90 Litre tank - Stock size

[Penelz]

Hello everyone,

Pretty new to this about 3-4 months of having my own first tropical fish tank 90 litres.

Basically just wondering what people think of my stock size and is to much or can I add more or is it just enough as my partner wants to add more but I’m not too sure.

- 5 neon tetra
- 5 rummy nose
- 5 guppies (3 adult 2 baby)
- 3 swordtail
- 2 Corydoras (only small)
- 1 peppermint bristlenose (small right now also)

Fish all look ok with each other I can’t notice any aggression atm.

Thanks

 

[xxEMOxLIZZARDxx]

Hello everyone,

Pretty new to this about 3-4 months of having my own first tropical fish tank 90 litres.

Basically just wondering what people think of my stock size and is to much or can I add more or is it just enough as my partner wants to add more but I’m not too sure.

- 5 neon tetra
- 5 rummy nose
- 5 guppies (3 adult 2 baby)
- 3 swordtail
- 2 Corydoras (only small)
- 1 peppermint bristlenose (small right now also)

Fish all look ok with each other I can’t notice any aggression atm.

Thanks

I am pretty sure except for the peppermint bristlenose and maybe guppies, all those fish need to be in a group of at least 10 or more.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum

You have started out with easy-going species though some of them are not great in a 90 litre (ideally I'd like the Swords and the BN in a bigger tank) and the Guppies and Swordtails have different water chemistry needs than the rest, they need harder water than the rest. As said above the other species also need to be in bigger groups (apart from the Bristlenose). Ideally 10, 6 is an absolute minimum figure but 10 is really the recommended minimum.

I'd probably try and read up some profiles of your fish on Seriously Fish, check out the tank sizes, their schooling numbers and water requirements and work out what you think is best for them from there. I'd possibly look at prioritising the fish that suit your tap water (is it hard or soft) and also the ones you like and then work out if you want/need to rehome any fish (locally or back to the store) or get a bigger tank to get them into the groups they need to thrive.

Wills

 

[Penelz]

I am pretty sure except for the peppermint bristlenose and maybe guppies, all those fish need to be in a group of at least 10 or m

Hi welcome to the forum

You have started out with easy-going species though some of them are not great in a 90 litre (ideally I'd like the Swords and the BN in a bigger tank) and the Guppies and Swordtails have different water chemistry needs than the rest, they need harder water than the rest. As said above the other species also need to be in bigger groups (apart from the Bristlenose). Ideally 10, 6 is an absolute minimum figure but 10 is really the recommended minimum.

I'd probably try and read up some profiles of your fish on Seriously Fish, check out the tank sizes, their schooling numbers and water requirements and work out what you think is best for them from there. I'd possibly look at prioritising the fish that suit your tap water (is it hard or soft) and also the ones you like and then work out if you want/need to rehome any fish (locally or back to the store) or get a bigger tank to get them into the groups they need to thrive.

Wills

Ok, I read up minimum was around 5-6 for tetras & local pet shop said was ok with the 3 sword .

Thanks I will take a look at that serious fish now and have a good read. Thanks for all the advice really appreciate it.

 

[Penelz]

Hi welcome to the forum

You have started out with easy-going species though some of them are not great in a 90 litre (ideally I'd like the Swords and the BN in a bigger tank) and the Guppies and Swordtails have different water chemistry needs than the rest, they need harder water than the rest. As said above the other species also need to be in bigger groups (apart from the Bristlenose). Ideally 10, 6 is an absolute minimum figure but 10 is really the recommended minimum.

I'd probably try and read up some profiles of your fish on Seriously Fish, check out the tank sizes, their schooling numbers and water requirements and work out what you think is best for them from there. I'd possibly look at prioritising the fish that suit your tap water (is it hard or soft) and also the ones you like and then work out if you want/need to rehome any fish (locally or back to the store) or get a bigger tank to get them into the groups they need to thrive.

Wills

Also with the amount of fish I have right now do you think the amount is ok for the tank size ?

 

[Wills]

Also with the amount of fish I have right now do you think the amount is ok for the tank size ?

No worries all here to help which store are you using at the moment? Loads of great shops in and around Manchester so you have some good options - Abyss and Pier would be my first ports of call but there are a few others too.

In terms of where you are now we can use a quick inch per gallon tot up to see where you are. 90 litres in 23 US gallons which is what inch per gallon should be based on and you have (conservatively) 42 inches of fish in there. The idea with inch per gallon is that you should have one inch per gallon so you are about a third over as it stands. I like inch per gallon as it helps get a picture quickly but you can sometimes go over or sometimes going under is a better choice, this should ideally be mixed with making sure your tank is a suitable size of the fish, eg don't put 1 12 inch fish in a 12-gallon tank.

