How Many Neon Tetras?

[lawrie]

hey,

how many neon tetras would be good for my tank? mesurements are 4ft long, 2ft high, 2ft wide. its well planted, well cycled (had the tank for months now). i have 60 so far but the tank looks empty.

any ideas guys?

 

[lawrie]

out of all you guys, none of you have a rough idea?

 

[fry_lover]

what other fish you keeping in it?

 

[lawrie]

there are only neons, and thats all i want to keep in it.

 

[lawrie]

anyone else?

 

[gowing238]

you could easily double the amount you have now in my opinion

 

[lawrie]

the guy at the lfs said i cud get 200 in there easily. im not so sure. but thanks for all the advice.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would tend to agree you could most likely go for 200 in a tank that size if you have no other fish and good filtration. Can you post some pics? I'm i big fan of having large shoals of tetras and I bet it looks quite stunning

Edit: I wouldnt go out an buy 140 all in one go though. Add them maybe 20 at a time over the course of a few months.

 

[lawrie]

i will post some pics tonight, there is too many reflections on the tank just now. i might put 200 in the tank over the next few months!

 

[n3ont3tra]

I think 200 might be a little too many, I'd say about 150, if it still looks empty, maybe add a few more at a time.

 

[mcdanielnc89]

I'd say around 120 - 140...

 

[Rhykiru]

any pics yet? ;D

also, your tank seems to be about 120 gallons not including decorations. If you want 200 tetras in there, i think you can pull it off if you have it heavily filtered and also have a lot of plants to help you with the nitrates xD

 

[pyroo]

200 neons all at once? wouldn't that upset the balance and promote annoying algae growth? btw, cardinals are better schoolers than neons, neons have looser schools

 

[MHunt]

The practical fishkeeping calculator suggests 1 inch per gallon when starting and 2 inch per gallon after 6 months. That would give your 120 gal tank a ultimate capacity of 240 neon tetras. I always approximate them to be 1" I know they can get as big as 2" but for such a small fish it's close enough.

 

[n3ont3tra]

That's meant to be a rough guideline.
Many other factors come in to play, like if the tank's planted, the maintenance schedule, and the filtration.