what does min tank size mean for a fish ?

[evilbunny]

right-o

i've just read that no less than 200 gallons is suitable for a bala shark, which worries me cause i only had 180 g.

but if a bala shark has a recommend min tank size of 200 gallons does this mean that it shouldnt' have any more fish in there ??

would that mean that each fish has to have their own set amount of tank space ?

(i only just came around to think about this and i'm a tad worried)

also if would be a big help if soem one would look at my profile and tell me how many more fish i could have in my tank

and in a 8 gallon tank can i have 2 honey gourami (is there such a thing as a dwarf honey gourami?) 2 bnoses and maybe 2 rams ??

is this the right place for that questions ??

thanking u in advance ~!* )

 

[Boggle]

Everybody has a different opinion when it comes to this subject. Some people go off the 1" (I think) of fish for 1 gallon of water, I've found some that say 1cm of fish for 1L of water, or 12cm square of surface water for 1cm of fish.

It's always advised you calculate your tank size based on the adult size of your fish. But the bala sharks & clown loaches will take a few years to reach that size.

I have bigger fish, and more of them, in a tank the same size as yours, until I move house & upgrade to 8 footers. My fish seem all very happy & healthy, and the water quality is perfect.

In the 8 gallon, I think most people would say you can only keep a betta.

 

[Discomafia]

You could prolly get away with a dwarf gourami, but not the rams and plecos.

But ask around, I might be wrong. I'm only saying this because I know you can keep 2 in a 10 gallon so....

 

[CFC]

The rules i always use for stocking with large fish are the tank to fish length ratios and surface area rules.

First a tank should always be a minimum of 4x the length of the fish long by 1.5x the length of the fish wide by 1.5x the length of the fish long, ie a 12" fish should be kept in nothing less than a tank which is 48x18x18" (roughly around 65 US gallons).

Then to determin how many fish can be kept in the tank i work out the surface area of the tank (in this case 864 square inches) and divide by 12 (864/12=72), telling me i can safely stock up to 72 inches of fish in that tank providing territory requirements are met and sufficient filtration is provided.

These rules only really work with larger fish (those 8 inches or over), for smaller fish the inch per gallon rule works better.

 

[Boggle]

Makes a lot more sense now, different rules for different fish.

 

[Discomafia]

Thanks, what an informative post. Will be sure to take note of that.

Read that the inch per gallon rule doesn't apply to large fish, but they never mentioned how large is large. Now I know the answer is 8".

 

[sylvia]

I think these are the fish in your 180 gallon right now?:

3 silver sharks
1 rainbow shark
1 upside down catfish
16 neon tetras
1 neon blue gourami
2 female guppies
4 angels
3 clown loaches
2 blue ram
1 bristlenose

I don't agree with most stocking level calculations. The problem is that you have to consider a lot more than just adult size. For example, aggression, territories, activity level, how 'dirty' they are (take goldfish or plecos lol), water requirements and environmental prefferences.

Bala/silver sharks grow to 12 inches but I would never keep one in a 65 gallon tank. The reason is that, though it would be large enough to accomodate one, it would not offer the necessary swimming space. The same applies to fish like zebra danios but at a much smaller scale. I wouldn't keep one in a 5 gallon though it would easily have room to grow to adult size. Plus both species need the companionship of their own kind.
BTW, the 200 gallons you read about would not be for just one fish - it's just what they require to be truly happy. Again, using zebra danios as an example, you could have 5 in a 10 gallon but 10 in a 20 gallon would be much much happier because of the swimming space.
However, I think the three bala sharks you have at the moment should be ok in your 180 gallon tank. 200 gallons, after all, is only 20 gallons more.

It's always advised you calculate your tank size based on the adult size of your fish. But the bala sharks & clown loaches will take a few years to reach that size.

Ok, this is something I will have to comment on. I realy don't agree with keeping large fish just because they grow slowly. You should ALWAYS base your tank's occupants and stocking on the ADULT size of the fish. That would save a lot of fish lives and suffering and fewer would need to be re-homed or returned.