As an example if you were to start again in a 90 litre/ 23 gallon tank with the fish you have, assuming you have soft water I'd go for

- 10 Neon Tetra or Rummy Nose
- 10 Corydoras (all one species)

But you could have also gone for smaller species like Green Neon Tetras or Ember Teteras which get much smaller than the other tetras but still very colourful, and I'd have gone for a pygmy species of Cory like Pygmy or Salt and Peppers, maybe Pandas as they are still small. And potentially added a dwarf cichlid like a Nannacara Anomala or a Laetacara Dorsigera as a feature fish.

Wills

 

[Penelz]

No worries all here to help which store are you using at the moment? Loads of great shops in and around Manchester so you have some good options - Abyss and Pier would be my first ports of call but there are a few others too.

In terms of where you are now we can use a quick inch per gallon tot up to see where you are. 90 litres in 23 US gallons which is what inch per gallon should be based on and you have (conservatively) 42 inches of fish in there. The idea with inch per gallon is that you should have one inch per gallon so you are about a third over as it stands. I like inch per gallon as it helps get a picture quickly but you can sometimes go over or sometimes going under is a better choice, this should ideally be mixed with making sure your tank is a suitable size of the fish, eg don't put 1 12 inch fish in a 12-gallon tank.

As an example if you were to start again in a 90 litre/ 23 gallon tank with the fish you have, assuming you have soft water I'd go for

- 10 Neon Tetra or Rummy Nose
- 10 Corydoras (all one species)

But you could have also gone for smaller species like Green Neon Tetras or Ember Teteras which get much smaller than the other tetras but still very colourful, and I'd have gone for a pygmy species of Cory like Pygmy or Salt and Peppers, maybe Pandas as they are still small. And potentially added a dwarf cichlid like a Nannacara Anomala or a Laetacara Dorsigera as a feature fish.

Wills

Yeah I have been going to abyss for the last couple month, ah ok thought I would of been just about full but looks I’m over .

Ok noted, thanks for that I will have a rethink and workout what fish would be best in my tank - all makes sense thanks a lot!

 

[Byron]

Expanding on what other members have noted. First comment is, never rely on advice from a store person unless you know they are trained in fish biology. This is something we have all learned, often the hard way (the fish are the losers).

As to the fish numbers, there are several rather significant issues. But we need to know the dimensions (length and width) of this 90 liter (roughly 24 gallon) tank. The area is more important than the volume, as there are fish that need room to swim, not to mention the mature size.

There is also the issue of parameters, which refer to GH, KH, pH and temperature. The GH (general hardness) is most important here, followed by temperature (you can obviously control this) and pH. Do you know the GH of your source (tap) water? This data should be available from your water authority, check their website. You have fish that must have moderately hard water, and fish that are better with soft.

Concerning some of the species mentioned, even without the above dimensions...swordtails get much too large for this small a tank. And rummy nose tetra need a longer tank, minimum 90 cm/36 inches. I am thinking this 90 liter is not likely that long. The tetras all need around 10, but rummys would be better with 15+. Cories also need around 10, but they also need a sand (not gravel) substrate.

When we have the information we can suggest how to resolve these issues. If the store is a good one, they should allow returns even if just freebies.

 

[Penelz]

No worries all here to help which store are you using at the moment? Loads of great shops in and around Manchester so you have some good options - Abyss and Pier would be my first ports of call but there are a few others too.

In terms of where you are now we can use a quick inch per gallon tot up to see where you are. 90 litres in 23 US gallons which is what inch per gallon should be based on and you have (conservatively) 42 inches of fish in there. The idea with inch per gallon is that you should have one inch per gallon so you are about a third over as it stands. I like inch per gallon as it helps get a picture quickly but you can sometimes go over or sometimes going under is a better choice, this should ideally be mixed with making sure your tank is a suitable size of the fish, eg don't put 1 12 inch fish in a 12-gallon tank.

As an example if you were to start again in a 90 litre/ 23 gallon tank with the fish you have, assuming you have soft water I'd go for

- 10 Neon Tetra or Rummy Nose
- 10 Corydoras (all one species)

But you could have also gone for smaller species like Green Neon Tetras or Ember Teteras which get much smaller than the other tetras but still very colourful, and I'd have gone for a pygmy species of Cory like Pygmy or Salt and Peppers, maybe Pandas as they are still small. And potentially added a dwarf cichlid like a Nannacara Anomala or a Laetacara Dorsigera as a feature fish.

