How Many Fish?

[tqfan]

if i have an 84 litre tank, how many fish would it take?

i'm just trying to figure this out, and can't see any mention on the site about it. if there is a section on it, please show me!

also, how much food should they be fed? i read if there is old food at the bottom, it's too much food, so am i right in saying, no old food, then no over feeding?

we used to keep fish years ago, maybe got rid of them about 10 years ago. so now having a new tank, it's trying to remember, plus, i was younger then, i can't remember this stuff, cos it was my dad that did it all!! so i guess in a way, i'm a bit of a beginner!

thanks

 

[dwarfgourami]

Well, how many fish will fit in is going to depend on how big they are, how messy they are and how well they get on together. You will primarily be looking at fish of 3 inches and under (one exception being the khuulie loach, as they are very thin). Assuming that you go for peaceful community fish and that they don't all occupy the same level in the tank, you should be able to fit in about 11-12 two-inch fish or 20-25 one-inch fish. A VERY rough guide is the inch/gallon rule (one inch fish/US gallon of water- your tank is c. 22 gallons). However, this rule only works for slimbodied low-waste producing fish, and is only the first in a series of considerations, such as: do these fish need to be in schools, are they territorial, do they have specific water or temperature needs that might not make them fit with my other fish etc. So the most important rule is never to buy a fish until you have researched the species. Only people with large fish houses can allow themselves impulse buys.
But a reasonable stocking suggestion for that tank might look something like this:

4 khuulie loaches, school of 6 harlequin rasboras and a trio of cherry barbs (1 male, 2 females)
or
1 bristlenose, trio of honey gouramis, school of small tetras
or
6 corydoras and either 10 male guppies or 4-5 female platies

But you can't just add the fish, first the tank has to be cycled, either by adding a few fish and waiting (monitoring water quality) or by the so-called fishless cycle. There is a pinned topic.

For food, yes, they eat less than you think. You should only serve what will be eaten in about 2 minutes- which is going to be something like 2-3 flakes a day for a platy, maybe 1-2 flakes per neon tetra; I usually spread this amount out in two feeds for my fish.

 

[gsta13]

Another thing to take into consideration are the dimensions of the tank! If it is a tall tank it will usally hold less fish. And before anyone else says it, as they always do, ( i dont know why tbh ) Remember that just cause a tank is 12G it doesnt mean we can put a clown loach in it (thats the example they always use aswell)
Hope everyting goes ok mate and keep us up to date!
Greg

 

[dwarfgourami]

indeed, qsta, I missed a few bits out there. The most important being that when we talk about fish, we always mean adult sizes- what these fish are going to grow up into- as the ones in the shop are almost invariably juveniles. So never buy until you have researched! And of course fish swim horizontally, so need space lengthwise rather than vertically. And oxygen is transmitted from the surface. So any tank that is tall rather than long can hold fewer fish.

 

[SuperColey1]

indeed, qsta, I missed a few bits out there. The most important being that when we talk about fish, we always mean adult sizes- what these fish are going to grow up into- as the ones in the shop are almost invariably juveniles. So never buy until you have researched! And of course fish swim horizontally, so need space lengthwise rather than vertically. And oxygen is transmitted from the surface. So any tank that is tall rather than long can hold fewer fish.

As a start off guideline I think this is OK, but not necessarily true further along the hobby, as if the tall tank is heavily planted, the plants grow taller, and in turn (through the right conditions) will produce more oxygen through photosynthesis, and remove ammonia, and Nitrate and CO2.

 

[dwarfgourami]

indeed, qsta, I missed a few bits out there. The most important being that when we talk about fish, we always mean adult sizes- what these fish are going to grow up into- as the ones in the shop are almost invariably juveniles. So never buy until you have researched! And of course fish swim horizontally, so need space lengthwise rather than vertically. And oxygen is transmitted from the surface. So any tank that is tall rather than long can hold fewer fish.

As a start off guideline I think this is OK, but not necessarily true further along the hobby, as if the tall tank is heavily planted, the plants grow taller, and in turn (through the right conditions) will produce more oxygen through photosynthesis, and remove ammonia, and Nitrate and CO2.

well, for a start photosynthesis only takes place in the day; secondly, plants growing taller in a tall tank may simply grow spindly with long stems if they have to struggle to reach the light and it's not the stems that produce the oxygen; thirdly, fish do still swim horizontally regardless of the plants.

 

[tqfan]

4 khuulie loaches

ain't it just kuhli? after reading this last night, i had a weird dream about one...

anyways, i think this is the fish i was trying to tell my dad about. i remember we had one years ago, maybe 2-3 inches long, but very thin, thinner than a pencil. he couldn't remember of course but having looked it up, it looks just how i remember it. haven't seen any in the shops around here, though

For food, yes, they eat less than you think. You should only serve what will be eaten in about 2 minutes- which is going to be something like 2-3 flakes a day for a platy, maybe 1-2 flakes per neon tetra; I usually spread this amount out in two feeds for my fish.

i thought it was whatever could be eaten in 3 minutes, so i was close. there's no old food in my tank atm, so must be feeding them right.

although you say 1-2/2-3 flakes (per fish). what size of flakes? they come in different sizes hehe

 

[aquaticadmirer]

also, how much food should they be fed? i read if there is old food at the bottom, it's too much food, so am i right in saying, no old food, then no over feeding?

Generally this is a good rule of thumb, but there are some fish that will just eat and eat if the food is there and can actually get sick from eating too much (not to mention will be adding tons of waste into the aquarium a little later on). Barbs and I think goldfish are notorious for this. Just use the 2 minute rule that people have talked about to avoid this