starting an aquarium

[CroZ]

'a typical tropical freshwater aquarium can safely support one inch of fish per gallon of water'.

This is the advice I keep getting from different sites, and it makes sense to me. But then whenever I look up the fish I want - rainbow shark - I'm told from one he needs a minimum of 30 gallons, and from another a minimum of fifty, which seems excessive for one fish. So if the rainbow shark has a maximum growth of 6", then that should mean I need six gallons of water, doesn't it?
This is really confusing me, and seeing as the sites with the excessive minimum requirements are all trying to sell monstrously over priced, hideously large aquariums I thought I should ask someone. I mean, a fifty gallon tank would swallow my bedroom. I wouldn't be able to find the fish in a tank that big!

I'm planning to get a 29 gallon for budget and space reasons, and of course I'm planning to get a few more fish - thinking Yoyo Loach, fire eel/Striped Peacock Eels and a few critters. And those living plant things are pretty cool too.

[Gill Catton]

hmmmmmm I think you'd better off asking the folks over on the practicle fishkeeping forum (google it and you'll find the forum) in my experiance the bigger the tank the better esp if you understock itr. Consider also if the species you want have been captive bred and that no wild population or aquatic habitat has damaged in obtaining fish for your tank..

good luck in your quest

[neep_neep]

The 1" per gallon guideline is used too often and sometimes inappropriately - it's not a blanket rule. It also depends on the size of your tank, how lonc the tank has been established, and the filtration system you have.

For example, somebody with a 60 gallon tank, which has been established for years and has fantastic filtration would likely be able to have more than 60" 'worth' of fish.

The typical 6 gallon tank would only be about 12" in length, if that! So a 6" fish wouldn't have much room to move at all!

The 1" per gallon rule is not a rule to be used literally, but to be used as a basic guideline with good judgement and common sense

[m1.carson]

Hi neep,

You're right it's a rule of thumb to calculate how many inches of fish you can have, but I think your tank sizing may be a bit off.

a 30 [28 gallon] tank will be 30 inches long x 12 inches wide x 18 inches deep, took me ages to find the formula, but it's Length x Width x Depth divided by 231, and it weighs in at 330 lbs.

Max.

[John]

I have a 260 litre tank and quite a lot of extremely big fish (15" Clown knife fish, a twelve inch Plecostamous, a ten inch Upside down Catfish, a couple of large Silver Shark, plus a few others ranging from six inch to ten inches).

I have a good filtration system but I have also made sure that I have also fitted a wall of water at the back of the aquarium (in addition to the tanks own oxygen) giving maximum oxygen content. You must also constantly monitor your water content and change fortnightly at least about a third of the water Changing at least 10% a week would be better if you have time.

Starting an aquarium up you must start slowly and let the tank settle. You can build on fish you want to add to it as time goes on but don't start by putting in all the fish you want straight away. You will unbalance the tank and will more than likely lose more fish than those that survive.

John

[chkm8]

Personally I always used the surface area to calculate the stocking levels. Based on the exchange of gases occur at the surface and the bigger the surface area generally the higher the oxygen content of the tank. There are other variable such as is the surface area agitated (increasing it further) maturity of the tank and also water temperature as cold water holds more oxygen. It is generally accepted that the taller cylinder type tanks should be stocked less densly as the surface area is smaller than a rectangular tank holding a similar amount of water.
Try the url below,

John.

Aquarium tank volumes/capacities and stocking levels - UK

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by John

I have a ten inch Upside down Catfish,
John

Apologies for digression, but I am intrigued. What is an upside-down Catfish? Any pics John?
Cheers
T2

[neep_neep]

Originally Posted by m1.carson

Hi neep,

You're right it's a rule of thumb to calculate how many inches of fish you can have, but I think your tank sizing may be a bit off.

a 30 [28 gallon] tank will be 30 inches long x 12 inches wide x 18 inches deep, took me ages to find the formula, but it's Length x Width x Depth divided by 231, and it weighs in at 330 lbs.

Max.

I'm a little confused - I wasn't talking about a 28 gallon?
I gave an example of a 6 gallon - which, following the exact rule, would allow a 6" fish. But a 6 gallon tank would be less that a cubic foot, so not enough room for a fish that size. Therefore the guideline is one to be used with common sense, not as a set rule. Hope that's made it a bit clearer
Sorry for any confusion!

[John]

Originally Posted by Tursiops2

Apologies for digression, but I am intrigued. What is an upside-down Catfish? Any pics John?
Cheers
T2

This critter is very reclusive and lays upside down on the bog wood I have in the tank. The only time it usually ventures out is when the tank lights are off so the chance of photographing it is nil.

John

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by John

This critter is very reclusive and lays upside down on the bog wood I have in the tank. The only time it usually ventures out is when the tank lights are off so the chance of photographing it is nil.

John

Sounds like me when I was a student
Such happy days

[John]

Here are a few of the fish in my tank. They are all quite large. The photos are not great as I had to use ISO 1250 to get any sort of speed to capture an image.

Clown Knife fish. Just over 15" long


Gold Severum. 9" long.


Green Severum. 10" long.


Parrot Cichlid Fish. 8" long.


Goldfoil Barb. 10" long.


Silver Dollar. 8" long.


Silver Shark. 8" long.


Unknown Plecostamous. 12" long.


John

[CroZ]

thanks for all the help. Unfortunately it seems I've to put it on hold seeing as I've found out we might be moving soon. We have three dogs and three cats as is, I don't think we could manage lugging off ten fish or so.
oh, and nice pics, John.