Do Fish Calculators Work?

[FishyGirl]

When I went to the co op and showed them my list of fish they said it would work, but when using a fish calculator called AqAdvisor they said it would not work. So my question is do fish calculators work? I have a 75 gallon tank 48 by 20 by 18. And here was my list 

blood parrot cichlids x1

angle fish x2

kuhli loaches x7

diamond tetras x7

electric blue acara x2

(I have a oase biomaster 350 filter and the calculator is telling me I need more filteration)

[Lennie]

My blood parrots ate my kuhli loaches like a worm when I was a kid. It was traumatic. So yes, don’t keep the two together please.

 

Other than that, I only have experience with angels. Never had diamond tetras or blue acaras.

however, to play safe, I would personally keep only one type of cichlids in a community tank. What if those 2-2 options pair up? 
 

Angels may have weird personalities when they grow up. So you should Ideally have backup plans all the time in case anything goes wrong. Like after months of peaceful living and growing together, my friend’s angels decided to kill all rams over a night.

I personally say “cichlid is a cichlid” 🙂 I don’t trust any peaceful behavior I see today. Who knows what happens tomorrow.

 

That being said , 75 gallon offers A LOT of options to keep. I think you may go for less risky setups with increased peaceful environment.

Also when I kept blood parrot and witnessed the deformations, I told myself I would never keep such fish ever again. They are legit human made hybrid with lots of problems. Also besides all the problems they have in terms of quality of life, they are sadly being abused for the look as well. Like idk how but some of them legit have their skin painted and marketed like that. I won’t share such pics here as I find it very sad but you can find plenty of stuff to read and see regarding the ethical way of blood parrots. I had 3 as a kid. They were amazing fish but I was constantly witnessing them not even being able to close their mouth or even chew. Never ever kept them again.

 

What about orange severums instead? They look as cute, and dont come with well known quality of life issues as far as I know. @dasaltemelosguy could you please share some info about your beautiful severums to help @FishyGirl?

Edited June 24, 2023 by Lennie

[Biotope Biologist]

I’d say no fish calculators don’t work. There are far too many variables in an aquarium to ever even attempt to be close to having an accurate equation. 
 

I also think you are fine on fish stocking. Maybe people who keep these cichlids can speak to their compatibility together but as far as tank stocking totally fine.

[Lennie]

Also tagging @Fish Folk @Peaceful Fish based on the fact that they shared some opinions on blue acaras on another topic. Maybe they would help about the stocking

[lefty o]

fish calculators give a newbie a starting point, thats it.

[Fish Folk]

I think that _might_ work in a 75 gal. Cichlids may spar to determine a dominant “tank boss,” but should resolve the dispute and stay in order after that. The younger you buy the Acaras and Angels, the more peacefully they’ll get along.

I recommend aquarists learn the “why?” of the hobby for themselves rather than depending on tank calculators.

[Cinnebuns]

Imo they work for beginners who are still learning yes but you need to eventually move past them. Figuring out stocking isn't a simple process where you answer just 1 question but many. It's multiple factors you have to consider including:

-  fish compatibility - not only if the fish will get along but also if they have similar enough care requirements. Sure, a betta and a white cloud might get along just fine but they are on polar opposite sides of temp requirements. 

-  bioload - this isn't just effected by tank size. Thats the big secret. Filtration and plants also have a factor in this. Also realize that plants also have their own bioload. For the most part more plants allows for more fish, but you must keep in mind the plants contribution to the bioload as well. 

-  swim space -  some fish are more active and require more horizontal swim space than others. Often people will suggest a fish like a tetra or a danio for a small tank because they are a small fish. That not entirely how it works. They also require space to swim around because of how active they are. 

- tank setup - something people forget is that how your decor/aquascape is setup can allow for more or less fish. Some fish require hiding places or line of sight breaks to allow for more of them. 

- male/female ratio - this doesn't apply to all species, but some species do require paying attention to this ratio. It might be that if you don't have enough females, you cannot add more males. It might even be that you actually NEED to add more males. 

 

[madmark285]

I would run the calculator with a similar canister filter and see what it say. The might have the wrong data for the oase biomaster 350 filter. 

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:38 AM, Lennie said:

Also when I kept blood parrot and witnessed the deformations, I told myself I would never keep such fish ever again. They are legit human made hybrid with lots of problems. Also besides all the problems they have in terms of quality of life, they are sadly being abused for the look as well. Like idk how but some of them legit have their skin painted and marketed like that. I won’t share such pics here as I find it very sad but you can find plenty of stuff to read and see regarding the ethical way of blood parrots. I had 3 as a kid. They were amazing fish but I was constantly witnessing them not even being able to close their mouth or even chew. Never ever kept them again.

What about orange severums instead? They look as cute, and dont come with well known quality of life issues as far as I know. @dasaltemelosguy could you please share some info about your beautiful severums to help @FishyGirl?

Hi @FishyGirl, I love Severums and Electric Blue Acaras. Amazing colors and very gentle personalities. I have 2 parrots as well. The Parrots are argumentative but harmless with fish of similar size in large measure do to what  @Lennie said, they are malformed and ineffective, even at aggression. My parrots bite me when I vacuum but since they can’t close their mouths, it’s hard to notice. Nor can they swim well enough to chase anything.  My wife calls them "FrankenFish"! 

