Is It True?

[ajbettle]

is it true that if u have more surface volume in ur tank, u can keep more fish? please let me know wether it is true + im wanting to get a via-aqua 380, please have a look and tell me wether the stocking below is ok?

link: http/www.seapets.co.uk/product-details/s...tegory/844.html

Stocking:

- 6 White clouds,
- 1 Sparkling gourami,
- 2 Schwartz corys,

thanks in advance, tetra-man2!

 

[Jason_kenny88]

the surface area fact is true, the rule is that you can keep 2 small tropical fish to every square inch (i think) in your tank this enables you to have more tropical fish that coldwater in the same tank as coldewater fish are bigger.

 

[ajbettle]

wud 5 white clouds, and 1 sparkling gourami and 2 corys be ok?

 

[Jules H-T]

the rule is that you can keep 2 small tropical fish to every square inch (i think) in your tank

So in a 24" by 12" tank (which has a surface area of 12*24=288 square inches), you reckon you could have 576 small tropical fish? Or am I messing up the calculation somehow?

Tertaman I would urge you to take the info in the original post with a pinch of salt.

 

[ajbettle]

o ok, but as ur experienced (looking at ur fish thingys), wud u think this is an allrite stocking:

5 White clouds,
2 Schwartzs corys,
1 Sparkling gourami,

to stock in a via aqua 380 (10gallons) ??? thanks, heres a picture:

http/www.seapets.co.uk/gallery/950612.jpg thanks again!

dimensions: height = 15" width = 9.75" length = 15"

 

[Jules H-T]

Well I've never kept any of those, but my view would be as follows:

You're on the small end of the acceptable tank size for WCMMs. You should aim for a decent group size, 5 is possibly a bit small but you should get away with it.

The Corys would be a nice bottom layer addition. They are quite hardy too. You'd need to be careful with your temperature control mixing them with the WCMM though, since the minnows prefer cooler water. A sand substrate might be worth considering as corys generally are diggers.

I think the sparking gourami, whilst a good size for the tank, might get a bit harrassed by the minnows which I understand are pretty active? Perhaps not. Like I said I've no direct experience. They are also quite sensitive from what I've heard and maybe not the best option for a first fish.

Overall I've seen a lot worse selections put into a 10G than that. Consider starting with the corys and minnows, let the tank stabilise for 4-6 months, and if all is well add the gourami then?

 

[ajbettle]

cheers jules, any suggestions in place for the gourami? and wud 6 WCMMS be ok instead of 5 as they like to be in groups, or is it 2 much for the tank?

 

[Jules H-T]

5, 6, don't suppose it makes a huge amount of difference TBH.

You could consider maybe a couple of zebra loaches? I'm big fans of them.

I'm not saying your selection won't work, more thinking about the possible issues. As I mentioned, reconsider your substrate, corys really do 'dig' sand

 

[Saedcantas]

A Honey gourami would be a hardier substitute for the sparkling gourami and is still perfectly ok for a tank of that size (In my opinion anyhoo!)

 

[qwikimpss]

Ok, the surface area "rule" is relative and it hinges on gas exchange (CO2 exchanging for O2 and so forth).

Take a 20 gallon aquarium, they are available in a standard 20 gallon long, 20 gallon high and 20 gallon extra high. The standard 20 gallon long has a length and width of 30"x12" making the surface area 360 square inches. While a 20 high has the dimensions of 24"x12" which equals 288 square inches and the 20 extra high (which you won't see much) is basically two ten gallons staked so the dimensions would be 20"x10" equalling 200 square inches.

Now, while all of the tanks hold the same volume of water they all have a different potential for gas exchange. See what I mean? So in a 20 long you can hold X-ammount of fish, in a 20 high you can hold a few less and in a 20 x-high a few less than a normal 20 high. This is why tall tanks, while nice and showy, aren't optimal from a "scientific" point of view.

But if you take care of your fish and maintain the aquariums on a regular, weekly basis it wouldn't really be too much of a problem to stock the same ammount in each as long as you are very rigorous on maintenance especially on, going with my example, the 20 x-high.

 

[ajbettle]

thanks all! 8) , and jules i dont mind ur opinion, infact i want help as this is my first tank, so the more imput the better!!! lol what are zebra loaches..maybe a piccy??

but i still cant decide what tank to get!!!!any suggestions for a tank about 10-15 gallons

 

[Kombat]

The rule is 1" of fish for every 12". So a tank with 288 square inches of surface area can hold 24" of fish. But as always, it's just a guide.

Karl

the surface area fact is true, the rule is that you can keep 2 small tropical fish to every square inch (i think) in your tank this enables you to have more tropical fish that coldwater in the same tank as coldewater fish are bigger.

 

[Jules H-T]

On reflection, your tank would probably be too small for a decent crowd of these, but this is what they look like.

http/www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_striata.html

 

[mark.w.jones]

I have that tank myself. (See sig.) Ive gone for 9 fish all of which only grow to an inch / inch and a half in size using the 1inch of fish (excluding caudel fin) per US gallon rule. The 10 gal UK Via aqua 380 is 45litres or 11.89 US gallons, so I'm slightly understocked if anything.

Id always thought that the surface area stocking rule was 2.5cm (1 inch) of fish per 75 sq cm. The surface area of the Via Aqua 380 is 24.5cm x 37cm = 906.5 sq cm. Divide that by the 75 sg cm and you get 12.09.

The upshot of all this is that you should go for no more that 12inches of fish in thistank, 11 would be safer IMO. Your calculations need to be based on the eventual adult size of the fish you intend to get.

Your White cloud minnows will get to around 1.5 inches each
Honey Gouramis reach around 2.5 inches
Sparkling Gourami 1.5 inches
Schwartz's corys 2.5 inches

So your original list of fish comes to around 14inches which is a few to many

I have 5 Harlequin Rasboras
and 4 pygmaeus corys in mine incidently

Via Aqua do do a 15 gallon tank
http/www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/aqua-gall...rium-o-173.html

I like mine because the rounded corners at the front allow you to see things more clearly
Hope that's helpful

 

[Saedcantas]

I have the ViaAqua 418 with overhead luminaire, I didnt bother with the undergravel filter from the off and replaced it with an external Hydor Prime 10.

I have a link to mine in my sig and the completed stocklist in my profile, just to give you an idea of what you could achieve maybe