How many fish for a 20 gal tank?

[James0816]

I have always been pretty well satisfied with my two fish in my 20 gal tank. I'm ready to revamp it and make it better. I have added plants (plastic ones since I can't keep live ones on the bottom) and some more smaller fish (molly, neon and just added two dwarf puffers). My question is how many fish can I populate the tank with without hurting the tank? I've heard something like one inch of fish per gal of water.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thx

 

[SmallFishi]

Hi there,
Dwarf Puffers are not really community fish you might want to read up some more about them before you add more into the tank, you may want to put them in a 10 gallon or something and then continue your endeavor with the 20 gallon..
I've been reading up a lot about dwarf puffers lately so i'm honestly not trying to rain on your parade..
:dog:

 

[icecubez189]

Hi and welcome to AC!

first of all, i would take that 1 inch per gallon rule and throw it out the window! it's one of those false statements in the aquarium world that people intially follow as a result of bad information.

second of all, what is "2 fish"? what species of fish are they? it makes a big difference.

third of all, your Dwarf Puffer's won't work with the molly's and neons. DP's are not community fish and it's best that they stick with a species only community (DP's with DP's). either find a way to return those neons/mollys or return the DP's, depending on which you want to keep.

fourth of all, has the tank been cycled? if it hasn't been properly cycled, you'll most likely end up with dead fish and heartaches!

after the choice is made, we can continue with stocking the tank.

 

[jm1212]

Easy to care for, fast stockings for "smaller" tanks (5-29 gallons)

 

[Marinemom]

Take your time and do this right. i would definetly take back the puffer if you want a community tank since puffers do not make good community fish. Or you can set up a tank just for puffers. It all depends on what you want and the look you are going for so you can sit in front of your aquarium and just relax. That is the intention of having an aquarium in the first place, right?

Marinemom