Fish load

Hi all,

I currently have a 120 litre tank, stocked with six goldfish (all under 4cm
long) & four catties (all under 6cm long). Any recommendations for how many
others I can add & what species to balance the tank ?

The tank is heavily planted & filtration is supplied by a canister filter
capable of turning over 500 lites per hour (so 4 times the tank capacity
each hour).

Tank temperature runs between 12-18 degrees celsius (depending on the
season, winter at the moment so temp is at the lower end).

cheers,

Lance

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Lance Lyon wrote:
Hi all,

I currently have a 120 litre tank, stocked with six goldfish (all under 4cm
long) & four catties (all under 6cm long). Any recommendations for how many
others I can add & what species to balance the tank ?

The tank is heavily planted & filtration is supplied by a canister filter
capable of turning over 500 lites per hour (so 4 times the tank capacity
each hour).

Tank temperature runs between 12-18 degrees celsius (depending on the
season, winter at the moment so temp is at the lower end).

cheers,

Lance

Your tank is already overstocked. Your goldies will grow to 20 cm or
more and should have at least 40l of water for each adult fish. Comets
and shubunkins grow to 30cm and need 80l of water. I don't know what
"catties" are, but if they grow like goldfish you're going to be finding
homes for a lot of fish in the coming years.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

"Elaine T" wrote in message
. ..

Your tank is already overstocked. Your goldies will grow to 20 cm or more
and should have at least 40l of water for each adult fish. Comets and
shubunkins grow to 30cm and need 80l of water. I don't know what
"catties" are, but if they grow like goldfish you're going to be finding
homes for a lot of fish in the coming years.

Sure ? 30cm is 12 inches, that's more Koi size! Catties = Bristlenose
Catfish.

cheers,

Lance


--
// http://landover.no-ip.com
Historical Sydney ferries webpages
http://landover.no-ip.com/bbs.html
Classic 8 & 16 bit BBS //

"Lance Lyon" wrote in message
...


Sure ? 30cm is 12 inches, that's more Koi size! Catties =
Bristlenose Catfish.



I support Elaine's statement. In addition, as the overstocking causes
the water quality to decrease (goldies and similar are rather filthy
creatures) the Catfish will suffer. You're best off finding new homes
for most of those fish, or buying a *very* large tank. Goldfish are
very poorly represented in this society. They need LOTS of room. The
phrase "they won't outgrow a tank" is almost total BS.

"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Lance Lyon" wrote in message
...


Sure ? 30cm is 12 inches, that's more Koi size! Catties = Bristlenose
Catfish.



Yes. You are way overstocked even now.

Goldfish are harder to keep well than most understand, particularly the
ornamental ones. They are very dirty fish and require excellent conditions.

"Alpha" wrote in message
...

"Billy" wrote in message
...

"Lance Lyon" wrote in message
...


Sure ? 30cm is 12 inches, that's more Koi size! Catties = Bristlenose
Catfish.



Yes. You are way overstocked even now.

Goldfish are harder to keep well than most understand, particularly the
ornamental ones. They are very dirty fish and require excellent
conditions.

Well, this tank has been running for just over two years, no problems with
it in that time, all water parameters are normal & all original inhabitants
alive, well & kicking. If there were problems with it being 'overstocked'
(which I sincerely doubt), they would have surfaced long since I reckon.

I get the impression most people believe about 2 fish is all you can put in
a 125 litre tank.....

cheers,

Lance


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Historical Sydney ferries webpages
http://landover.no-ip.com/bbs.html
Classic 8 & 16 bit BBS //

Lance Lyon wrote:
Sure ? 30cm is 12 inches, that's more Koi size! Catties = Bristlenose

Kois get to be 2 or 3 feet long, actually. I have shubunkins in my pond
that are 3 years old and are about 8 inches long.

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Victor M. Martinez
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"Lance Lyon" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I currently have a 120 litre tank, stocked with six goldfish (all under
4cm long) & four catties (all under 6cm long). Any recommendations for how
many others I can add & what species to balance the tank ?

The tank is heavily planted & filtration is supplied by a canister filter
capable of turning over 500 lites per hour (so 4 times the tank capacity
each hour).

Tank temperature runs between 12-18 degrees celsius (depending on the
season, winter at the moment so temp is at the lower end).

cheers,

Lance


Let's see, (sorry, I think imperial) 30g tank, six GF all under 1-1/2" long,
four Ancistrus about 2" long, 54 to 64F water with x4 filtration and lots of
plants. Sounds like a very attractive tank. I'm not sure if that water is
warm enough for Ancistrus. Typically 22C or 72F is the lowest I've seen.
When the GF get a bit larger, they will try to decimate your live plants.
From a stocking perspective, behaviourally you are probably ok right now,
and if you are not overfeeding and doing your water changes, then
biologically you are ok, and the cold water is helping by maintaining a
higher level of O2 in the water.

It's probably a good time to be asking about this because what the others
have said is correct. If you take into account these fish's eventual
requirements, you are way over-stocked. Your status quo might be ok for the
reasons I mentioned above, but you can expect to need to make some changes
relatively soon. If your GF are comets, then these grow faster and need
longer tanks than the ornamental types, which typically need more open space
and warmer water. You more fully appreciate the requirements of a GF when
you see them as 8" adults. Just one full grown ornamental GF can look like
a sardine in a planted 30g tank ;~).

Don't take this as criticism. I'm always upgrading accommodations as fish
grow larger, and like you, I research my options by getting experienced
opinions.
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