How many fish in a 30-gallon tank?

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Paul

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Jan 21, 2003
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Natick, MA
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I currently have the following fish in my 30-gallon long tank, and am wondering if I have too many:

- 2 pearl gouramies (5 inches total)
- 4 Boesmani rainbowfish (12 inches total)
- 2 green swordtails (4 inches total)
- 3 cory cats (4 1/2 inches total)
- 3 otos (3 inches total)
- Pakistani loach (2 inches)

That's just around 1 inch of fish per gallon, but they are going to grow. If I have too many, which ones should I give back to the fish store?
 
dwayne

dwayne

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Jul 12, 2001
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Ditto happychem... I'd lose either the swords or the rainbows. Keep up with water changes and you should be fine with current stock for a while until you decide who to trade in. Maybe you could trade in the rainbows and get 2 more swords? that would be pretty 4 green swords...

Good luck!

~Tara
 
tomm10

tomm10

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Oct 15, 2003
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Oxford, MA
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Paul, the inch per gallon rule doesn't really work. I don't know how the guy who came up with that sleeps at night.

Anyway, when you're picking fish for your tank you really need to think about them in terms of their adult size. I believe rainbows get to about 4-5 inches for example so you really have 16-20" of rainbows in your tank rather than 12". Otos grow to about 2" so you've really got 6" instead of three.

I think you're actually okay except for the rainbows. I agree with happychem and Tara that you should probably lose either them or the gouramis. Personally, in a 30g tank I think the rainbows would be a bit cramped (at least with 4 of them) so I would be tempted to lose them.

Also, I'm not positive about Pakistani loaches in particular but I'm fairly certain that most loaches appreciate the company of their kind. You might want to think about returning the rainbows and getting a couple more Pakistanis.

Tom
 
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Paul

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Jan 21, 2003
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Natick, MA
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Thanks to all for your input. I'm inclined to get rid of the swords - I like the rainbows and gouramis better. Actually, I already moved one male sword to another tank because he was getting beaten up on by the dominant male. Why did I have two males in the same tank? Because they were born there. Now the only problem is to find someplace that will take green swords - the LFS doesn't carry them.

You're right, happychem, it does look like rush hour in the mid-level, and I would prefer a less crowded tank.
 
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