How Many Tetra's In A 260Ltr Tank?

[daveg6529]

I have recently set up a new freshwater tank, its been running for nearly 2 months now and I want to put only small fish in it. I would like to fill it with tetra's. It is a 260ltr tank, currently running at 27o.
My Question
How many Tetra's would be a reasonable number?
 
Dave

 

[Mervin]

This is just an estimate but in a 50 litre I would think about 16-20 max tetras, so in 260 litres close to 100 tetras!! It would depend on the species though, some are much smaller than others. For example cardinal tetras are larger than glowlights and would produce more waste and consume more oxygen. I'd be interested to know what other more experience members think.

 

[Tuxyu3]

An impossible question, what kind of tetra would you be looking to keep?
 
PS. Welcome to the forum

 

[daveg6529]

I am looking at medium sized neon's with glowlights, black neons, cardinal neons and lemon. I just don't want to put too many in the tank. In addition I currently have no bottom feeders so given that I intend to keep small fish in the tank, can some one out there suggest a breed and sensible number for my needs. 

 

[Tuxyu3]

Can i really get on your nerves? Yes? Good
 
I personally feel it's impossible to answer, if you want to keep all of those Tetra's then there are a few different variations on number that would work just fine. Are those definitely the Tetra's you want to keep or are you still looking at your options? If you are willing to vary then i personally would drop either the Neons or Cardinals but if you do don't let anyone tell you one or the other is better, it's a bit more of a personal preference in my opinion and although many people often talk about avoiding Neons due to the fact they are now unhealthy fish this really depends on where you LFS gets them from.
 
What substrate do you have? There are many different kinds of Plec suited for this tank, Corydoras, Loaches and more. What do you look for in a bottom-dweller? Good personality? Lots of activity? Do you want one or two bottom-dwellers or a group of them?

 

[daveg6529]

My LFS is M.A Wembley,
If I think about it then I would drop the cardinals but I have also read about recent problems with Neons. I am still deciding. I suppose my main question was answered at the begining as I am still not sure exactly what to put in the tank. I would like small fish only about Medium Tetra size. Would 80 - 100 be too many?
 
For bottom dwellers I would prefer a group the more active the better but I don't want them to get too big. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[leighton_87]

Most medium to small tetras grow between 1.5-2 inches. So at 100 tetras you'd have say 150 inches of fish is a 60ish US gallon tank.

A rule you hear a lot is the one inch per gallon rule and while I am wary of using it as a hard an fast rule (there are so many other things to consider) - having 2 and a half times the recommended is clearly a lot.

Personally I'd go for somewhere between 30 and 50. My initial stocking would be 30 tetras (ten each of three species - bigger shoals of fewer species are most effective) and 10 cories (pick whichever variety you like the most - they grow between 1-3 inches depending on species, love to be in groups and are super active - you'll be best keeping ten of one species rather than mixing they'll prefer it and be much more active). I'd build this up 5 fish at a time over 3-4 months and then give the fish another 3 months to grow. At that stage if the tank still looks empty rather build your shoals or add a new species. All of this after doing a fishless cycle.

Everyone will have a different opinion regarding stocking and this is just my 2 pence worth - take everyone's ideas on board, do your own ready then make your own decision based on what you think is best. And good luck!

 

[Mervin]

The inch "rule" doesn't apply to small 1-2inch fish, and ember tetras only grow about 1- 2cm! Tetras are tiny fish that use little oxygen and produce far less waste than a larger fish. I've seen a hundred or more tetras (neons) in a tank half that size and they all seemed fine to me (there were no plants or decorations though). But definitely don't add them all at once, like leighton said add about 20-30 at first and slowly build up the numbers.
 
I think the main factors are the type of tetra(s), how many plants (more plants means less space), how many decorations you plan on having and what shape the tank is (I believe longer tanks rather than tall ones are better for tetras because tetras tend to hang about in the middle of the tank, not at the top or bottom). Currently i'm trying to set up a 160 litre tank and feel I could comfortably house 50 small fish (i'm thinking neons, possibly a shoal of 10 or more glowlights, a dwarf gourami and some khuli loaches and probably some cherry shrimp because they take up hardly any space at all), (the fish I have planned also take up different space in the water column). For me, in a 260 litre tank I would imagine 80+. If I were to heavily plant or decorate my tank these figures would probably be lower.
 
My tank came with a fancy goldfish who's since been rehomed and he was massive, about 5 inches either way and he never stopped going to the toilet. His waste was bigger than most tetras, I wouldn't try and get more than 3 - 5 of those in my tank! (I think that's where the inch rule comes into effect) Tetra waste on the other hand is so small and hardly noticeable.
 
You'll know how much your tank can take as you stock it up gradually, I suspect when you put the first bunch of tetras in you will see just how small a space they take up.