in 20 gallon
- Thread starter roger1
- Start date
technically you can have a freshwater in a 10 gallon. Good fish depend on what kind of fish you enjoy looking at, their adult size, waste production, etc. In mine I have 4 guppies (will be adding shortly). It also depends on how many babies you want...lol. Live bearers (guppies, platies, mollies, and swordtails) are way easy to breed and you will end up with fry taking over your tank, unless you have a nursery tank. Egg layers (tetras, killifish, etc) are a little bit more difficult to breed.
roger1 said:
A starting point is the 1" per gallon "rule of thumb" for tropical freshwater fish. (Coldwater fish require lower stocking) However, keep in mind that it is only a starting point. Some fish are messier than others, some are more territorial, some require more swimming room. Still others have a very light bioload, and can exceed that rule. And of course, just because they fit doesn't mean they will get along with each other.
Build your initial pass at a stocking, and those here should be able to help you out with suggestions.
SirWired
Actually, I wouldn't go with the inch per gallon rule because that is often cruelly misunderstood. Oscars in 15 gallon aquariums don't do well, and arowanas dont' do any better in 55 gallons. Instead, you have to think logically. How big is the fish compared to the volume of your tank? For a 20 gallon, you could try a large school of fish like neons, cardinals, danios, or similar fish.
Sometimes the inch per gallon rule works for smaller fish, such as 1" fish but I wouldn't really take that as the gospel truth.
You can try looking at some different people's signatures and see what they have in their 20 gallons and then research some more on your own. That's what I did for my 55 gallon - It's still stocking.
Sometimes the inch per gallon rule works for smaller fish, such as 1" fish but I wouldn't really take that as the gospel truth.
You can try looking at some different people's signatures and see what they have in their 20 gallons and then research some more on your own. That's what I did for my 55 gallon - It's still stocking.
SirWired said:
use your better judgement...as SirWired said ^^^, it's a RULE OF THUMB, and ppl should not be jumping on him for it. the One Inch rule works MOST OF THE TIME with small tetras, danios, smaller bred guppies. However, it wouldn't work very well to put four common plecos in a 20 gallon...
roger1 said:
Not even close. Tanks much smaller tahn 20g are probably the most common tank sizes, yet this takes the cake: http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/e_tank0603.php
However, I wouldn't recomend that someone new to aqauria relies on the inch per gallon even if they are using thiere own judgement - how would a noob know there judgement is "corect"? IMO (in my opinion), the best way for someone new to aquaria is to post what options you are considering on a forum like this - and let the more expiereinced fishkeepers point out incompatible/unsuitable fish and help you with the numbers.
kraemerwa2003 said:
It does not work most of the time. It is as false as the inch of fish per gallon thumbrule.
DF had it right, post what you are interested in and get input from members on here.
Roger1, I think you will see a tremendous amount of 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 gal set ups out there.
it does not work all of the time, in fact it never works.kraemerwa2003 said:
according to the rule, you can have 1 neon in a 1 gallon tank. WRONG. neons need at least 10 gallons bacuse they need a school of more than 6.
accotrding to the rule, you can keep and angelfish in a 6 gallon. wrong again! this will only result in stunting.
according to the rule, you can keep 1 tiger barb with 1 betta and experience no problems. nope wrong. tigers need more than 6 other buddies to stay healthy, and they should never be put in tanks with long finned fish.
0/3, the rule has failed this test
it might sound extreme, but its not. any regular 6 year old kid is going to ask the guy at the counter how many fish he can have in his 10 gallon, and the clerk is going to say, 1 inch per gallon, and then the kid goes and picks all of the fish he like, as lond as it stays under 10". he wants a tiger barb and an angel, but the clerk says, they might fight, and the kid says, but its in the rule, and the clerk holds no more obgections
stuff like that does happen at large chain stores