Overstocked 10g ... doing well.

[Tetra Guy]

Here’s my 10 g tank with plants mostly from A-C. It’s technically very overstocked with 23 fish- 9 glow lights, 7 pristellas, 4 sparkling gouramis, 2 otocinclus and one scarlet badis. But it gets a substantial water change a week, and regular feeding of bbs. Plants are thriving. All the residents are healthy, showing nice colors, active and non aggressive. The pristellas and gouramis spawn regularly so it seems I’m getting away with the crowding. 🤷‍♂️🙂

[FrozenFins]

I had a 10 gallon that was my first aquarium that was considerd "overstocked" it housed

-Gourami

-Angelfish

-Swordtail

-Threadfin Rainbow

-Electric Blue Ram

I never had any problems with the water quality (of course my stocking was not the best, the gourami tore the threadfin rainbows fins off and the electric blue ram died a year later due to getting ich because of the temp. and not to mention the fact that I put a angelfish in a 10 gallon) I did regular once a weekly waterchanges. Obviously the tank wasn't as "overstocked" as yours. 

This is why I dont like the term "overstocked" or the one inch of fish per gallon rule because every tank is different. wether your using a canister filter or a sponge filter, live plants or fake plants, etc.

Edited February 3, 2021 by James Black

[Tetra Guy]

Yeah the inch per gallon “rule”... useful as a starting point for novices, but it’s obviously not a hard rule. I take the “more art than science” approach, and go by appearance and behavior. If everything looks balanced fish are healthy and unstressed, and I can keep up with the maintenance, then the tank is properly stocked.  But it takes a little experience to know where the thresholds are. This 10 does “feel” maxed out. I wouldn’t put any more fish in here, and plan to move the pristellas to a new tank soon. 

[Tetra Guy]

Same tank last summer. Before the glow lights went in. Interesting how plants compete with each other for space and light.