Think Fish Keepers Daily News. [2016-2019]

Truth be told,I dont actually knowif it is a 50L. the dimensions are 2ft by 1ft by 1ft. i just went on that most of my fish are bottom dwellers

Also try http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/calculators/aquariumvolumecalc

The tank I've just sold was 60 x 30 x 30 cm so the same size. That was called 54 litres by the manufacturer but that was right to the brim so it wouldn't hold that much water. I always called it 50 litres.

Bottom dwellers count just as much as mid water and surface fish.



In the CC, I entered 60 cm long tank, 50 litres and internal filter, then added fish.

11 panda cories - 5 actual pandas and 6 to stand in for 4 larger juliis which aren't in the profiles.
6 glass catfish

the CC says just with these fish you are 186% stocked, and the tank is too small for glass catfish

5 Rummy nosed tetras

now at 216%, and it says the tank is too small for rummies

1 male betta
3 twig catfish to stand in for 4 smaller whiptails

now at 316%



Your tank has over 3 times more fish than it can safely hold. With this number of fish you should be doing 50% water changes every second day to cope. It's not just fish poo and nitrate made by the bacteria but fish excrete other things too. I used to work in a hospital lab and you'd be amazed at the number of things we tested urine for. Fish excrete lots of things to which we can't test for without a lab. These things build up in the water and are not good at high levels. That's why you need to change so much water, to remove it all.



So going back to the CC,

5 panda cories - 30%
1 male betta - now 40%
5 rummy nose tetras - now 70%

I would stop there. Maybe get a couple more cories and rummies but that's all.

I always check with Seriously Fish as that gives the tank size needed for a particular fish. That says:
Whiptails need a tank 30 inches/75 cm long.
Rummy noses are OK in 24 inches/60cm though the tank should be taller to give more volume. The CC says 60 cm is too small for rummies.
Glass catfish need a tank 36 inches/90 cm long
Julii cories need a tank 36 inches/90 cm long as they are big cories.




You also need a back up plan. The rummies might suddenly decide to start nipping Boris' fins. Or Boris might suddenly snap and go for the rummies - this is a known problem with bettas, they seem quite happy with their tank mates until one day the snap and start to kill them.

Eeek - hope all's well, Apache, and you recover quickly.

Get well soon @apache6467

Glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better @apache6467   

Are these coackatoo cichlids?

if so its normal for one male to have a 'hareem' of females. but nature allways supports survival of the fittest...

@Sue You can be sure its the female that initiates courtship if your lippy has gone missing.

@Littlefish !!! I thought it, but didn't dare say it ! Now where is that PG icon.

Hmmm - I stuck a Tetra Fun Tip on the tank glass this evening for the fishes' dinner... it's clearly an aphrodisiac among the x-ray tetras!