How Many Fish?

[sunpirate2u]

Hi,

I'm new to this but I love having fish. I would like some advice.
I have a 10g with a male betta,one platy, and four x-ray tetras. I was thinking about getting another platy, a gourami, and a cory cat. Would that be to crowed? If you have any other advice that would be great.

sunpirate2u

 

[backley420]

if this is your first tank. no

 

[doresy]

Yes it would and not a good mix in any case. The betta needs to be on its own really. Cory need to be in a shoal of 4-6. Gourami need to be in a mature and well planted tank.

10" of fish in total allowing for ADULT size is at most what you can have.

Have you cycled your tank yet?

Oh, and HI by the way

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Anabantiods (like Gourami and Bettas) really shouldn't be mixed...sometimes they will harass each other. Plus most Gourami's get too large for a 10 gallon.

Corys should be kept in groups...6 is usually recommended although 3 is minimum. You might be able to get away with a few pygmy corys in the 10 Gal IF you have excellent filtration, and are very diligent about water changes.

 

[Unseen]

i have had a 1 betta, 4 platies, 4 guppies, 4 swordtails, 4 mollies, a sucker fish and 2 cories once in a 11 gallon. the rule of 1 inch for a fish for ME didn't really apply as these fish were quite small. they were all very happy and i didn't find them stressed at all. just make sure u have some plants and stuff. a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon would be quite bad, but 10 1 inch fishes in a 10 gallon is obvious not as bad.

there are people on here who may give u advice from a book or from personal experience. take it, but be aware if they could afford to buy a 60 gallon for 1 neon tetra then they may very well do. crazy people

 

[doresy]

a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon would be quite bad, but 10 1 inch fishes in a 10 gallon is obvious not as bad.

This bit I like.....the rest of your comments I dont care for at all

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

There are a lot of problems with the inch per gallon "rule". A lot of experienced aquarium keepers consider it junk for several reasons. The amount and kinds of fish are highly dependant on several factors.

1. Waste production. The inch per gallon rule is mostly in place to help prevent people from overloading their bio filter, but different fish produce varying types of waste. Goldfish for example produce a HUGE bioload for their size...and require large volumes of water because of it.

2. Filtration and care..if you have excellent filtration and a good water testing/changing schedule you can keep more fish in a tank.

3. Fish activity level. Boras merah are only 3cm but require a tank that is at last 20 gallons because they are active swimmers and require the extra space for swimming.

4. Room and territory. Some fish are territorial and will chase other fish out of their spots. This will lead to less swim room for other fish, and may result in them having to hide a large portion of the time. Also, fish need enough room to swim around without bumping into each other constantly.

You can use the "inch per gallon" rule as a rough guide if you like, but you should always research every fish you put into your tank before purchasing. If you think you have the dedication to keep a close watch on your water parameters and do a water change whenever needed, then you should be okay with exceeding the "rule" a little bit.

 

[sunpirate2u]

Thanks 4 the advice it will help alot!

 

[Biulu]

How long have your fish be together? It can take a while before the problems come out..... How is the betta doing with the tetras and platy around?
If everything goes well, I would only up the tetras to 6, as they like to school. Cories like to be in groups (3-4), so 1 is not a good idea, nor the gourami as already said (gouramis and bettas are related, and will fight over territory).

 

[rdd1952]

To the original post, I agree that you are pretty much fully stocked. If anything, I would add another neon or 2 but that would be it.

i have had a 1 betta, 4 platies, 4 guppies, 4 swordtails, 4 mollies, a sucker fish and 2 cories once in a 11 gallon. the rule of 1 inch for a fish for ME didn't really apply as these fish were quite small. they were all very happy and i didn't find them stressed at all. just make sure u have some plants and stuff. a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon would be quite bad, but 10 1 inch fishes in a 10 gallon is obvious not as bad.

there are people on here who may give u advice from a book or from personal experience. take it, but be aware if they could afford to buy a 60 gallon for 1 neon tetra then they may very well do. crazy people

I would have to disagree with everything you said except the part about the 10" fish in a 10 gallon tank. First off, regardles of who you are, the fish you say you had in a 11 gallon tank was too many unless you had absolutely massive filtration and a super maintenance schedule. With 16 live bearers, you would have a new batch of fry about every 2 days provided they weren't all males. You also didn't say how long you had them in there or any other particulars. I have had 20 fish in a 5 gallon tank before but it was for only a couple hours while I cleaned their regular tank. Obviously, I had no problems.

