Is my tank too small

Question
We got a 45 gallon tank with a pleco (6 inches) and 2 blood parrots (6inches and 3 inches). The guy had them for about 6 years. We added 2 bleeding hearts, 2 blue gourami, a bala shark, a rainbow shark, a goldfish 2 zebras and 2 small tetras. The largest bp was fine at first then stopped eating and had the black spots on him. He also stayed by the top of the tank by the filter return. I have done water changes and the black spots are gone except on his tail and he has started eating again. The problem is that he still stays by the filter. He'll eat some and go to the filter and then continue eating. I'm having a hard time with cloudy water, too.  Are there too many fish in this tank? Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Geri,
  You should be okay with that number of fish but the transition from few to many can sometimes be a little rough: it takes a while for the good bacteria in a tank to build up when you add new fish.  The solution is to do regular partial water changes (25% once a week, every week).  Also be sure that you are not overfeeding. Only provide food that the fish will eat right away.  Never put in food for the fish "to eat later".
I suspect things (i.e., the cloudy water) will improve over the next couple of weeks.

 As far as the large blood parrot hiding, I would look to see if the other one is attacking it.  Size doesn't matter nearly as much as motivation.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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