24X24X24 Cube Tank

[will 1]

buying a tank would like some ideas on stock for tank its a cube tank does that make a differance to the fish i can have as i have not got the room for a long tank your help would be appreciated

 

[thereverendturtle]

Are there certain fish you are interested in? Community, oddball, cichlids....

 

[will 1]

definatly community some top dwellers mid tank dwellers and bottom dwellers i like blue ram and gourami possibly tetras i want live plants

 

[thereverendturtle]

A pair of rams, a trio of pearl or dwarf gouramis, and a couple groups of tetras, say 12 cardinals and 12 black phantoms would be my personal choice for a community in that tank. Oh and 6-8 cory cats and a bushy nose pleco.

 

[onidrase]

the only difference the cube shape makes is that you wouldn't really be able to stock it the same way you would stock a standard dimension tank of the same volume. Most likely you'll be limited to smaller fish in that kind of tank than a tank with more length and less width and height, as most fish prefer the distance more than the turning space. you may be able to go only a tad larger than what a 20 gallon standard would allow you to get imo.

 

[Fishy friend2]

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[fluttermoth]

One useful tip I'll pass on is to look for fish that have spots or vertical stripes (as they'll be slower swimming) and not horizontal stipes (which are mostly fish that swim fast and need a long tank).

 

[will 1]

A pair of rams, a trio of pearl or dwarf gouramis, and a couple groups of tetras, say 12 cardinals and 12 black phantoms would be my personal choice for a community in that tank. Oh and 6-8 cory cats and a bushy nose pleco.

is that not to many fish and if not what would be the best filter system to use

 

[Aqua Tom]

One useful tip I'll pass on is to look for fish that have spots or vertical stripes (as they'll be slower swimming) and not horizontal stipes (which are mostly fish that swim fast and need a long tank).

That is one of the best bits of information I have seen on here, obvious to me now you have said it but not somthing I have ever thought of before.




Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

One useful tip I'll pass on is to look for fish that have spots or vertical stripes (as they'll be slower swimming) and not horizontal stipes (which are mostly fish that swim fast and need a long tank).

That is one of the best bits of information I have seen on here, obvious to me now you have said it but not somthing I have ever thought of before.




Tom

In my most favourite ever aquarium book (Tropical Fish, setting up and maintaining freshwater and marine aquaria by Reginald Dutta, if anyone's interested; you can pick a copy up very cheaply on Amazon, although a lot of the info is hideously out of date now!) there's a brilliant, brilliant chapter on how to 'read' fish and know what sort of set up they need, just by looking at how they've evolved to be the size/shape/colour they are.

It's been an invaluable way of looking at fish for me, over the years; and something I'd advise everyone to get a understanding of

 

[OldMan47]

Your 8 cubic foot tank will hold about 60 US gallons in total so figure a rather large stocking when it has been fully cycled. As always, stocking is done in stages as the filter is ready to accept that level. The cardinals, rams and DGs is not an overstock situation in a tank that size, even with the cories added in, but pay attention to the advice from onidrase. Although you will have lots of water volume, there are fish that are suitable for a typical 55 gallon tank, that measures 4 feet long, that would not work in your shorter tank. An example that comes to mind is swordtails or zebras. Swordtails and zebras are energetic swimmers that use lots of room. The tiny space of 2 feet would be inadequate for them even though I keep some swordtails in a 29 gallon tank. The length of a 29 is more than your mere 2 feet and gives them more swimming room.