How Many Fish?

[laura_gr]

Hi.. I've just started putting a few fish in my new tank...but i don't know how many fish i can put in, it's a 70 litre tank. At the shop they said about 15, but this seems quite a lot for a small tank..can anyone tell me whether this is right or not? (I have zebra danios and am hoping to get cardinal tetras)

Thanks in advance!

 

[chibi]

70 liters.. about 18 gallons... I'd say at most 15. The general rule is one inch per gallon, taken with a grain of salt. 15 very small fish, 10 small fish, 5-7 medium fish. That should be good.

 

[laura_gr]

thanks very much!

 

[gamwar]

I have that exact tank in it I have:
- 4 wcmm
- 3 Zebra Danios
- 5 Glowlights
and 3 Zebra loaches
I chosee fish that would occupy all levels of the tank, so as not to overcrowd one area. They are all doing fine.

I think I even have space for a few more fish. But I recently perchased another tank so I will finish sticking the new one first.

 

[OohFeeshy]

It's impossible to say. We don't know the dimensions, filtartion, type of fish in mind... No use saying '5-7 medium' when going by average fish sizes that's probably several feet long.

 

[dwarfgourami]

It's impossible to say. We don't know the dimensions, filtartion, type of fish in mind... No use saying '5-7 medium' when going by average fish sizes that's probably several feet long.

I am guessing that this is built like the Rekord 70, in which case it will be 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 15 inches high. In this tank I used to keep 4 peppered corys (2 males, 2 females= 10 inches), 4 platies (8 inches) and 1 male guppy (1 inch), so a total of 19 inches.

 

[DarkEntity]

This whole fish stocking rule is rubbish imo. If you have a well looked after and over filtered tank you could add more fish than that. There is also the whole how messy are the fish, some arent at all others are very so it all comes down to a few things

1) tank maintenance
2) occupant suitability
3) filtration
4) are they messy sods or not

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

Hi.. I've just started putting a few fish in my new tank...but i don't know how many fish i can put in, it's a 70 litre tank. At the shop they said about 15, but this seems quite a lot for a small tank..can anyone tell me whether this is right or not? (I have zebra danios and am hoping to get cardinal tetras)

Thanks in advance!

for an 18 gallon tank like yours, you dont want any of your fish to exceed about 4''. you could have maybe 2-3 fish of this size and trust me, no more! you don't want medium sized fish cramped in a tank that's just 18 gallons. use your better judgment. you could have a nice combination of compatible fish that are 2-3'' with other small ones like neons, endlers, or pygmy cories. the 1'' of fish per gallon rule applies depending on how big the tank and fish are.

 

[ceilidhgirl]

I agree that there are variables which afect the 'one inch' rule, but (at the risk of starting a fight) i think its a useful rule for beginners to the hobby.

 

[dwarfgourami]

This whole fish stocking rule is rubbish imo. If you have a well looked after and over filtered tank you could add more fish than that. There is also the whole how messy are the fish, some arent at all others are very so it all comes down to a few things

1) tank maintenance
2) occupant suitability
3) filtration
4) are they messy sods or not

Very true. At the same time, overstocking comes with risks. Low stocking means you have a safety margin for when your filtration goes wrong. The day the you have a powercut, it may make all the difference to whether you come home to a tank of living fish or dead fish. I know this to my cost.

 

[Kiwigirl]

IMO the 1 inch fish per gallon theory should apply for beginners, over time they will gain experience and begin to push the boundries within a comfort zone.

As it is I have 7xneons, 1 red eye tetra and 1 female siamese fighter in a 17g Im slightly over the 1 inch per gallon rule but not exessively.