Is My 10 Gallon Overstocked?

[Blzharis]

I am planning on stocking my 10 gallon with the following: 1x Dwarf Gourami 6x Ember Tetra 3x Khuli Loach, is this over stocked. I have an internal filter that has sponge and Eheim Substrat Pro that does 132 Gallons per hour.

[Zenzo]

One important question some people may have before answering: Do you have live aquarium plants in this tank, and if so, what types and how much?

The reason why I ask is that what you are describing may be a bit on the heavily stocked side, but having a lot of live plants may help make it work as far as water quality and making the fish feel secure. 

[Blzharis]

On 9/30/2021 at 11:36 AM, Zenzo said:

One important question some people may have before answering: Do you have live aquarium plants in this tank, and if so, what types and how much?

The reason why I ask is that what you are describing may be a bit on the heavily stocked side, but having a lot of live plants may help make it work as far as water quality and making the fish feel secure. 

Thanks for the response.

This time around I do not want plants in the tank for a couple or reasons.

I did plan on having some hiding spots pvc pipe and the Like. 

How would you alter the socking in that case, I am very keen on the loaches the other fish do not bother me so much?

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 8:39 PM, Blzharis said:

I am very keen on the loaches the other fish do not bother me so much?

This isn't really advice - more like an idea.

I've found that if I wouldn't love to have a specific species as my one and only species, I'll end up getting tired of it after a while. That makes me wonder if it might be good to get a great loach tank going strong, then consider adding other species... if you even still want to. It's possible that you'll like the loaches so much, you're very happy with a loach tank! 

"Patience" is a word advised over and over and 🥱 over with aquariums... so hey, maybe.

[Guppysnail]

If you do not want plants but want some of the benefits you could try pothos outside with roots in the water or in a hob to help keep the water healthy 😁

[Patrick_G]

Chili Rasboras are great fish and have a tiny bioload. I have 10 in my 11 gallon. If you substituted those for the Embers and substituted a Honey Gourami for the Dwarf Gourami you could probably have the three loaches. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 9:05 PM, Guppysnail said:

If you do not want plants but want some of the benefits you could try pothos outside with roots in the water or in a hob to help keep the water healthy 😁

Oooh! That's a good idea! I have pothos in every tank. That stuff can even thrive in plain tap water so well that a lot of people keep it in a vase as a house plant. It's impossible to kill. Hard to imagine it going wrong! 

[Blzharis]

On 9/30/2021 at 12:05 PM, Guppysnail said:

If you do not want plants but want some of the benefits you could try pothos outside with roots in the water or in a hob to help keep the water healthy 😁

My local hardware store sells them in pots with soil. Do I just remove them from the soil and let them float in the tank ?

[CalmedByFish]

Yeah, when you buy them planted in soil, the goal is to get the soil thoroughly rinsed off. When you can't succeed, just cut that portion of the vine or roots off. If you search for images of pothos growing in water, you'll find examples (and videos) of how to get a vine with no roots to grow them. It's easy, and only takes about a week before you see the start of roots.

They don't float, but they're pretty easy to secure at the top of the tank. If there's a small enough hole in your lid, you can just stick it in - stem in water and leaves above the lid. I think it's common to secure the vine to the top with suction cups that have hooks or tiny zip ties. I currently use some of my kid's ring-shaped toys. I've previously used twist-ties or thread, taping the end on the outside of the tank. If you have a HOB of any size, you can take the little lid off and stick them in there - you just need to pull them out and trim long roots every couple weeks, to make sure they don't grow to the impeller.

I wrote a lot, but honestly, it's simple once you're in action.

[Guppysnail]

Here is how I do what @CalmedByFish explained. I do not use the plastic with the glass lid. I use egg crate (the stuff for bid overhead lights sold in sheets cut down) here is my trimming roots that float in the aquarium 

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/30/2021 at 1:40 PM, Guppysnail said:

I do not use the plastic with the glass lid. I use egg crate 

I also take the plastic strip off my glass lids. I just googled egg crate to see what it is. That's genius! 

Is it easy to cut?

[Guppysnail]

On 9/30/2021 at 6:25 PM, CalmedByFish said:

I also take the plastic strip off my glass lids. I just googled egg crate to see what it is. That's genius! 

Is it easy to cut?

I use scissors to snap each piece the use the handle to run over the jagged edges in a real quick sliding motion and they snap off clean. 

DONT DONIT INSIDE. The little white pieces fly everywhere…ask me how I know 🤣

[Odd Duck]

On 9/29/2021 at 10:20 PM, Blzharis said:

My local hardware store sells them in pots with soil. Do I just remove them from the soil and let them float in the tank ?

Or grow it as a houseplant, too, and just take some trimmings to put in the fish tank.  Those trimmings will take off quick enough with some good fish poop as fertilizer.

[Guppysnail]

I just remember seeing this and posted in a different thread. Thought you may find it useful