Inch Per Gallon....?

[MrsM]

1.when stocking my tank, going by 1 inch per gallon...is this just the fishes body or tail included in length?
2.my tank is an 80ltr(17.5gallons), but i can only add 75ltrs(16.5gallon) due to gravel and deco...does this mean i can add 17 or 18" of (adult size) fish? i know its not a major difference but all it takes is 1 fish to tip the scales of the right amount of fish waste and wreck my cycled tank..

 

[Mikey1]

you are over analyzing this, that is only a general estimate that can vary by many different factors,

it depends on the type of fish, decor, filtration, how well you maintain the tank/water conditions etc etc,

going by that rule, you could put one 15 inch fish in your tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

Mikey; a lot of people forget that the guideline refers only to standard shaped fish of less than three inches, adult size. Of course that would mean no ten inch oscars in ten gallon tanks!

MrsM; one small fish will not wreck your cycle Don't push things too far, obviously, but you can easily go to 17 or 18 inches of fish, as long as they're small, relatively unmessy fish. So, one or two extra harlequins or neons would be fine; adding a bristlenose, not so good!

 

[MrsM]

Mikey; a lot of people forget that the guideline refers only to standard shaped fish of less than three inches, adult size. Of course that would mean no ten inch oscars in ten gallon tanks!

MrsM; one small fish will not wreck your cycle Don't push things too far, obviously, but you can easily go to 17 or 18 inches of fish, as long as they're small, relatively unmessy fish. So, one or two extra harlequins or neons would be fine; adding a bristlenose, not so good!

thats what i learnt from google, just wanted someone to "say" it to me...thanks... so a couple of guppy(3), platy(2) and (2)balloon molly and maybe a few more cories(3) to up the shoal is ok? ive got a 75ltr tank..

 

[Mikey1]

Mikey; a lot of people forget that the guideline refers only to standard shaped fish of less than three inches, adult size. Of course that would mean no ten inch oscars in ten gallon tanks!

MrsM; one small fish will not wreck your cycle Don't push things too far, obviously, but you can easily go to 17 or 18 inches of fish, as long as they're small, relatively unmessy fish. So, one or two extra harlequins or neons would be fine; adding a bristlenose, not so good!

thats what i learnt from google, just wanted someone to "say" it to me...thanks... so a couple of guppy(3), platy(2) and (2)balloon molly and maybe a few more cories(3) to up the shoal is ok? ive got a 75ltr tank..

thats fine, as long as you are maintaining the tank properly

 

[MrsM]

i will be by the time i get to fully stocked...im doing this sllloooowwwly! 1 fish every week so far, darent risk getting any more than that at one time

 

[sadguppy]

Mikey; a lot of people forget that the guideline refers only to standard shaped fish of less than three inches, adult size. Of course that would mean no ten inch oscars in ten gallon tanks!

MrsM; one small fish will not wreck your cycle Don't push things too far, obviously, but you can easily go to 17 or 18 inches of fish, as long as they're small, relatively unmessy fish. So, one or two extra harlequins or neons would be fine; adding a bristlenose, not so good!

thats what i learnt from google, just wanted someone to "say" it to me...thanks... so a couple of guppy(3), platy(2) and (2)balloon molly and maybe a few more cories(3) to up the shoal is ok? ive got a 75ltr tank..

As balloon mollys are quite big fish, and can prefer their water slightly brackish, I would tend to stick with the platies as the main livebearer. They're bold, colourful, lively and not quite as chunky so you can have more of them!

I personally don't get on with guppies so well, as they are natural victims! They're slow and brightly coloured and seem to be like a red rag to a bull for many otherwise placid community fish. If I didn't have guppies there would be so many things I could stock, but alas I made that decision early on and I will stick with it until the last drops of old age - however I would have a think about what you'd like to do in future and whether they will be compatable.

I would suggest: 4 or 5 platies (all male or all female but beware in case they're not separated in which case the females will be pregnant already!) - you can get a variety of great colours - then to add to your three cories, another 3. Then I would advise you see how it goes and once everything is settled you could get a small shoal (6) of neon tetras or similar small shoaling fish to add some variety, or maybe a 'centrepiece' fish, such as a dwarf gourami or a single kribensis.

My advice (and I started with the same sized tank as you so this is from personal experience!) is to never fully stock your tank with livebearers, they are good basic fish, but I guarantee if you do that you'll find you want something a bit different and special and have no room for them. That's when you end up like me...with a billion tanks.

 

[MrsM]

Mikey; a lot of people forget that the guideline refers only to standard shaped fish of less than three inches, adult size. Of course that would mean no ten inch oscars in ten gallon tanks!

MrsM; one small fish will not wreck your cycle Don't push things too far, obviously, but you can easily go to 17 or 18 inches of fish, as long as they're small, relatively unmessy fish. So, one or two extra harlequins or neons would be fine; adding a bristlenose, not so good!

thats what i learnt from google, just wanted someone to "say" it to me...thanks... so a couple of guppy(3), platy(2) and (2)balloon molly and maybe a few more cories(3) to up the shoal is ok? ive got a 75ltr tank..