Severums are almost as beautiful as Discus. Acaras often remind me of Oscars in their intelligence and their friendly interaction, but they lack an Oscars aggression fortunately. 

Severums are perhaps the dumbest fish I’ve ever owned.  They basically float all day showing off their colors and patterns. An occasional ‘lip lock’ argument ensues but I’ve never seen it amount to anything. 

I have read someone complaining about Severums in that he “hates fish with no personalities”. He had Oscars, JD’s and Arowanas. I can understand this but that’s too much for me. Acaras are much more interactive and intelligent but also have almost no aggression. When breeding, they both get nippy but never chase or hunt. 

Insofar as ‘durability’, when mishaps occur, Severums rarely show fatigue. I’ve had ammonia spikes nearly kill parrots, Acaras fare better but Severums seem indifferent. When I’ve had disease outbreaks that were tank-wide, the Severums are usually the last to suffer if at all. I’ve also not seen water issues or temperature issues trouble them when others find it very distressing. 

Having had African cichlids before, I gravitated towards much less aggressive fish. The Severums and Parrots below are 3 years old, and the Acaras are 1 years old.

I should add if you plan on live plants, forget Severums. We've repeatedly tried and failed with all manner of plants. No aquatic plant has survived them, and even unplanted Lucky Bamboo saw the roots shaved off. It's like a tank full of lawnmowers!

And here's why I can't have plants:

Romainiac's

[FishyGirl]

Okay, I have loads of live plants, have you ever kept your acaras with anything else, and will they eat the plants?

[Lennie]

On 6/25/2023 at 2:56 AM, FishyGirl said:

Okay, I have loads of live plants, have you ever kept your acaras with anything else, and will they eat the plants?

Dojo loaches? yay, right? @dasaltemelosguy

Beautiful fish btw, love to see them always, minus the parrot. I can understand why ur wife named them that way. Poor guys tho

Edited June 24, 2023 by Lennie

[dasaltemelosguy]

@FishyGirl, @Lennie, Thanks so much. Dojos are a blast. Playful, friendly, no fear. They come to you, nibble on your fingers, mine allow me to lift them completely out of the water! Acaras have no interest in plants or even vegetable-dominant foods. FrankenFish? I totally agree. I'd never get them again either but the dude in the picture was the size of a quarter and is now 10" long so I could never part with him!

Here's some acaras, dojos, shubunkins, rainbows, silver dollars, rams, snails and plecos:

[Biotope Biologist]

@dasaltemelosguy every photo you have ever posted of your fish looks like a Madrazo Y Agudo painting and I mean that in the best possible way

[Ken Burke]

One thing about having 2 angels, you have a 50/50 on getting 1 male/1 female.  That means, if you feed them well and keep the water clean, they likely spawn.  When that happens they become very territorial.  It’s not a problem with my discus, but not sure how it would go with an acara and parrots. Especially if the acara are spawning at the same time. 
 

fish calculators are wildly inaccurate.  They may be useful to identify fish that need different water parameters like temperature, but the can’t factor in the room taken up with plants and other decoration.  They also don’t calculate the amount of filtration needed very well, as they can’t factor in your water temperature or feeding practices very well. As a result, they make them pretty conservative. The good news is that if the say it will work, you likely can make it work. 

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 6/24/2023 at 8:25 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

@dasaltemelosguy every photo you have ever posted of your fish looks like a Madrazo Y Agudo painting and I mean that in the best possible way

Ha! I wish! I’m closer to neophyte than neoclassicist! 🤣 But thank you for the kind words. 🙏

[AndEEss]

An Oase Biomaster 350 is rated at 300gph. At zero head, with no filter material.

So, in reality, with media in it, it's doing 50-60% of that. 150-180gph. 

Personally, that's way too low for a 75 gallon tank. 2x turnover is way less than I'd ever run.

Even a Biomaster 850 would be underpowered if run by itself, IMO.

Edited June 27, 2023 by AndEEss

[Lennie]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:47 PM, AndEEss said:

An Oase Biomaster 350 is rated at 300gph. At zero head, with no filter material.

So, in reality, with media in it, it's doing 50-60% of that. 150-180gph. 

Personally, that's way too low for a 75 gallon tank. 2x turnover is way less than I'd ever run.

Even a Biomaster 850 would be underpowered if run by itself, IMO.

That's a good point. I personally didn't check its circulation rate.

 

 I would personally utilise what I have on hand, and as an extra, I would add something like AC110 on one side, preferably water being levelled up to the HOB outflow, rather than a waterfall effect.

 

[AndEEss]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:13 PM, Lennie said:

That's a good point. I personally didn't check its circulation rate.

 

 I would personally utilise what I have on hand, and as an extra, I would add something like AC110 on one side, preferably water being levelled up to the HOB outflow, rather than a waterfall effect.

 

Oh, I'm not saying don't use it. I'm saying that, alone, it's likely not enough filter. 

I'd add another one. A 600, at least.