Wills

You have a lot of knowledge lol. I like the look of them dwarf cichlid! Thanks again for the advise

 

[Penelz]

Expanding on what other members have noted. First comment is, never rely on advice from a store person unless you know they are trained in fish biology. This is something we have all learned, often the hard way (the fish are the losers).

As to the fish numbers, there are several rather significant issues. But we need to know the dimensions (length and width) of this 90 liter (roughly 24 gallon) tank. The area is more important than the volume, as there are fish that need room to swim, not to mention the mature size.

There is also the issue of parameters, which refer to GH, KH, pH and temperature. The GH (general hardness) is most important here, followed by temperature (you can obviously control this) and pH. Do you know the GH of your source (tap) water? This data should be available from your water authority, check their website. You have fish that must have moderately hard water, and fish that are better with soft.

Concerning some of the species mentioned, even without the above dimensions...swordtails get much too large for this small a tank. And rummy nose tetra need a longer tank, minimum 90 cm/36 inches. I am thinking this 90 liter is not likely that long. The tetras all need around 10, but rummys would be better with 15+. Cories also need around 10, but they also need a sand (not gravel) substrate.

When we have the information we can suggest how to resolve these issues. If the store is a good one, they should allow returns even if just freebies.

My tank dimensions 60 x 35 x 50 cm
And just checked online for water hardness and it’s soft .

Didn’t know that about the rummies but now it kind of makes sense with watching them how they swim back and forth.

Thanks for that, as I spoke to Will before I will have a re think of what I would like to keep etc and go from there and take back the fish I won’t be keeping. thanks

 

[Byron]

Sounds good. The swordtails will not be healthy so they should go both on account of water hardness (or lack thereof) and tank dimensions. They will get nippy in such a small space. And the rummynose unfortunately need more swimming space. This species is one of the most tightly shoaling species among the tetras, and I've kept them for 30 years; they do indeed need swimming space, they will swim full lengths of the tank continually whatever its length, even in a 4-foot and 5-foot long tank this activity never stopped except when feeding.

Soft water provides lots of options in smaller fish.

 

[Penelz]

Ye

Sounds good. The swordtails will not be healthy so they should go both on account of water hardness (or lack thereof) and tank dimensions. They will get nippy in such a small space. And the rummynose unfortunately need more swimming space. This species is one of the most tightly shoaling species among the tetras, and I've kept them for 30 years; they do indeed need swimming space, they will swim full lengths of the tank continually whatever its length, even in a 4-foot and 5-foot long tank this activity never stopped except when feeding.

Soft water provides lots of options in smaller fish

Sounds good. The swordtails will not be healthy so they should go both on account of water hardness (or lack thereof) and tank dimensions. They will get nippy in such a small space. And the rummynose unfortunately need more swimming space. This species is one of the most tightly shoaling species among the tetras, and I've kept them for 30 years; they do indeed need swimming space, they will swim full lengths of the tank continually whatever its length, even in a 4-foot and 5-foot long tank this activity never stopped except when feeding.

Soft water provides lots of options in smaller fish.

Yeah that makes so much sense with the rummys, they were my second batch of fish after neons and I bought them from petsathome, crazy how a pet shop will just sell them to anyone without asking some Qs as I told them I was new to it.

Will take this all into consideration, thank u

 

[Wills]

Yeah that makes so much sense with the rummys, they were my second batch of fish after neons and I bought them from petsathome, crazy how a pet shop will just sell them to anyone without asking some Qs as I told them I was new to it.

Will take this all into consideration, thank u

Great advice from Byron makes a lot of sense - if Pets at Home is where you have got started really try to get chance to go to some of the specialist shops near you like the ones I mentioned Abyss and Pier - Pier is in Wigan but is arguably the best shop in the UK, just an incredible place if you get chance to visit your jaw will hit the floor.

Wills

 

[Penelz]

Great advice from Byron makes a lot of sense - if Pets at Home is where you have got started really try to get chance to go to some of the specialist shops near you like the ones I mentioned Abyss and Pier - Pier is in Wigan but is arguably the best shop in the UK, just an incredible place if you get chance to visit your jaw will hit the floor.

Wills

Yes that’s where I started, last month or so I been going to abyss as someone told me about it - if I’m ever near there I will take a look for sure!