How Many Fish? 24x12x15

[dalepearson]

Hiya guys, I am sure I saw a calculator somewhere for this, but I cant find it again. My tank is 24" Long 12" Wide 15" Deep. How many average sized fish can I have in my tank?

Thanks in advance

 

[KimA]

Hiya guys, I am sure I saw a calculator somewhere for this, but I cant find it again. My tank is 24" Long 12" Wide 15" Deep. How many average sized fish can I have in my tank?

Thanks in advance

Hi,

There's a community creator at http/www.thinkfish.co.uk if that's any good?

KimA

 

[Bloo]

I'd be very cautious with that calculator - I don't think it gives accurate sensible advice in most cases.

That tank holds 19US gallons, so going by the 1" of fish per gallon guideline, it means you can have 19" of small (adult sized) fish.

That does not mean that you can buy 19 fish, each 1". Because chances are that each of those fish will mature at anything from 1" so several feet. So when stocking, keep this in mind and make sure you know what size your fish will reach when adults.
Also remember that some fish are very heavy waste producers. For example a 5" Kuhli loach versus a 5" bristlenose catfish is a huge difference in waste produce.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Depending on what sort of tank you want, and the filter, a typical community setup would be, say, 6 cories or some other small bottom feeder (dwarf chain loach, mebbe), a school of 6 fish, eg, tetras, zebra danios, and a trio of 'show fish', livebearers, maybe.

 

[dalepearson]

Where, here is the list of fish I like (would like to have) :
Zebra Danio
Guppies
Platties
Tiger Barb
Red Tail Black Shark
Neon Tetra
Cory Catfish
Coolie Loach
Clown Loach
Pleco
and maybe a flying fox.

 

[Bloo]

From your wish list, I'd say you could fairly safe chose some of these fish (note: not all ! your tank is too small):

Neon Tetra
Cory Catfish
Coolie Loach
Zebra Danio
Guppies
Platties

Your tank is also way too small for Clown Loaches. Tiger Barbs can be aggressive and grow very large - really not ideal for a 20 gallon. Flying fox not suitable for a 20 gallon. Plecos are high waste producers - you could probably get away with one bristlenose, but that would be it. A better alternative would be some otos (if it's an algae eater you're after).

Remember: fish like friends of their own. It's not nice to just get one or two of each. All of those listed above do best in schoolds/groups of 5+
And they like space to stretch their fins, grow and mature. So don't be too eager and tempted to stock too heavily to start off with.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I have this very tank and keep in it:

4 peppered cories
4 platies
1 guppy

I make this exactly 19 inches of adult length (2 male and 2 female cories- 2 and 3 inches respectively, 4 platies at 2 inches each, 1 male guppy at c 1 inch). This works very well, activity on all levels, but not too much strain on the filtration. I suppose a single guppy is not the ideal arrangement, but he was the sole survivor of his batch and has grown up with the platies, so he goes around with them. Guppies and platies do go well together IME. Otherwise you shouldn't keep a single livebearer as they are very social beings.

This may seem a small amount of fish, but the tank is planted, and with bogwood caves, there is something going on all the time, and its inhabitatants look really healthy and happy, so I'm not planning to add anything else- well, maybe a shrimp or two.

 

[dalepearson]

I have this very tank and keep in it:

4 peppered cories
4 platies
1 guppy

I make this exactly 19 inches of adult length (2 male and 2 female cories- 2 and 3 inches respectively, 4 platies at 2 inches each, 1 male guppy at c 1 inch). This works very well, activity on all levels, but not too much strain on the filtration. I suppose a single guppy is not the ideal arrangement, but he was the sole survivor of his batch and has grown up with the platies, so he goes around with them. Guppies and platies do go well together IME. Otherwise you shouldn't keep a single livebearer as they are very social beings.

This may seem a small amount of fish, but the tank is planted, and with bogwood caves, there is something going on all the time, and its inhabitatants look really healthy and happy, so I'm not planning to add anything else- well, maybe a shrimp or two.

Thanks for your information. Out of interest, when you bought your cories, did you specify the gender, or did you just get lucky?

Thanks.