I have a 20 gallon normal(not long) tank with 1 small angel about an 1 1/2", a 1/2" uaru, 2 bolivian rams (one is 2 1/4" and the other is 2"), 2 swordtails (1 1/2" each) and a dojo loach about 4". Is this too crowded? PS- I know the Uaru and angel get larger. I got that covered for when they do.
2007-03-15T17:57:24Z
The filter is a biowheel marineland filter that does 200 gph so i got the filtration alright and i do weekly partial water changes of 40% or more if necessary. The angel and uaru will be removed when they get too large. They got some tanks waiting for them in my fish room.
magicman1162007-03-15T19:37:46Z
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I think your ok for now... maybe even 6 weeks to 2 months worth before you need to move the Uaru and angel. Man, I haven't seen Uarus in ages around my area or even heard anyone mention them. Cool fish though.
It is significantly overcrowded. The 1" of fish per gallon only applies to petite bodied fish like tetras and danios. It certainly doesn't apply to dojo loaches. It doesn't matter what filtration you use, overcrowded is overcrowded. You fish are all babies right now. That angel fish is going to be 6" if it doesn't die in a few months. The swordtails are going to die if you don't get a few more from stress of not being in a school. At the least, to get things right, you're going to need a 55 gallon right now. Probably more.
Okay the person who said to get a 150 gallon tank... just for those fish? Don't be stupid. As for the tank... if you have good mechanical and biological filtration then it should be fine. However, as you said, the angel WILL get MUCH larger, so I would get a larger tank BEFORE the fish overwhelm your bacterial colony.
That's about 18 inches worth of fish. It is a little crowded but still barely in the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule. make sure you have good filtration so ammonia levels do no become high!