Fish Capacity For A 55Gal

[King]

is there any kind of "rule of thumb" with how many fish you can put in a certain area? i am planning my fish now and just curious what i can have in there before it gets "uncomfortable". i have a big pleco (10"), and want to get a couple small plecos (4"), a couple dozen neon tetras/glow fish (1-2"), some clams (2), snails (2"), a couple red lobsters (4"), a couple columbian sharks (10", i know they get big but i will have a bigger tank later), and a fin lyratail swordtail (4"). i have the tank set up with "enough" accessories in it but pretty simple and open over all. its 48" long and 55gal. what do you think??

 

[Mikaila31]

Most those fish are incompatible IMO.

 

[Miles_hot]

i" of adult fish per gallon is the general rule of thumb.

HTH

Miles

 

[King]

i" of adult fish per gallon? lol. 1" maybe?

all of those fish are peaceful, in the same temp level, and easy to maintain.

 

[Shovelman]

idk that much about the sharks but at 10" ....you can say bye bye to your crayfish...just a little warning thats all.

 

[King]

i havent read that they are invertebrate "eaters". those are basically "catfish" but called sharks. im still doing research, i dont plan to just dump everything in there. also the sizes i have in () are max size and i plan to do a big tank at some point in time. very new to this so still reading/planning ;-)

 

[Hunterprey]

I think the columbian sharks will eat the neons and swordtail. Plus Columbian sharks are Brackish fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

Without wanting to sound harsh, those are some really bad choices. The crayfish/lobsters will eat the small fish. Clams do incredibly badly in tanks and just die very rapidly, so don't add those. As well as being brackish the Columbian sharks get far too big for your tank.

It's a very, very bad idea to put fish in a tank with the intention of getting a bigger tank later. What if you lose your job and can't afford the bigger tank when it's needed? Or get sick or something? Always, always get the tank first if you want big fish.