Clown Fish and Tank Sizes

Cyberpaddy66

Cyberpaddy66

Fast Learning Novice
Apr 16, 2007
173
0
0
Plumstead, London, UK
Hi, I'm sorry if this sounds like a stupid thing to do but I really need some advice.

I'm looking at maybe setting up a small tank with some live rocks and a couple of clown fish, everything I read points to these fish needing a HUGE tank (see below)

Common Clown
(Amphiprion ocellaris)
Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons

I'm trying to work out what size in inches a 20 gallon tank would be and I'm getting some really radically different sizes using on-line calculators.

If I was to make my own tank so it is 33" long and 12" wide, how high would it have to be to make it a 20 gallon tank?

My initial idea was to use my 18"x10"x10" but this would appear to be way too small acording to the on-line guides for even the live rock and some shrimps. I can't believe this is correct as the tank looks large enough to house 2 x 3" fishes and a bit of rock.

Can someone point me in the direction of a reliable guide for tank sizes and volume capacities?

Again sorry if this is not the correct thing to do but I'm so very confused right now and really need your guieance.:huh:
 
By my calculations a tank 33" long and 12" wide would need to be 12" deep to be a 20g.

To calculate volume in gallons
(length x width x depth) divide by 231 = gallons
(18" x 10" x 10") / 231 = 8 gallons (too small for a pair of clowns)

My FOWLR tank is roughly a 20g and it is 24" long x 12" wide x 15" deep, which is a size I think looks good. I've got one Ocellaris Clown in there along with 3 other small fish, which is the tanks max stocking.
 
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atnixon said:
Here is a standard aquarium volume calulator..Best thing you can do is keep playing with measurements untill you find something that fits the bill...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/calcs_new.php

Niko
Click to expand...

Thanks atnixon, I tried the calculator on This Page and it wouldn't let me until I selected Fresh or Salt water, I tried it with both options (one at a time) selected but it kept telling me to select one of them :confused:

Little Puff, yes I did go but none of them are anything like mine and I'm confused on how to work it out (guess my school days really were a waste of time LOL).

TropicalNorth thanks for that equation, I knew there was something wrong when one of the on-line sites told me my 18"x10"x10" was only 5 gallons :confused:

I really only want the 2 clown with a small cleanup crew for a couple of small live rocks, that's only a total of 6" of fish surely that's not too much?
 
That one looks much easier to use, thanks Germanman.

So my 18"x10"x10" tank is 7.79 US Gallons or 8" of adult fish (rough guide)
My 33"x12"x18" tank will be 30.86 US Gallons or 31" of adult fish (rough guide)
My 43"x12"x18" tank will be 40.21 US Gallons or 40" of adult fish (rough guide)

Should make for an interesting arangment :D
 
You inch per gallon rules does not really apply to marine fish...Freshwater maybe....

In a 7 gal tank, i would suggest 1 small fish
in a 30 gal tank, i would suggest 15" maxiumum of adult fish
In a 40 gal tank, i would suggest 20" maximum adult fish

These are more the general rule of thumb...

Fish wise, if it was me, i would stick to one in the 7 gal, 4 medium sized in the 30gal and 6 medium sized in 40 gal...

this is just my opinion of course.

Niko
 
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