You could probably still put a few (smallish - no more large) fish in that tank. I would recommend some more gouramies (they are dwarfs right?). However, I'm a bit concerned about certain things - angelfish will eat neons very readily at adulthood (that may still be in a while and a large tank may allow your neons to escape but there is no denying that neons are an angelfish's natural food in the wild so...). They may also eat your guppies but, as they are female, they should be large enough and quick enough to escape.

As for the 8 gallon, there is a HUGE selection of fish that can go in there!

You shouldn't keep to bristlenose plecos in a small tank - they will fight. Plus pleco are messy fish and you need at least this size tank for just one bristlenose. I wouldn't keep a pair of rams with the other fish you mentioned - you'd be seriously over-stocked if you combined them all. Also, if they pair up, they are still cichlids and will be territorial.
Honey gouramies are colisa chunae (or c. sota I believe) and the males can be rather aggressive. Though they are small (max. 2 inches), I wouldn't keep two in an 8 gallon unless you could find females (which aren't as colorful and are often hard to find).
Honey dwarf gouramies do exist - they are a seperate species (colisa lalia) and are just a color variety of the popular dwarf gourami. These are not as aggressive but males can be very territorial towards other fish of their kind. I think the neon blue in your 180 gallon is one of these (unless it's a three-spot - trichogaster trichopterus). Again, I would only keep one of these in an 8 gallon but you could also include some (3-4) dwarf cories OR 5 harlequin rasboras or black phantom tetras in an 8 gallon (with the gourami).
There are many other options as well. For example, golden dwarf barbs, a bristlenose (just the bristlenose and some tetras though), a pair of rams (just the rams and some tetras) or some guppies, platies or a planted tank with 6 cardinal tetras or harlequin rasboras.

That was one long answer... sorry for rambling on and boring you to death

 

[evilbunny]

thank u for ur replies everybody ~!*

but gosh sylivia that must have taken u long to type out!
but very informative

but the 8 gallon, i had my heart set on a bnose in there and the honey gourami (dwarf) and the ones that i saw at my LFSthey were tiny only an inch long or so, i just thought that they wouldn't grow anymore.. that's too bad, and besides i have tonnes of times to think about i don't have the money for a tiny tank anyway

about my angels though i'm jsut hoping they wont' notice the neons
and i always thought that gouramis do best on their own ? other wise i would have bought a whole tonne of them by now

CFC those calculations are so confusing ~*!~! why can't tanks be made using the metric system where everything is 10 or 100 or 1000 instead of feet and inches, i mean really.... it jsut dosent' make much sense

and why does farenheit start at 30 for freezing ?? it would make sense for it to start at 0 and boiling to be at 100

but after all that i think i will just take my guppies back, by one more bnose, wait for my forest to grow and buy a few khuli loaches

*** will a royal plec really cost $AUS 1200

thanking u for reading my post

 

[JustinSane]

I suggest that you flush any calculations and use your sense.
And by this I don't mean "Aah, they really don't need that much space I know I can keep them in smaller tank." For me, it's quite the opposite; the bigger the better.

Calculations and rules are bad because they don't bend; there is a huge difference whether your 12" fish is a passive fish which prefers to be kept alone, or if it's a schooling fish that likes to swim a lot.
Besides, the size shouldn't be the only criteria; take territiorial fish like some small cichlids for instance; they are tiny and puny in size but they've often got a bigger ego than an oscar.

In an 8 gal I wouldn't be permanently housing anything with a spine (ie. fish).
It's good as a QT/hospital tank or growing up fry but that's about it.

 

[evilbunny]

if i used a 8 g tank as a fry grow out tank, how lognw ould i keep the fry in there for ??

i was thinking about using it for blue rams and angels and bnoses when the time comes .. but like i said i still have tonnes of time to think about it