10lt Tank - How Many Fish?

[George Farmer]

I know that at least two European countries have laws against keeping fish in tanks less than 40 litres.....and most likely more will follow their example.

True, but I doubt more will follow. If anything I suspect the laws may change the other way as technology and techniques evolve. Nanos are with us to stay and are very likely to become more popular, like it or not. Better, IMO, to embrace this fact and educate, rather than to dismiss.

Small tanks are very unforgiving of mistakes and require an almost military regime of maintainance to keep them stable and healthy enviroments for their inhabbitants, very few people are aware of or prepared for this level of husbandry and a small tank can very quickly become a disaster.

True, this point has be hammered home several times now on this thread. However, it is always worth re-iterating.

Hats off and good luck to those that do keep these tiny tanks successfully...

Thanks from me and the many, many hobbyists worldwide that run healthy aquariums under 40 litres (10 gal.)

i will continue to advise that 40 litres be the smallest tank that any fish species should be kept in....

Fair enough, that's your call and I'm sure many will respect your advice. Also be aware that many may not.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I agree with George - a public forum should be all about exploring what can be done - whilst always putting the welfare of the fish first - and perhaps making an extra effort to emphasise this last point.

If the only topics which can be discussed are those suitable for beginners - then all the more experienced fishkeepers would leave the forum after a while.

i wouldn't say you can only discuss topics for beginners however we should all be careful and ensure when your talking about something that's tricky to do, you should say so.

had a similar example on another non fishy forum i go on, was talking to one of my friend's who's a keen environmentalist about the dangers of releasing fish into the wild, and he provided me with a fair body of evidence about goldfish surviving perfectly well in the wild and not introducing disease. I'm not saying either of us would do this, but we were just discussing some technicalities. Then someone else chimed up that they were then going to go release they're fancy goldfish into the wild cos they'd read what we said and decided it was ok. Obviously a fancy goldie is completely different to a normal goldie and this would be a very very very bad idea. Not to say risky options and choices can never be discussed, just we should all be careful when we do so.

 

[MoreCoffee]

As far as the Italian ban goes ...... I'm not sure and I could be wrong here (not being an expert on Italian animal rights )but I thought it was the keeping of Goldfish in 'gold fish bowls' that was banned (in 2005) as they thought it was cruel to keep fish in such a confined space. With goldfish I'd have to agree, they are certainly not the sort of fish you'd want in a nano tank. Apart from the adult size of the adult goldfish, most gold fish bowls don't have the same level of filtration or general care that goes into a nano tank.

Here's an entry from the 2005 AGA aquascaping competition. It's an 8L planted nano tank with 4 Caridina japonica, 3 Nannostomus sp.
2005 AGA Entry

Edit: Added this link about Italian laws. No mention of a minimum size or any restrictions on small species in well filtered tanks !
Italian goldfish bowl ban


Al

 

[LisaLQ]

I think it comes down to expertise, and whether the fish in question would be happy in that kind of environment. Whereas I personally wouldn't do it (I think my 15g is tiny and had problems even beginning to imagine fish in it permanently!), I do think it's possible, but it's not something we should actively promote for beginners.

Obviously George's tank is a. beautiful and b. extremely well cared for (the plants alone must be one hell of a lot of work). The average pet home isn't going to be that meticulous though - and we all know folks tend to think they can overstock in regular sized tanks, let alone these much more unstable nano environments.

I personally am with CFC on this one. I couldn't keep any fish in anything smaller than a 10g, to be honest, I doubt I'd ever get a tank smaller than my 15g. It's not as if a 15g would take up too much space, or cost much (mine was £20 - cheaper than most nano tanks!). We should be promoting that the bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep, and the happier the fish can be.

More a case of - it shouldn't be a case of "could I?" but more a case of "should I?". IMO, unless you have tonnes of experience, are willing to do daily maintenance if necessary (and can imagine doing that for the full lifetime of the fish), and are willing and able to find potentially rare species of tiny fish to go in them....you should stick with a more suitably sized tank.

I couldn't do it. I dont however think what George has done is wrong - I just think it's best left to the experits. Your "average Joe" pet home would not be able to keep up with it all.

 

[Lynden]

Full grown Common Plecs can live perfectly healthily in tanks of smaller than 40 gallons; I have also personally witnessed a 3', unidentified catfish living perfectly healthily and happily in a 55 gallon tank; but I bet the users of this forum would have a few choice words for those fish keepers. Another "exception" to the tank-size "rule" that is all too commonly accepted is Bettas in 1 or 2.5 gallon bowls, which is very clearly cramping the fish. Does anyone give a damn? No; in fact, it is advocated.

George Farmer is a person I believe to be very respectable, and his tank clearly has had plenty of work put into it. Would I do it myself? No... but nor do I think that George has wronged, like LisaLQ posted above.

