Fish Quantity
- Thread starter ckeck
- Start date
Well, There is an "Inch per gallon" rule that says 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, but it is inaccurate for fish over 2 inches.so if you're keeping 2 inch fish, you can keep 5, or 10 1 inch fish. for fish bigger than that, you'll need to decrease the number of fish. you probably shouldn't keep anything over 3 or 3.5 inches in a 10 gallon.
the 1 inch per gallon rule is a good basic rule but has some flaws. What this rule is trying to accomplish is give a figure for a tank that is comfortable for the fish, both in physical space and, more importantly, dissolved oxygen. See a tall tank can have less fish in it because it has less surface area, if there is less surface area, then there is less oxygen for the fish. So the standard is your surface area, lenght x width= area squared. Each fish in a tropical freshwater aquarium require about 12inches squared to live happily. I hope this helps rather than confusing you, I'm not terribly great at explaining it.
Don't forget that some fish are more territorial than others: two dwarf gouramis should fit in a 10 physically, but two males won't get a long in such a small space.
Also consider where they like to hang out and eat. If you pack it with surface/mid-level feeders, the fish will be much less happy, and much more aggressive at feeding time, than if you split between column and bottom feeders.
Cories (for example) will swim laps now and then and take occasional trips to the top, but by and large, they tend to hang out on the bottom, rummaging around.
Also, inverts. like shrimp and snails are useful additions to a tank. They don't increase the biomass to the same extend as fish either. Just a thought.
Cories (for example) will swim laps now and then and take occasional trips to the top, but by and large, they tend to hang out on the bottom, rummaging around.
Also, inverts. like shrimp and snails are useful additions to a tank. They don't increase the biomass to the same extend as fish either. Just a thought.
Usually there's a description, but it's also adviseable to research any fish you plan on introducing. Like by asking the most knowledgeable folks here.
But you can also tell by the mouth. Bottom feeders will have downturned mouths, whereas column/surface feeders will have mouths that open straight or point upward, the lower jaw looking almost trapdoor-like, IMO.
But you can also tell by the mouth. Bottom feeders will have downturned mouths, whereas column/surface feeders will have mouths that open straight or point upward, the lower jaw looking almost trapdoor-like, IMO.
Can you name a few bottom feeders versus top feeders and I can go online and check out their pictures and see what you are talking about?
Sure, Corydoras sp. are probably the best choice for a 10g. But any of the catfish family are all typical bottom feeders, Otocinclus and Plecostomus are a couple other common ones, although you probably don't want a pleco in your 10g.
Bettas are surface feeders. Look at the mouth, it almost looks like they're frowning at you.
Tetras are water column feeders, any of those pyrhanna type fish are.
Most fish you come across for a 10g will be column/surface feeders. I group the column and surface feeders together since they seem to be able to do either fairly easily. Although I have seen my cories occasionally eat food from the top, they very rarely do so.
Bettas are surface feeders. Look at the mouth, it almost looks like they're frowning at you.
Tetras are water column feeders, any of those pyrhanna type fish are.
Most fish you come across for a 10g will be column/surface feeders. I group the column and surface feeders together since they seem to be able to do either fairly easily. Although I have seen my cories occasionally eat food from the top, they very rarely do so.