How Many Fish?

[hollyp0p]

I have a Juwel rekord 60 tank, which is about 50-55 litre capacity....but with the gravel, plants and driftwood i have means I have about 45 litres in it.
So far I have 6 zebra danios, and 5 neon tetra, I plan to get 2 gourami (probably gold) and a male betta....I think the tank can fit more fish going by the size guide in my book, but would getting anymore be a bad idea?
I am unsure whether or not to get another small shoal of fish aswell....maybe cherry barbs.

holly

 

[dwarfgourami]

I wouldn't get both the gouramis and the betta- being anabantoids and highly terrotorial, they'd be quite likely to get territorial with each other. Instead, I would get a single gourami, but a smaller kind- croaking or honey.

 

[Azaezl]

Ok 45 litres is roughly 12 gallons, the general rule is 1" of fish per gallon, this rule can be flexible depending on the types of fish, filter size, maintenance etc but for a newbie I'd try to stick to 1" per gallon. So;

6 zebra danios = 12 inches
5 neon tetras = 5 inches

So far that's 17 inches of fish so your slightly overstocked,although they are small fish so you should be ok as long as you keep an eye on your water stats & keep up with water changes, maybe over filter as well, you could get away with another tetra if you wish to do so.

The gold gouramis can get up to 6 inches each so they will be too much for your tank.

I wouldn't advise a male betta as the tetras will most likely destroy his fins, although some people have kept them together sucessfully.

If you can post your water stats, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate then we can establish whether the filter is coping with the bioload, if it's not then you'll have to think about upgrading your tank or filter or rehome some of the fish.

I might be a little off with the sizes as I can't quite remember their adult size(never kept them so never really researched them much), so someone else might be able to advise you a little better, but definately do not add anything else until you get a satisfactory answer.


HTH

 

[hollyp0p]

yeah just been reading about the gourami....hmmm....
I'm not sure I will bother at all with any now, it's one less fish to worry about then, and means the betta can be more king of his tank
would a single gourami not be lonely?

if i change my mind about any of the fish i already have what do you reakon chances are of aquatic shop taking them back?
I wouldn't expect refund or anything, just thinking of backup plans incase anybody decides not to get on.

out of all the fish I want the betta the most....and I must admit I am very fond of my danios!

 

[hollyp0p]

Ok 45 litres is roughly 12 gallons, the general rule is 1" of fish per gallon, this rule can be flexible depending on the types of fish, filter size, maintenance etc but for a newbie I'd try to stick to 1" per gallon. So;

6 zebra danios = 12 inches
5 neon tetras = 5 inches

So far that's 17 inches of fish so your slightly overstocked,although they are small fish so you should be ok as long as you keep an eye on your water stats & keep up with water changes, maybe over filter as well, you could get away with another tetra if you wish to do so.

The gold gouramis can get up to 6 inches each so they will be too much for your tank.

I wouldn't advise a male betta as the tetras will most likely destroy his fins, although some people have kept them together sucessfully.

If you can post your water stats, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate then we can establish whether the filter is coping with the bioload, if it's not then you'll have to think about upgrading your tank or filter or rehome some of the fish.

I might be a little off with the sizes as I can't quite remember their adult size(never kept them so never really researched them much), so someone else might be able to advise you a little better, but definately do not add anything else until you get a satisfactory answer.


HTH

I've just read the section about sizing your tank in my "you and your aquarium" book....from the calculation in there i should be able to keep about 60 cm of fish.....and you're right I have about 50cm of fish...so really only leaves enough room for like one more once the tetra reach full grown!

 

[Azaezl]

If you really want a betta you could get him his own tank, they don't need much space, a 5G(roughly 20 Litres) would be enough it doesn't take up much space and you should be able to get one quite cheap. MY 5G hex(in my signature) was only £40 brand new but I'm sure you could get a used tank alot cheaper.

 

[hollyp0p]

If you really want a betta you could get him his own tank, they don't need much space, a 5G(roughly 20 Litres) would be enough it doesn't take up much space and you should be able to get one quite cheap. MY 5G hex(in my signature) was only £40 brand new but I'm sure you could get a used tank alot cheaper.

i will make enquiries and then an educated decision methinks.

and you're right this week's water tests will tell me alot about how the tank is doing too , it was fine on thurs when i changed 25% water before the tetra came, maybe a little high on pH but i am keeping my eye on that and will sort it if it continues to be a problem.

thanks for your help!

 

[funkyhoney]

IMHO all guides should be taken with more than a grain of salt However I would stick to keeping either tetras or a dwarf gourami, they're fine alone as well. Maybe a few small loaches or cories would go nicely as well.

You can get a few slightly larger tetras to mix up the colour a bit, e.g. Serpae, Congo, Black Neon, Lemon

 

[hollyp0p]

IMHO all guides should be taken with more than a grain of salt However I would stick to keeping either tetras or a dwarf gourami, they're fine alone as well. Maybe a few small loaches or cories would go nicely as well.

You can get a few slightly larger tetras to mix up the colour a bit, e.g. Serpae, Congo, Black Neon, Lemon

is this with or without a betta in mind?