-Lynden

 

[Rhiannon]

Someone mentioned how people think well I can have 10 fish in a 10lt, so I will get 10 bala sharks, well when my hubby and I were looking at getting our first tank, we were looking at a 18 litre, so possibly around 5gl.

The lady at the LFS told us we could get some guppys, some neons and some bala sharks for it.

I thought wow how fantastic, came home, researched and found out that sharks cannot be in anything that small no matter what.

So some advice, come on here and ask if your not to sure or before you want to make a purchase for your tank.

 

[LisaLQ]

Full grown Common Plecs can live perfectly healthily in tanks of smaller than 40 gallons; I have also personally witnessed a 3', unidentified catfish living perfectly healthily and happily in a 55 gallon tank; but I bet the users of this forum would have a few choice words for those fish keepers.

I bloody would.

 

[Gankutsuou]

my 2.5 gallon is at least 3 times in width as my betta's length, as well as probably 6 time his length. I think he's fine in it. I have never seen a problem. I have a light for it. I eventually plan to plant it and get either sand or gravel. A filter can be hooked into it one I find out how to cut the glass properly. Even my 1.5 gallon does fine for a betta. And it does have a filter.

The thing is, changing the water is more of a task, and usually an all at one deal instead of syphoning.

but I see no reason why bettas can't live in a 1.5 or 2.5 aquarium.
Also, I think 2 bumbplebee gobies would do Fine it it (the 2.5), save that you find some brackish plants to plot territories. Or the dwarf puffer and an otto or two, should you put a filter on the 2.5. There are whisper internals made to fit tanks like these. There are heaters. Most people choose to ignore that fact and do with a bowl.

Also,m another thing bad about the small tanks for bettas are air stones. these annoy, not help.

 

[geo7x]

I'm going to stick myself in the middle of this now and say something which I always go by.

In my opinion, there can be quite a big difference between what can be done and what should be recommmended.
We often have these 'rules' that we give to newcomers, because they are safe and you can trust them. But as you get more experienced in fishkeeping then you can bend these rules a bit and experiment a bit, as long as you know what the possible consequences are and are prepared to deal with them accordingly.

Heck, I dont follow the 1" per gallon rule, but i still recommend it to new-comers.

So George, congratulations on your 2.5g, its looking great, and I have no doubt that it will work fine for you.

And anyone whos against the idea of putting fish/inverts in such small tanks you're also doing the right thing, youre not recommending it. I would probably do the same.

 

[Fate2006]

it migh be OK for a betta (instead of the goby, not in addition to)

No they should be in a tank of min 3 gallons. Which this tank isnt.

Bettas need minimum 1 gallon, not 3 gallons... The larger the tank the more strain is on your betta to reach it to the surface to gasp for air...

 

[my fat fish]

1 gallon for a betta is way to small... ask anyone who keeps alot of bettas in the batta forum 1 gal is frowned on now days and plus i think some nice shrimp and a dwarf frog would make a nice small tank i have a frog and i love watchong him swim around then pose against the side of the glass

 

[black angel]

Bettas dont need to gasp for air. The labyrinth organ is there for fish that live in stagnant polluted water so if the bit of water they are in goes off they have a secondary way of breathing until fresh water comes in.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Bettas dont need to gasp for air. The labyrinth organ is there for fish that live in stagnant polluted water so if the bit of water they are in goes off they have a secondary way of breathing until fresh water comes in.

Actually, the labyrinth organ is the primary method of respiration- if the betta is denied access to air, it will die.

 

[LisaLQ]

Bettas need minimum 1 gallon, not 3 gallons... The larger the tank the more strain is on your betta to reach it to the surface to gasp for air...

Ah yes, and two fish needing 3g each will be fine in a 5g (because 3+3=5) with a couple of otos...*please note intense sarcasm*...

I wouldn't put a sea monkey in a 1g tank.

Just to add to the subject though, another thing we have to remember is that many people with these tiny tanks are going to vastly overstock them - advice or not. At least this OP posted asking, and is (hopefully) listening to that advice. I'm tired of seeing the same old "Can I put an oscar in a nanocube" kind of threads that always get loads of brilliant advice only to end in "I'm going to get one anyway".

Is it perhaps because many of the people owning these littler tanks (I say many - but by no means all) are of a younger generation and some of those younger generation (and again, by no means all) tend to want things to go their own way - even if it means not keeping their desired fish in the correct way?

 

[black angel]

The main use of the labyrinth is for the fish to survive if it is out of water for long periods of time. As long as the fish stays relatively wet then the fish uses this organ until it can jump around to find clean water. Its not its main source of breathing, thats through the gills.
Off topic, sorry.