As balloon mollys are quite big fish, and can prefer their water slightly brackish, I would tend to stick with the platies as the main livebearer. They're bold, colourful, lively and not quite as chunky so you can have more of them!

I personally don't get on with guppies so well, as they are natural victims! They're slow and brightly coloured and seem to be like a red rag to a bull for many otherwise placid community fish. If I didn't have guppies there would be so many things I could stock, but alas I made that decision early on and I will stick with it until the last drops of old age - however I would have a think about what you'd like to do in future and whether they will be compatable.

I would suggest: 4 or 5 platies (all male or all female but beware in case they're not separated in which case the females will be pregnant already!) - you can get a variety of great colours - then to add to your three cories, another 3. Then I would advise you see how it goes and once everything is settled you could get a small shoal (6) of neon tetras or similar small shoaling fish to add some variety, or maybe a 'centrepiece' fish, such as a dwarf gourami or a single kribensis.

My advice (and I started with the same sized tank as you so this is from personal experience!) is to never fully stock your tank with livebearers, they are good basic fish, but I guarantee if you do that you'll find you want something a bit different and special and have no room for them. That's when you end up like me...with a billion tanks.

ok i can do without the balloon mollys...whats a kribensis...is that a "krib" ive seen those i just thought live bareres were "easy" and "beginner" fish..and as i seem to know sweet FA about fishkeeping..... thanks for your advice and opinion...its all taken onboard

 

[sadguppy]

ok i can do without the balloon mollys...whats a kribensis...is that a "krib" ive seen those i just thought live bareres were "easy" and "beginner" fish..and as i seem to know sweet FA about fishkeeping..... thanks for your advice and opinion...its all taken onboard

Livebearers are 'beginner' fish in the sense that they are so cheap, because they reproduce so easily. However if your tank is cycled and you're read up on it all, as you seem to be, then you by no means have to stick with them, and why would you when there is a world of fish out there?

'Easy' fish...Well of course some fish are more sensitive than others and need specific environments, but most of the cheaper fish (under say, a fiver) will generally get on OK given a cycled tank, clean water and food. I urge you to go to your LFS, have a look at what's in there, come back here and tell us what you like and see if they are suitable for your tank. I promise you that the answer will be 'yes' eventually, the perfect fish is out there!

Yes I mean kribs. I have one and she's beautiful, is hard as nails (has been plonked from one tank to another multiple times, survived a mini-cycle and whitespot in the tank, even jumped out of the tank once!) but she ate two guppies' tails before I realised it was her and moved the guppies. She now gets on fine with the rest of her tankmates including a plec, loaches, tetras, barbs, danios and platies. A 75 litre tank would be just big enough for one as long as she had a cave or bogwood to make her 'own'. I have heard that they can be aggressive towards cories but I never saw this at all when I had her in with them so I can't confirm that. It's just one exmaple, taken from my personal experience, but as I said there are so many fish out there, don't waste your tank on guppies

 

[MrsM]

ok i can do without the balloon mollys...whats a kribensis...is that a "krib" ive seen those i just thought live bareres were "easy" and "beginner" fish..and as i seem to know sweet FA about fishkeeping..... thanks for your advice and opinion...its all taken onboard

Livebearers are 'beginner' fish in the sense that they are so cheap, because they reproduce so easily. However if your tank is cycled and you're read up on it all, as you seem to be, then you by no means have to stick with them, and why would you when there is a world of fish out there?

'Easy' fish...Well of course some fish are more sensitive than others and need specific environments, but most of the cheaper fish (under say, a fiver) will generally get on OK given a cycled tank, clean water and food. I urge you to go to your LFS, have a look at what's in there, come back here and tell us what you like and see if they are suitable for your tank. I promise you that the answer will be 'yes' eventually, the perfect fish is out there!

Yes I mean kribs. I have one and she's beautiful, is hard as nails (has been plonked from one tank to another multiple times, survived a mini-cycle and whitespot in the tank, even jumped out of the tank once!) but she ate two guppies' tails before I realised it was her and moved the guppies. She now gets on fine with the rest of her tankmates including a plec, loaches, tetras, barbs, danios and platies. A 75 litre tank would be just big enough for one as long as she had a cave or bogwood to make her 'own'. I have heard that they can be aggressive towards cories but I never saw this at all when I had her in with them so I can't confirm that. It's just one exmaple, taken from my personal experience, but as I said there are so many fish out there, don't waste your tank on guppies

ill do some lfs shopping then, well window shopping and get bk to ya

 

[creeker]

From my experience, a Kribensis could easily be too aggressive for that tank. I would advise against it.

 

[sadguppy]

From my experience, a Kribensis could easily be too aggressive for that tank. I would advise against it.

They are definitely agressive when pairing off but a single female can often get on fine in a community, although I guess if a 100% peaceful tank is what you are after, there are likely to be other fish more suitable. Depends what you have with it really, they won't bother top dwelling or fast shoaling fish unless they have flowing fins. My krib is now my favourite fish in the tank. I love watching her moving the sand around and peeking out of her cave.

 

[MrsM]

Ok so if i chose to have a krib, i need a female? How do i tell the difference?

 

[sadguppy]

Females have a pink belly, they are quite easy to sex.

 

[MrsM]

thanks