So, as you can see in my sig, my tank is probably a little
overstocked. Well, the people at petsmart helped me through this tank, and they suggested that this is good, so I went for it. Well, I've been getting messages saying that I'm a bit overstocked. So my first question is..
1) am I overstoked?
And also, my parents won't let me get anything bigger than a 10g, but I am willing to spend whatever on filters, plants, etc, if needed. So basically,
2) what can I do/get?
Lastly, holly12 is concerned about my kuhlies and my catfish in a 10 gallon tank with loach gravel. So...
3) do I need to worry about my wonderful kuhlies?
Thanks!
Additional info: I have 2 topfin10 power filters, 1 is installed in the tank, 1 is just laying around, I have mostly fake plants, but am replacing them with live plants 1 by 1

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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.

You're fine. Why people are bothering you I don't know. Khuli loaches are small and low profile, and barbs are small too. The only suggestion i'd give you is use two filters and get another cory because they are social fish. Any questions just pm me.

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16g-2 guppies, 1 bolivian ram, 3 neon tetras,2 khulis
55g-1 red tail shark, 1 rubberlip plecos, 2 banjo cats,
2 silver dollars, 6 white clouds,

Well, counting my kuhlies as 2 inches (even though their skinny little bodies are about 3 1/2 in) my fish in full grown size would add up to 15 in. Let alone another Cory. I just want more people to give their opinions because this is very important to me and my fish.

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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.

No you are not overstocked yet. Corys are very social and should be kept at least in trios. Seven is an ideal number but not 7 Bronze Corys in a 10g tank. Five to seven dwarf Corys would work well in a 10G tank.

Question #3 added.

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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.

Dear friend, you are not overstocked at all. Anyone will say you're overstocked unless you buy a ridiculously large tank.. like a 150 Gallons. I mean come on, most people don't have the money or time to buy 150 G. Your tank is fine and perfect. My only suggestion is to buy a filter 3 times stronger than what your tank is supposed to have. Buy a filter for a 30 Gallon and not a 10 Gallon. Make sure its a hang over the back filter that can let you ADJUST the CURRENT of the waterflow.. or it might be too strong for your barbs and they will be blown away. Other than that, just arrange some decorations, fake or live plants, your choice, create hiding spaces so your barbs aren't always trying to eat eachother, and ENJOY your tank!

You've said you've had the Kuhli's for some time now, and they haven't lost their barbels, so I'm sure you're fine. In the future, if you ever do move to a larger tank, it's just a consideration you may want to think about. I didn't realize you had "loach gravel." I'm sure it's more than fine then. As long as there are no sharp or jagged edges, they will do just fine.

Like everyone has said, a stronger filter - one rated for a 20g or 30g would be fine - is a good idea. Keep up with weekly partial water changes as well. Also, feed lightly.

Good news that you are moving from fake plants to live, as live plants help improve water quality by eating ammonia and nitrates! Fast growing stem plants (Hygro plants, hornwort, Elodea, Wisteria) are great for this reason.

As for the Cory, they ideally should be kept in small groups, but I don't know if I'd add anymore fish. Up to you really.

We'd love to see pics' of your tank when you get the time. :D

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

Sounds like you were trying to go by the inch per gallon rule, that's just a loose guideline. If you look at my signiture for my 20 gallon long, you'd think I was way overstocked, but with being as heavily planted as I am, I'm having no issues whatsoever with ammonia or nitrates.

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20 gallon long:Amazon Swords, Ruffle Swords, Red Flame Swords, Fanwort, Wisteria,8 Lemon tetras,
6 otos, 11 Amano shrimp, 3 mystery snails, 3 Bolivian Rams, 3 black skirt tetra and 2-3 lemon tetra fry
10 gallon: 30 lemon tetra fry, give or take...1 gallon Anubias, Fish: 1 betta

You are on the edge of being overstocked but I think the bio load will be fine in a well maintained tank with a good filter and live plants. I haven't seen the comments that others made but I would guess the point is more that most of the fish you have should be kept in groups but your tank is already maxed out so you can't get more fish. Keeping schooling fish without the school usually leads to problems. If things seem to be working fine you can keep the fish you have and keep an eye on bullying or stressed fish and water quality.

I've never really bought into the huge filter approach - although you do have current loving fish. In a full tank like yours, I see only one problem - workload. You don't need to spend money, but rather time. If you do regular as clockwork 25-40% water changes weekly, that tank should thrive. If you don't, you are overstocked.
You have to control feeding. If you don't.. etc.
As long as you manage the tank well, respect its biological processes and keep the water clean, you can really enjoy your set-up.

Skeeter- I think you'll find the majority of people on here don't have 150 gallon tanks or the wallets to match. Personally I love small tanks (I'm setting up a 7 gallon now) but you can't get around the fact that if you are going to choose a small tank you do have to be careful about stocking and anyone who wants to keep big fish shouldn't consider a small tank. Doing things right will actually save a ton of money. There are some people on here that have a lot of experience with keeping fish and when they see potential problems they like to try and help before they have become big problems they are not trying to jump down any ones throat. Most of us have made made mistakes that we'd like to help others avoid and I'm grateful to others who have helped me.

Your suggestion about plenty of decor to give hiding places is a good idea.

Oh, one extra note: If you put a second filter on, or switch to a bigger one, make sure you run the new one along side the old one for a few weeks, so the new one has time to accumulate the good bacteria it needs to support your tank. If you take the old filter off and put a brand new one on, the tank will go into a cycle.

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

Check my sig, I rehomed some fish and got some.

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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.

My advice would be to rehome the zebra loach and get a couple more khuli's and if you keep up with maint. add a couple more cories.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

So I did all that with the kuhlies and the zebra just to switch them back? And why no zebra?

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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.

You're overthinking it man. The 3 barbs are tiny fish, and the khulis produce little waste, and same with the cory. You'll be fine with the zebra or the khulis. No need to nitpick man, enjoy your tank!

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16g-2 guppies, 1 bolivian ram, 3 neon tetras,2 khulis
55g-1 red tail shark, 1 rubberlip plecos, 2 banjo cats,
2 silver dollars, 6 white clouds,

The zebra will be to big for the tank and it needs company of it's own kind. It needs 3 or 4 of its own kind to be happy and thrive. Khulis are also happier in groups of 3 or 4.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

As you may have read, I now have a 20 gallon, and I have the ability to get all 3 kuhlies back from my friend, and get my zebra some/a friend.

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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.

Dotfrog, you need to keep this all into one thread not 4 or 5, it gets confusing to the point that no one will help you. And sorry a 20 isn't big enough for a zebra loach unless maybe its a long tank, But I am to the point unless I see a pic of it. I don't know if I want to believe it or not.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

Consider taking the advice given here, the more you repeat the same questions in multiple threads its only going to confuse people more. The answer is still the same, the zebra loach is too big for your current set up. Listen to the members who have been doing this for years, they have already made all the newbie mistakes and can help you avoid bad situations.

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