How Many Gourami's Can Be Comfortable In A 10 Gal Tank?

[dwarfgourami]

Could you explain bioload?
Noob here...LOL

Bioload means the amount of workload that is put on the filter by fish waste. Fish excrete ammonia, the beneficial bacteria in the filter can only handle so much ammonia, so if you overstock your tank the filter won't be able to handle it and your fish will die from ammonia poisoning.

To give a rough estimate of acceptable bioload many aquarists use the inch/gallon rule- i.e. you should not add more than 1 inch of slimbodied smallish fish per gallon of water. So in a 10 gallon tank you could fit in five 2-inch fish. Or three 3 inch fish, as far as the bioload goes. Fish above 3 inches need more gallons as they tend not to be slimbodied (with a few exceptions).

This is only the beginning. Then you have to consider if the species you have in mind are heavy waste producers (=need more gallons/fish), if they are territorial (like gouramis, which will restrict how many+what sex you can keep together), if they are fast swimmers (=need a long tank) or if they are schooling fish (=you need to find room for a 5-6 of the same species which can be difficult in a small tank). Also if they are sensitive to water quality (= need a tank that has already been running with other fish for several months). Also if they have special food requirements (does not apply to gouramis).

This is the sort of information you will find in the fish profiles on this forum.

 

[arbatey]

Could you explain bioload?
Noob here...LOL

Bioload means the amount of workload that is put on the filter by fish waste. Fish excrete ammonia, the beneficial bacteria in the filter can only handle so much ammonia, so if you overstock your tank the filter won't be able to handle it and your fish will die from ammonia poisoning.

To give a rough estimate of acceptable bioload many aquarists use the inch/gallon rule- i.e. you should not add more than 1 inch of slimbodied smallish fish per gallon of water. So in a 10 gallon tank you could fit in five 2-inch fish. Or three 3 inch fish, as far as the bioload goes. Fish above 3 inches need more gallons as they tend not to be slimbodied (with a few exceptions).

This is only the beginning. Then you have to consider if the species you have in mind are heavy waste producers (=need more gallons/fish), if they are territorial (like gouramis, which will restrict how many+what sex you can keep together), if they are fast swimmers (=need a long tank) or if they are schooling fish (=you need to find room for a 5-6 of the same species which can be difficult in a small tank). Also if they are sensitive to water quality (= need a tank that has already been running with other fish for several months). Also if they have special food requirements (does not apply to gouramis).

This is the sort of information you will find in the fish profiles on this forum.

Thanks. You're a doll .