How Many Fish In My Tank?

[rachellouise]

hi ive had my fish tank for a month or so and at the moment have....
6 neon tetras
2 male guppies
2 red platis(sorry about spelling?)
1 male dwarf gourami(one died)

just wondered how many fish you can have in a tank this size? all the fish are really quite small except the gourami-who is causing problems at the moment!!

he is attacking one guppies and red platis(they were added after the gourami-one guppy died so i replaced him)???

the newiest guppy had a lovely long tail and he has taken slices out of it.....any help with what to do with him would be great.
thanks

 

[rachellouise]

hi ive had my fish tank for a month or so and at the moment have....
6 neon tetras
2 male guppies
2 red platis(sorry about spelling?)
1 male dwarf gourami(one died)

just wondered how many fish you can have in a tank this size? all the fish are really quite small except the gourami-who is causing problems at the moment!!

he is attacking one guppies and red platis(they were added after the gourami-one guppy died so i replaced him)???

the newiest guppy had a lovely long tail and he has taken slices out of it.....any help with what to do with him would be great.
thanks

anyone going to reply??

 

[Azaezl]

Hi,

The general rule for stocking is 1"(adult size) of fish per 1 gallon of water, it is a flexible rule depending on what you stock with, filtration, frequency of water changes etc but for someone new to fishkeeping I'd try to stick to this rule as best you can.

So based on what you have;

6 neon tetras = 6 inches
2 male guppies = 4 inches
2 platys = 4 inches(although they can grow to 2.5 inches)
1 dwarf gourami = 2.5 inches

total = 16.5 inches so as you can see your fully stocked. My advice would be to get rid of the dwarf gourami, as you say he's causing problems and get rid of either the guppies or platys and up the numbers of the ones you keep. If you keep the guppies I'd advise you to get just more males as you'll soon end up with alot of babies if you get any females.

Also just checking, you said that one of your guppies & a gourami died,was it from an illness? What are your water stats? Did you cycle your tank before adding the fish?

Welcome to the forums btw

 

[SJ2K]

If possible id also say lose the gourami, apart from that I think you'll be alright as you are the 1" rule isnt law aslong as you keep on top of water quality.

 

[rachellouise]

Hi,

The general rule for stocking is 1"(adult size) of fish per 1 gallon of water, it is a flexible rule depending on what you stock with, filtration, frequency of water changes etc but for someone new to fishkeeping I'd try to stick to this rule as best you can.

So based on what you have;

6 neon tetras = 6 inches
2 male guppies = 4 inches
2 platys = 4 inches(although they can grow to 2.5 inches)
1 dwarf gourami = 2.5 inches

total = 16.5 inches so as you can see your fully stocked. My advice would be to get rid of the dwarf gourami, as you say he's causing problems and get rid of either the guppies or platys and up the numbers of the ones you keep. If you keep the guppies I'd advise you to get just more males as you'll soon end up with alot of babies if you get any females.

Also just checking, you said that one of your guppies & a gourami died,was it from an illness? What are your water stats? Did you cycle your tank before adding the fish?

Welcome to the forums btw

hi!
i had one orange and one blue guppy but as soon as i got them home and put them in the tank the blue one looked really scruffy and within a week it was lying on the botom of the tank and died?
the two gouramis got that white cotton wool stuff all over them-treated with methlene blue cleared up the one i have left but obviously not on the other one?
no i dont think we did cycle the tank properly-but did have the water checked at 2 aquatic shops and were told the water was fine.

what shall i do with the gourami? they wont take it back.....

didnt think the red ones got to 4 ins?
dont know how i made that little guy with the trumpet at the end! was only trying to do a smily face!!lol

 

[rachellouise]

Hi,

The general rule for stocking is 1"(adult size) of fish per 1 gallon of water, it is a flexible rule depending on what you stock with, filtration, frequency of water changes etc but for someone new to fishkeeping I'd try to stick to this rule as best you can.

So based on what you have;

6 neon tetras = 6 inches
2 male guppies = 4 inches
2 platys = 4 inches(although they can grow to 2.5 inches)
1 dwarf gourami = 2.5 inches

total = 16.5 inches so as you can see your fully stocked. My advice would be to get rid of the dwarf gourami, as you say he's causing problems and get rid of either the guppies or platys and up the numbers of the ones you keep. If you keep the guppies I'd advise you to get just more males as you'll soon end up with alot of babies if you get any females.

Also just checking, you said that one of your guppies & a gourami died,was it from an illness? What are your water stats? Did you cycle your tank before adding the fish?

Welcome to the forums btw

hi again just looked in the book that came with my tank and it says fish should have 1-2lites of water for each cm of fish?

litres are completely different to gallons??

if its litres then my tank could have more fish......

 

[chr15_8]

hi again just looked in the book that came with my tank and it says fish should have 1-2lites of water for each cm of fish?

litres are completely different to gallons??

if its litres then my tank could have more fish......

most people use the inch per gallon rule. with small fish/tank

i havent heard of the cm rule untill your post.

 

[rachellouise]

hi again just looked in the book that came with my tank and it says fish should have 1-2lites of water for each cm of fish?

litres are completely different to gallons??

if its litres then my tank could have more fish......

most people use the inch per gallon rule. with small fish/tank

i havent heard of the cm rule untill your post.

thats what it says?
this is oing to get confusing to work out!
i suppose it must work out about the same-by the time you work out cm in a inch and how many litres to a gallon!

think ill stick with inch to a gallon


thanks

 

[Biulu]

1 inch/gallon makes 0.75 cm/litre. For a mature tank with good filtration we (metric people!) do use the 1 cm/ litre rule. So what your book says about 1 cm per 1-2 litres is correct.

This rule however only works with non-territorial fish and is just a guideline. E.g. your gourami is a territorial fish and needs more space. You cannot fill up your tank with gouramis only, even if you stick to this stocking guideline as you will get trouble. The behaviour you are seeing from him is pretty normal. By the way, normally guppies are more nippers than the gourami! And yes, I consider you fully stocked too.