Tank Size & Stocking

[Aliena]

Hi all, sorry to be a pain but I am totally confused by the way you all work out the number of fish you can keep in any particular tank. My new tank is 60l. How many gallons is that for the purposes of the 1in per gallon rule? Should I be thinking US or Uk gallons? And now I've just read 1cm per litre. Which is the best rule?

Finally, for a 60cm x 30cm x 35cm tank is there any guidance on what limit I should put on the size of the fish? I know that something the size of a common plec isn't going to be happy but what about something that grows to 5in or so? is that too big for my tank?Tank size & stock

I just want my fishes to be happy when I get them but at the moment there seems to be so many different rules and guidance I have read that I have no idea where to start working out what I want!

 

[glolite]

Hi hun

Basically it's 1 inch of fish without tails to 1 gallon of water. So 60l = 13 gallons = 13 inches of fish. They say us gallons but I work from uk gallons so you have 13 inches of fish.

Hope this helps

 

[drobbyb]

Just to add, the inch per gallon rule applies to slim bodied small sized fishes. Ie: per the inch per gallon rule you can put a 14 inch oscar into a 14 gallon tank. Oscars need 75 gallons to be happy. So the rule does not appply to all fish. If you are talking tetras and platies, the rule does apply generally.

 

[natalie265]

And no, i would not put a 5 inch fish in a tank that is only 60l.

 

[OldMan47]

For a 2 foot long tank like that, I would not put any of the more active swimmers in it. I would also limit any fish to no more than 3 inches each. If you start stocking larger fish like that, 3 inches, the numbers must be severely limited. The inch per gallon "rule" is a very loose guide for new fish keepers. If you follow it, and only use the smaller fish, you will probably not overstock a tank. Once you get a feel for how full that tank looks with its full stock of fish, you will find it easier to look at a tank with fish in it and just say to yourself "I believe this tank could take x amount more fish of about y size". The only magic in proper stocking for a tank is getting a feel for what will work and what will not. In the beginning, it is best to have a number to judge it so that you can start to develop the feeling without losing very many fish along the way. That is why the inch per gallon "rule' was developed long long ago. It was around when I first had fish in the 1950s and still works for me today when faced with a new situation.