how many fish for a 10 gallon?

[xxll]

i plan on settign up a 10 galloon soon, it will be densly populated with live plants, have flurite as the substrite and a DIY CO2 unit, my question is, i really want to at least a pare of rams, can i also have like 6 rummy nose tetra in there? will the rams still breed with the tetras in there?
thanks

 

[QHowes]

1 inch of fish = 1 gallon of water
As far as the fish, I dont know enough about those species to offer my opinion

 

[parker313]

I'm not sure how big rummy nose tetras get, but I have 5 neon tetras in with my blue rams (HAD a pair, not any more ) and I don't have a problem with too much waste. Neon tetras produce a relatively low amount of bioload so it's easy to keep up with. If rummy noses are like neons in size and water preferences then it should be just fine.

I don't know about the breeding though. I do know that rams can get pretty aggressive and territorial during breeding, so it may be best if you can have an alternate place to put your tetras OR your rams and fry. That's just a guess though

 

[luxum]

The tetras will eat the eggs/fry if your rams breed in the tank. If that's not a big deal to you, it should be a lovely little 10 gallon with a pair of rams and some rummys for dithers. Make sure there is lots of cover so the rummies can get away from the rams if they are feeling feisty. If you have a decent filter it shouldn't be a problem. When i stocked my tank i asked for 10 cardinals but ended up with some extras. I was worried at first but so far i don't even have measureable nitrates, those small tetras add very little bioload. I think 6 rummys and a pair of rams will be fine so long as you keep up with weekly 20% water changes and have sufficient filtration. But no more!

 

[catwoman]

Rummy Nose really like to school and swim and they can't do that in a 10 gal. Seems cruel to me IMHO I had some Rummies in a 10gal QT tank and they just hid all the time. When they were put in the 75 gal it was a total 180. They instantly came to life and started swimming around the tank in a group. I was amazed at the difference. I don't think I could ever keep schooling tetras in a small tank now. I have read they should be in at least a 36in tank to be truly happy.

 

[yhbae]

I still don't like 1 inch of fish per gallon. I prefer to get the surface area of the tank, then get the fully grown length of the fish, square it, then derive some ratio between the surface area and the sum of square of the individual fish lengths. The reason I do this is because larger surface area tanks do hold more fishes in reality, plus bigger fishes in general, take up significantly more bioload than their length suggests.

 

[FishDan]

I still don't like 1 inch of fish per gallon. ... plus bigger fishes in general, take up significantly more bioload than their length suggests.

The 1" per gallon rule is by no means the end all of stocking rules, but it is a great guideline to follow. To address your specific statement about larger fish, one needs to remember the 1" rules is for fish that are under 3" adult length (maybe it's 5"). Fish larger than that should be measured at 5 gallons per inch (again, if I remember correctly). I agree that surface area is a better measure, but the 1" guideline is a much easier place for new fishkeepers to start.

\Dan