1" of fish per gallon of water isn't a rule, it's simply a guide mainly for beginners to help the ease into the hobby. If they follow it, they will have a much better chance to get their tan up and running with a minimum of effort and hopefully no lose of fish. Obviously, it can be exceeded depending on the filtration and maintenance schedule but that isn't a good idea for someone setting up their first tank.

Secondly, no one on here would buy a 60 gallon tank for 1 neon. The people on here are extremely knowledgable and have years of experience. I don't know how old you are or how much experince you have but the advice given on this sight is second to none. People here have no reason to give bad advice. We are all here because we share a common fondness for our aquariums and fish and want to help others get started in the hobby and enjoy it as well.

 

[sunpirate2u]

okay so the gourami is out. I will think more about the cory cats. The betta and platy have been together for a year and has been going well. I just got the tetras yesterday. So far so good with them. My betta doesn't appear to care that they are in the tank.

 

[lilfishie]

it could take months before the betta shows intreset in the tetras,i had a betta in with gourami and tetras for about 4 months, then slowly everything began to die of suddenly, i then saw the betta attacking them. i would either get a seperate tak 2-5 gal for the betta or just wait and see what happens, either way i'd have a spare tank handy just in case

 

[Chubbywubs]

I think the what you currently have is fine, just make sure that you have a few little cubby holes for some of them to hide in. My tetra is just over an inch in size and its fully grown and mature. When i first bought them they were less than a centemeter, and since your fish are new dont forget that they will grow.


Personally id keep with what you have for now, give it a couple of months, let the fish settle and get to know there surroundings and neighbours, if they seem fine, then yeah like some of the other members have suggested id add one or two others in (if you must) otherwise just leave it as is.


I love this smiley >

 

[Unseen]

To the original post, I agree that you are pretty much fully stocked. If anything, I would add another neon or 2 but that would be it.

i have had a 1 betta, 4 platies, 4 guppies, 4 swordtails, 4 mollies, a sucker fish and 2 cories once in a 11 gallon. the rule of 1 inch for a fish for ME didn't really apply as these fish were quite small. they were all very happy and i didn't find them stressed at all. just make sure u have some plants and stuff. a 10 inch fish in a 10 gallon would be quite bad, but 10 1 inch fishes in a 10 gallon is obvious not as bad.

there are people on here who may give u advice from a book or from personal experience. take it, but be aware if they could afford to buy a 60 gallon for 1 neon tetra then they may very well do. crazy people

I would have to disagree with everything you said except the part about the 10" fish in a 10 gallon tank. First off, regardles of who you are, the fish you say you had in a 11 gallon tank was too many unless you had absolutely massive filtration and a super maintenance schedule. With 16 live bearers, you would have a new batch of fry about every 2 days provided they weren't all males. You also didn't say how long you had them in there or any other particulars. I have had 20 fish in a 5 gallon tank before but it was for only a couple hours while I cleaned their regular tank. Obviously, I had no problems.

1" of fish per gallon of water isn't a rule, it's simply a guide mainly for beginners to help the ease into the hobby. If they follow it, they will have a much better chance to get their tan up and running with a minimum of effort and hopefully no lose of fish. Obviously, it can be exceeded depending on the filtration and maintenance schedule but that isn't a good idea for someone setting up their first tank.

Secondly, no one on here would buy a 60 gallon tank for 1 neon. The people on here are extremely knowledgable and have years of experience. I don't know how old you are or how much experince you have but the advice given on this sight is second to none. People here have no reason to give bad advice. We are all here because we share a common fondness for our aquariums and fish and want to help others get started in the hobby and enjoy it as well.

my 16 fishes survived for nearly 2 years until i decided to move on and i gave them away. i had some casualties along the way, but i expect that with most fish tanks. as i have said, in MY experience 16 were fine in my 11 gallon. if you have had a tank similar to my set up and had a bad experience then perhaps your tank wasn't cycled. however, if you havent done it then your advice should be taken as serious as mine. as far as i saw my fishes were extremely happy. i took proper care with them. maybe having less fishes in a tank means you have to put in less effort. i guess i'm not that lazy

i did 40$ water change each week and did not over feed due to a risk of the amonia level going up. i had a tetra test kit to check for nitrates etc and dechlrinated with every water change. i had melafix etc just incase and a hexagonal tank (prob about 3 or 4 gallons from argos store) for medical back up. i made sure that i also had various plants for hiding.

the fry got eaten up and some survived within the plants. i didn't mind them getting eaten because its part of nature. although they were in a glass container i let them live as freely as possible.

oh and btw i'm 22. thanks