How many fish in a 20g?

[Sye]

How many more fish could I fit in my 20g tank, at the moment I have 5 platys, 3 swordtails and one molly with a couple of guppy/platy fry.

I have 5 real plants(not sure what kind) and a filter on the inside of the tank(Fluval 3 plus)

 

[Alien Anna]

The approximate rule-of-thumb I always go by is 1 inch of fish (not including their tails) per US gallon of water (that's about 4 litres).

 

[Liz05]

Once your tank is stable, (which is probably already is?) you can probably add several more fish, just be careful to not overcrowd. the 1" thing is not carved in stone, but its a pretty good thing to go by if youre not sure how much is too much.

 

[Sye]

What kind of fish could I add that are not livebearers and are easy to breed but don’t get to big?

 

[Xenity7]

Non-livebearers that are easy to breed and don't get to big... wish I knew

 

[baseballfan111]

well um i think i wouldnt worry about breeding the charm wears of after you have over a hundred and you dont have room for the fry

 

[Great Lakes]

The 1" rule should always be followed with smaller tanks. IT is a good rule to live by.

It can be bent some with larger tanks, ie; a 75gal has the same surface area as a 90gal, therefore the same capabilities for gas exchange. So with good filtration, they could practically be stocked at the same level.

This kind of situation just doesn't happen with the smaller tanks.

You could always start looking for another tank..

 

[Sye]

Ok then, sod the breeding bit what about other small fish then, what kinds is there apart from neon tetras?

 

[Alien Anna]

Ok then, sod the breeding bit what about other small fish then, what kinds is there apart from neon tetras?

Black neon tetras, cherry barbs, pencilfish, White Cloud Mountain minnows, oto catfish, gold barbs, mosquito fish.... shall I go on?

 

[AllusiveLife]

Don't forget "plants" take up fish room inside of the tank...

 

[William]

Too add my 2cents zebra danios are very easy to breed along with WCMM but you'll be lucky if any survive in a community tank. Also if you get a pair of bristlenose catfish then they'll also be straightforward to breed requiring just a cave or somewhere they can spawn.

 

[Tanked]

adding up the 1 inch per gallon rule you are at your stocking level. if your filtration is good in conjunction with the plants you may be able to sqeeze a 2 or 3 minnows, danios or something of the like in...but it is already cutting it very close.

 

[minh]

can i ask why then does my lfs not use the same theory of 1 inch per fish? they have loads in their tanks and said i could have 30 live bearers (same size as the ones in the shop)!

my tank is only 15 galons btw...

 

[Alien Anna]

can i ask why then does my lfs not use the same theory of 1 inch per fish? they have loads in their tanks and said i could have 30 live bearers (same size as the ones in the shop)!

my tank is only 15 galons btw...

Well they would say that, wouldn't they!

Seriously, what do you expect a shop to say? It's in their interests to cram as many hapless fish into the display tanks as they can ("Pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap"); it is in their interests for you to buy as many fish as you can, and if they die, they'll just tell you that happens, it's a normal part of fish keeping and sell you some more - they might even give you the odd credit chit. Keeps you coming back, doesn't it?

I'm always horrified by the general public's perception that fish just die for no reason whatsoever and it's just normal - there's nothing you can do about it, they say. Well I've lost fish (quite a lot of fish since I started, actually) but at least I've known why every single one of them died. Usually due to my own mis-management!

Look in any good book on fish keeping (and even in some not-so-good books) and you'll see various stocking level formulae. In not one of them will you see recommendations that you can stuff 30 fish into a 15 gal tank.

Incidently, if these fish are "the same size as the ones in the shop", that's a little odd. Normally, fish grow: you sell them as juveniles and then they get bigger. Either this shop's selling old fish, or their stocking recommendations are seriously stunting fish growth.

You know what they say: Caveat Empor (buyer beware).

 

[revengeishere]

Actually, sometimes, I think the fishes are just there to attract people and they make money from impulse buyers.

This scenario has been prolly repeated millions of times:

You went to the pet store to buy dogfood, or whatever the reason you went there...glanced at the fish section..Oh pretty!
You look around, saw colorful fish. Now youre thinking of owning fish. You talked to a guy who works there, and ask questions. The guy tries to help you. After 10 minutes, you decided to go for it. You bought EVERYTHING the guy told you is important for the fish's well being.

You bought a filter, a 10 gallon kit, including everything, decor, and everything you could think of "that'll help".Then you bought 2 of each pretty fish you liked. then you went home, filled the tank with water added the water conditioner, added the decor, then put the fish straight from the bag. Oh, so pretty! After a week, all the fish seems to be gasping for air, and you don't know why, after a day or so, they all died. You went back to the pet shop, and told them what happened. They said the ammonia might be the cause, and told you to change the water. You bought more fish, and this time, you bought not just two, but one more of each fish, to "keep them company". You went back home, then drained the tank, scrubbed everything clean with soap, filled the tank again, then added the little fish. After a week, the same thing happend as your first batch, then that gets you frustrated, and you decided not to continue anymore. Now your stuck with overpriced aquarium supplies who just collects dust in the corner.

Sounds familiar? to me it is, cos I was the guy who went that day to buy dogfood for his pooches. But i started it again, this time, a 75 gallon, runnig for 5 months now and I'm happy to say the results are amazing. The only difference? I 've educated myself.

Anyway, sorry for the long post.