Hi!

It is all my kids' fault. They won a feeder fish at a carnival early October 2011. Decorator wife demanded ornamental display.
Pathetic scrawny grey feeder fish in a glass decorator bowl with squashed glass beads and one centrally located plastic plant. 100% h2o changes once a week religiously. 2 dual course meals with flake and pellets a day (he always finished in less than 3 minutes).
A year later he is 2.5 inches, white with orange fins and full of attitude but low on space (bowl took less than 1 gallon of distilled h2o). Decided to get a real Aquarium.
Wife liked the Fluval Chi, 5 gallon only, it fits under the cabinet on the kitchen counter! Started to research...
How did my poor fish survive?!!

I embraced chemical testing. Had an algae problem, purchased 3 Otocinclus . Trash building up, purchased Khuli loaches.
Live plants are beneficial, micro sword, Anubis and long stem sword plus that easy growing viney stuff I am planted!
Wanted color, got 5 rasbora, then 7 neon tetra.

Oh yeah, by the way I used live culture bacteria and filter media sufficient for 40 gallons to drive down my ammOnia.

Joined an online chat group- everyone is freaking out- calling me a fish abuser?

I go and look at them... Crystal clear water, normal schooling/active feeding behavior, picture perfect chemistry (pH 6.8, ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20 , don't check hardness because I use distilled h2o unless my pH is too low then I treat with nitrating filtered tap h2o with known pH 7.6, 0 in everything else and too soft to justify a reverse Osmo system (my wife checked into it).

What is wrong with me, they look good to me... This has been a gradual 4 month process... I want to add more!

Google search "overstocking aquarium freshwater" found an open minded thread.... Relief!

Here's to frequent water changes and paranoid. Chemistry tests!

20 happy fish in a 5 gallon decorator aquarium, all seemingly well and stable. If I just could keep the Goldie from digging up my plants!

Welcome to the forum.

20 fish in a 5g? Sounds about like 20 people in a 500sqft, 1br appt. Everyone looks healthy, when in reality they are miserable as hell.

Good luck.

Best part!

From my experience, the more fish you have, the more you want. Converting me from a 5.5 to a 10 and now a 20g!

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20 gallon semi planted:
Filters: top fin 10 and 20 power filters.
Fish: 2 panda cories, 1 peppered Cory, 5 kuhli loaches, and 4 cherry barbs.

welcome. at least you are doing your homework.

the goldie is going to continue to grow. you probably want to get him his own tank sooner or later.

When i was a young lad, I too won a carnival fishy. 6 years later he was in a 120g tank.... I picked one of the livers (sadly my parents sold the tank when we moved. i am now hating 30 years later...) While the fish seem alright, they are just coping with the situation. I too have overstocked tanks and gone a good 8 months or so in my early years of fishery, and sooner or later it catches up, One tank was lost to an unknown disease that spread in oh about a minute. (over the course of about two days) and another to a fish turning a vicious streak.

I am not going to preach at you or tell you you are a bad person, but i would say hold off on buying any more fish until you get a bigger tank... like a 30+

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When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

WOW. A studio apartment. But, could not agree more here. Time for an upgrade. I've got a 240g tank, and only have 8 fish.

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http://s1050.photobucket.com/albums/...eefingMadness/

wow, that is a lot of fish in a 5gal. Even the dips at petco wouldnt let me purchase more than 6 fish for my 5 gallon when I first started this whole adventure lol

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Thanks all. Got caught up on the chemistry. Looking for appropriate and attractive larger alternative.

Good for you, Tarno. Please know that we are not here to bash you, although some of us do feel quite bad for the fish out there that are kept in living conditions they are just not going to do well in long term... I think you'll find that most of us really do just want to help. You'll find that when you learn about what makes an ideal environment for your fish, and you get to see them really thrive, you get so much more out of this hobby.

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10 g planted community, 10 gallon danio/RCS tank, 10 g ghost shrimp grow out tank, 10 g blue pearl shrimp tank, 75 g in the works.

good luck!

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

hello and welcome

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What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

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Help those in our hobby to exceed beyond their expectations.
Aquatic Engineer

Update time: performing 25% H2O changes about very 5 days to keep nitrates down under 20 ppm. pH varying from 6.6 to 7.0, 0 Ammonia, 0 nitrite. All 20 fish are eating well. Loaches more extroverted in daytime. Harlequin Rasbora are reddening nicely, a cohesive school of five, but playing well with the 7 neon tetras who are ... Bright! Goldie is growing and continues to tear up new grOwth on plants.

Had to transplant my 3 Orocincli for 2 days to de- algaefi recovering Red Sword plant in 1 gal hospital tank. Worked great. Will transplant R.S. and rehab long stem sword plant in same modality.

We are currently looking for a new house (larger). I have wifely permission to upgrade tank size! I want something to swim in, but we shall see...

Sometimes I wonder just how many Aquarists out there got there start with the kid winning a goldfish at the fair, lol, then your off to buy bigger tank then you see cool fish at the LFS then its all over your begging the wife for enough space to put a 75 gallon up.
good luck to ya, cant believe all them fish are doing so well. FYI that Goldie of yours will want to grow to about 12 inchs at least, ( I have 3 of those fair fish in my 90 gal)

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90 gallon, 1 Iridescent shark, 2 Pleco, 3 Goldfish, 5 Cory cats, 2 Nerite snails
5 gallon hex, Blue Crowntail Betta, 1 nerite snail,

I assume Otocincli to be the plural form of Otocinclus. But yes, my fish in question are Otocinclus species, also called oto-cats.

I think jccaclimber was pointing out your spelling error, must be an English teacher lol but we knew what ya meant I like Otos but have no luck keeping the little fellas going.

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90 gallon, 1 Iridescent shark, 2 Pleco, 3 Goldfish, 5 Cory cats, 2 Nerite snails
5 gallon hex, Blue Crowntail Betta, 1 nerite snail,