Personally, I could not enjoy owning a tank which is always balanced on a knife-edge of imminent disaster. All my tanks are equipped with filtration, in fact most of them have multiple filters driven by both air and water pumps; all this is a luxury, not a necessity. When/if the power goes out, it's an inconvenience, not an immediate and tank-threatening disaster.

 

[skjl47]

All my tanks are equipped with filtration, in fact most of them have multiple filters driven by both air and water pumps; all this is a luxury, not a necessity. When/if the power goes out, it's an inconvenience, not an immediate and tank-threatening disaster.

Hello; Very much to my outlook as well. I run bubblers and power filters but tanks can go without. Heating in winter is less of an since i installed a wood stove. power does go out long so far but if it does i can be warm enough.

 

[Conchonius]

I suppose it's alright to use this as a general "tank update" thread, since it's already there. I had a close call with the "L448" (or rather cf. L387, as suggested by the ever-helpful PCF) today!

I hadn't seen it in a couple days, which worried me - not showing up for weeks is normal for plecos, but the four in my tank are not shy in the slightest and never fail to appear for dinner. I did a search of the tank after work today, and found it motionless in the back, stuck in a tiger lotus bulb. This, apparently, was its ideal hide... despite the log, the sunken ship, the other log, the tangle of flame wood, and the crypt roots all being available. That's pleco logic for you.

In any case, the bulb was easy to crack and the pleco is stressed but no worse for wear. I put a few more pots in the tank just in case.

 

[duanes]

To me, being a biotope enthusiast, you are dealing with 3 separate tank types instead of one (maybe 4)
one (or 2) would be a S American, soft water, low pH tank, for the for Corys and Plecos. The Orinoco and other rives pH ranges 5 to barely 7, and is mostly black water.

Another for African species that require neutral to high pH water (depending on species, some pH over 8 for some, and very hard water)



and one for Asian species ,the loaches, and rainbow.

I wouldn't try to jam all those varied species types into one common tank.

In fact, I'd even split up the Cory's and Plecos into 2 separate flow type tanks.
An average to moderate to low flow for the Cory's, and a rheophillic fast flow environment for the Plecos.

Where I collect Pleco's in nature, they are always found "minimally" in riffles, but more commonlly in high flow, high oxygen, rapids areas.

Trying to house all those varied species, with different environment needs in one generic box, does not bode well for the health of any of them

 

[Conchonius]

This is the exact type of reply I was looking for, thank you.

S. eupterus is a river syno and suited to lower pH compared to the lake species, the recommended pH range is 6.2-7.5 rather than the 8.0+ that characterizes its Tanganyikan cousins (multipunctatus, grandiops, polli etc.). Splitting by water movement might be a better way to ensure all fish are comfortable - maybe one mid-flow tank (~7-8x tank volume/h) with the syno + cories, and a "high-flow" tank (>12x volume/h) for the plecos + rainbow shark (which likewise prefers rapids to more stationary water)? pH would be in the 6.5-7.0 range for both, which fits all species involved.

If so, the 55 would remain as the mid-flow option, while I can set up something along the lines of a 40g to accommodate the plecos and the shark.