I Have A Question

[brenalas]

i just joined this site a few minutes ago and i always wanted to have a fish tank with some freshwater fish eventually get a second tank for saltwater fish once i learned the ropes. i want to know is a 6 gallon tank good enough? thanks. that is all i wanna know i hope to get to know people on this site and learn from the best. have a good night or morning whereever you may be

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Small tanks can turn into a toxic soup with the blink of an eye, for this reason I hate them, especially for inexperienced fishkeepers. They need very low stocking numbers (read a single Betta splendens, Siamese Fighter Fish, for example) and careful regular monitoring of the water with a liquid test kit, I started with a 240l for this very reason, to give me (and more importantly the fish) a slightly bigger safety buffer.

 

[LucyB]

Agreed ^^

Try to get a fairly large tank, It may seem strange but they are actually far easier to maintain. There's more room for error. I started off with a 70 litre tank which was big at the time but trust me, people with small tanks always upgrade to bigger tanks. You'll get hooked on the hobby and eventually catch MTS. (multiple tank syndrome) The bigger the better!

 

[Zante]

Agreed. 25 gallons I'd say is the smallest size a beginner should start with, and that with light stocking.

You will be able to find excellent tanks for real cheap on the used market.

 

[brenalas]

thanks ill look into it

 

[brenalas]

would a ten gallon be bearable? or should i go to 25 for sure

 

[creeker]

would a ten gallon be bearable? or should i go to 25 for sure

A decent small starter tank would be a 30 inch 20 gallon tank, also known as a 20 long.

 

[Zante]

would a ten gallon be bearable? or should i go to 25 for sure

Doesn't give you much margin to make mistakes, and trust me, you will, everybody does when starting out.
The more water you have, the more your mistakes will be diluted.

Under 100 litres it is more difficult to keep the tank understocked, and over 200 litres it becomes a bit much as maintenance for a novice, while the fever hasn't yet gripped you.
Something between those guidelines should be perfect.

Note: they are guidelines, not absolutes, a tank that is 90 litres will be fine as will a 240 litre one.

Also always always always research the fish you're interested in, and don't trust the people in the fish shop. I was sold a pair of rams for my first tank when I has completely wrong water parameters (ph 8.3 and very hard water ) by a shopkeeper who told me they would be fine.
Needless to say they died shortly later.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm another one who agrees!

You'd be far better off with a larger tank; the water will stay more stable and you have many more choices for stocking. I personally, always recommend beginners to start of with a standard three foot (so, that's a 36x12x15" tank, which is about 20g/100l).

My son has a six gallon (a Fluval Edge), but I would never recommend a tank like that for beginners.

First of all, his has five male Endlers and two ghost shrimp in it and that's fully stocked. We don't mind, as we have loads of other tanks to keep things in, but if that was your only tank, it might get a bit frustrating!

Second, the water parameters can shift very quickly. If you're experienced with testing, watching your fish's behaviours and doing large or multiple water changes, it's ok, but to learn on a tank that small could be quite be quite difficult. Everything's so balanced on a knife edge that you don't have a lot of room for error, which you would with a larger volume of water.

 

[Zante]

Remember this fundamental truth: this is an expensive hobby. Any way of doing things cheap is wrong, unless you have the experience to do it right.

This is not always strictly true, but the exceptions are few enough to make it a good rule.

 

[Quietflight]

I have recently started keeping fish and have completed a cycling process on a 10 gallon tank. I have 2 baloon mollies, 2 guppies, 2 corys and 5 cherry shrimp. The problem you have with a smaller tank like mine is that it seems big to start with and you quickly realise that you want more fish than you can actually have in your tank, Sure you can add more and overstock but its not fair on the fish and also causes alot more work for yourself! If you have the space go for a fairly big tank, i read its easier to keep a big tank than a small tank, and you can have a much more wider range of fish. Ive caight the bug and already want a much bigger tank, unfortuantely i just dont have the space in my flat... Ohwell , looks like i need to find a bigger place to live ! hehe

David