Ok, I know, I know. I started fishkeeping 5 months ago, with a 60 litre. I thought this was a perfectly adequate tank at the time. My friends loved how 'big' it was compared to theirs, and it wasn't long before I got another 60l.
But being on here has opened my eyes to a lot of the reality behind fishkeeping, and I just wanted to share my observations over the last week.
I got a 160l a month or two ago. I rehomed most of the acquired stock that was too big and restocked to my own choices, including 5 blue tetra (fully grown at 4cm) and 6 diamond tetra (babies at 3cm).
As I'd got carried away and overstocked I moved first the diamond tetra into my very understocked 60l and then my blue tetra.
The blue tetra were reasonably active at first, but within a day it was clear they were becoming distressed by the lack of space - swimming back and forth in 10cm figure eights and rapidly circling. I moved them straight back into the 160l, and they were immediately fine.
The diamond tetra lasted a week in the small tank. Copying the behaviour of the other fish in there, my albino cories, they spent most of the time under the bogwood cave, but whilst the cories would have regular 'activity sessions', they would stay hiding. I've just done a w/c on both tanks and decided to move them back to the 160l. Immediately they were swimming around, up and down the whole length of the tank, and exploring all levels of the tank,
Theoretically, for the size they were, the 60l was perfectly adequate, but their behaviour is complete contradictory to that.
I am on the verge of buying a 240l tank, and will move the tiger barbs and albino cories into that. The 60l I will maintain with killifish, but when they go, so will the tank.
Boo to small tanks!
But being on here has opened my eyes to a lot of the reality behind fishkeeping, and I just wanted to share my observations over the last week.
I got a 160l a month or two ago. I rehomed most of the acquired stock that was too big and restocked to my own choices, including 5 blue tetra (fully grown at 4cm) and 6 diamond tetra (babies at 3cm).
As I'd got carried away and overstocked I moved first the diamond tetra into my very understocked 60l and then my blue tetra.
The blue tetra were reasonably active at first, but within a day it was clear they were becoming distressed by the lack of space - swimming back and forth in 10cm figure eights and rapidly circling. I moved them straight back into the 160l, and they were immediately fine.
The diamond tetra lasted a week in the small tank. Copying the behaviour of the other fish in there, my albino cories, they spent most of the time under the bogwood cave, but whilst the cories would have regular 'activity sessions', they would stay hiding. I've just done a w/c on both tanks and decided to move them back to the 160l. Immediately they were swimming around, up and down the whole length of the tank, and exploring all levels of the tank,
Theoretically, for the size they were, the 60l was perfectly adequate, but their behaviour is complete contradictory to that.
I am on the verge of buying a 240l tank, and will move the tiger barbs and albino cories into that. The 60l I will maintain with killifish, but when they go, so will the tank.
Boo to small tanks!
