How many fish can live in a 22 gallon tank?

[Elisabeth83]

Hi,

How many fish can live comfortably in a 22 US gallon tank? I've been looking on here and and I did my calculations with my measurements and supposobly I can have 30 inches of fish in my tank. This is what I have right now:

1 dwarf gourami
1 kissing gourami
6 guppies (2 male, 4 female)
2 swordfish (male, female)
2 sailfin mollies (both boys)
1 pleco (really small)
2 white mollies
1 baby swordfish fry (sooo cute)


That's 16 fish....I was reading what other people have in there 20 gallon tanks (mine is 22 because the front glass is curved)...and 1 person I saw had really similar things to what I have...cept they had 21 fish in their 20 gallon. If I do have too many fish right now....does that mean I just have to keep up the water changes more frequently?

I was thinking of getting another 15-20 gallon tank for my guppies in like a month or 2 so they can have their own tank. But for now can my 22 gallon tank handle the fish for now until then? My tank has been going for almost 7 weeks now.

Love to hear everyones opinions!!

 

[Elisabeth83]

Sorry everyone got my calculations wrong...according to www.cidadevirtual.pt

with measurments of:

Length Hight Width
Centimeters 80.00 40.00 31.00
Inches 31.52 15.76 12.21

I have a 99.2 litre tank (says 100 litres on box aquarium came in) which means it is a 26.19 US gallon tank.

So it's a 26 GALLON TANK not 22.

Thanks!!

 

[gixer]

depends what that plec is really...

but i would say your pretty much upto your limmit..infact over it.

 

[SimonA]

The pleco will get bigger and what about when the guppy's breed

 

[shrks1fan]

Yep I'd definetly say you're over since it's a newly setup aquarium. Until the tank has been setup for several months you want to keep the bioload low. I would definetly get the other tank for the guppies, especially since they'll be popping out babies every 28 days (each female). The pleco could mean a variety of different types, hopefully it's a bristlenose aka bushynose, if it's not you will want to get that back to the fish shop soon, as it's probably a type that will grow to 1 foot long VERY quickly and they are horrendous poop machines and will degrade the quality of the water very quickly. If it's not a Bristlenose I would see if you can exchange it for one or a few Otocynclis algae eaters, they do a great job on the algae and are quite cute, although they're not very hardy so may not be a good idea until your tank has been well established and not overloaded.

Linda
http/www.pet-emporium.com/files
http/www.cooking-fanatics.com/files

 

[astroboy]

I's say you're overstocked.

You have to consider the adult size of the fish, compatability, territorial needs, swimming area, messyness.. etc.etc.

 

[SimonA]

How big do bristlenoses grow?

 

[SirMinion]

How big do bristlenoses grow?

Depends on the species.
I have some that only get to two and a half inches, but others can get nearly a foot long.

 

[Elisabeth83]

I just looked on the reciept....and it says its an Ancistrus?

How big do they get??

They said this was a really good fish to get for a community tank....

Thanks!!

 

[Elisabeth83]

It's black with like white dots....and on the tips of the tail theres a little white.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Oh also....it changes colors a little..sometimes its lighter...then sometimes really black.

 

[Elisabeth83]

I think I have an acistrus dolichopterus....been looking at pictures.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Here is what I have......does it grow big or what?

http/www.ingebrand.de/aquaristik/fische/...8%20640x480.jpg

 

[Elisabeth83]

Also I know my post says 22 gallons....but its actually a 26 gallon tank....

 

[gixer]

Here is what I have......does it grow big or what?

http/www.ingebrand.de/aquaristik/fische/...8%20640x480.jpg

that looks like a juvenile bristlenose to me...i could be wrong though

if it is your lucky..he/she (too soon to tell) will only get upto about 6 inches...although your still overstocked..and even a bristlenose will put a huge strain on you bio filter in such a small tank. Would be fine without all the other fish...especially as they are livebearers.

you could have problems with the gouramis in the future too