Stocking levels for a 65 litre tank.Am i at my limit ?

[stubaroo]

Hi , We have a 65 litre tank that has 5 cardinal tetras , 5 rummy nose tetras , 2 honey gourami and as of yesterday 3 khuhli loaches.In 2 or so weeks we were thinking about getting some male guppies to go in the tank.But i'm unsure if we have reached our stocking limit.Or if we haven't how many guppies could we get ? Any feedback would be great.Thanks

[Trillian]

That's 10 small and 5 medium fish in there so I'd say you're fully stocked atm.

[DragonFish66]

There are good fish stocking calculaters at the practical fishkeeping website that will tell u. Its one of the best for fishkeeping

[MJ75]

Originally Posted by stubaroo

Hi , We have a 65 litre tank that has 5 cardinal tetras , 5 rummy nose tetras , 2 honey gourami and as of yesterday 3 khuhli loaches.In 2 or so weeks we were thinking about getting some male guppies to go in the tank.But i'm unsure if we have reached our stocking limit.Or if we haven't how many guppies could we get ? Any feedback would be great.Thanks

Is this a new tank? You're well on your way alredy to be honest. Stocking calculators are a good very basic guide for beginners to get started with, but to get a more realistic answer you need to start testing your water quality and check the nitrate levels. Aim to keep it below 20ppm with your water change routine and you'll do OK.

Remember, fish grow and will reduce your stocking potential. Good thinking to keep male guppies as pairs soon become 20 fish, then , 40 fish etc etc....

[dan51]

Originally Posted by DragonFish66

There are good fish stocking calculaters at the practical fishkeeping website that will tell u. Its one of the best for fishkeeping

pfk is one of the best websites for fishkeeping, the calculaters however are very innacurate, it has even been said by the staff themselves, it said i could only put 4cm of fish into my 95l reef tank

[stubaroo]

Hi , Thanks for the replies.I will take a look at the stocking guides on the other site.I wasn't sure whether to believe these guides or not.I did a community creator on another site which said i could have the fish i currently have plus 5 guppies and still some room left for more.I thought that was overly generous lol.

We have had the tank running for at least 4/5 mths now.And did the fishless cycle.We had also been getting the water tested every week.Which has been fine , although we had a low ph problem that has now been sorted.I will get the water tested again at the weekend as it hasn't been tested since the loaches went in.And i will keep an eye on the readings also.Thanks again.

[MJ75]

Originally Posted by stubaroo

Hi , Thanks for the replies.I will take a look at the stocking guides on the other site.I wasn't sure whether to believe these guides or not.I did a community creator on another site which said i could have the fish i currently have plus 5 guppies and still some room left for more.I thought that was overly generous lol.

We have had the tank running for at least 4/5 mths now.And did the fishless cycle.We had also been getting the water tested every week.Which has been fine , although we had a low ph problem that has now been sorted.I will get the water tested again at the weekend as it hasn't been tested since the loaches went in.And i will keep an eye on the readings also.Thanks again.

Stocking calculators require a good dose of common sense. Think about it, whats going to place the bigger bioload on your filter, one 15" oscar or 15 1 inch neons? Or will it be the same?

Obviously the oscar will place a bioload equivalent to around 100 to 150 neons yet only takes up 15" of your allowance so to speak...

Hope that helps.

[stubaroo]

That makes perfect sense.So if i keep an eye on what the water readings are for a few weeks i should have an idea of how the filter is dealing with what's in the tank.And then get an idea if the tank could happily deal with a couple of male guppies without pushing the limit.I hope i have got that right lol.This is our first tropical tank our last one was coldwater and trying to find all the right info to make sure we keep a healthy tank is a bit daunting at times.Thanks again.