Tank Decoration

[M4R13Y]

Well (and please don't take this personally, we all make mistakes in the beginning!) a useful guideline to prevent overstocking is one cm of small bodied, tropical fish to every two litres.

Your tank is 30 litres, so that gives you an estimate of 15 cms of fish.

You have;
five glowlight tetras at 2.5 cms each = 12 cms
two black widows at /5 cms each = 10 cms
four guppies at (let's average it out) 3 cms = 12 cms
two scissortails at 13 cms = 26 cms
two penguin tetras at 3 cms = 6 cms

grand total = 66 cms

There's also the fact that most of those fish are shoalers which should be in groups of at least six. And watch those black widows; they are a very, very nippy fish when in small numbers. I wouldn't have them in the same tank as guppies, tbh.

The black widows are ok and the scissortails are the same size as the penguin tetras

What should I do btw I don't want to give any of my fish away

That means pets shops overstock tanks all the time

 

[fluttermoth]

The black widows are ok

Just keep an eye out! You never know when or if they might start, fish are unpredictable like that

and the scissortails are the same size as the penguin tetras

Yes, but they'll grow! You always work on the eventual, adult size of the fish when you're doing these kinds of calculations, as you need to give the fish room to grow.

What should I do btw I don't want to give any of my fish away

Getting a bigger tank is really your only option if you want to keep them all. It really wouldn't be fair to keep them in that tank, and you will have aggression and water quality issues as they grow and reach sexual maturity.

Just for comparison, my son has a 23l tank, and he has five male Endlers, two ghost shrimp and an assassin snail in that.

 

[M4R13Y]

The black widows are ok

Just keep an eye out! You never know when or if they might start, fish are unpredictable like that

and the scissortails are the same size as the penguin tetras

Yes, but they'll grow! You always work on the eventual, adult size of the fish when you're doing these kinds of calculations, as you need to give the fish room to grow.

What should I do btw I don't want to give any of my fish away

Getting a bigger tank is really your only option if you want to keep them all. It really wouldn't be fair to keep them in that tank, and you will have aggression and water quality issues as they grow and reach sexual maturity.

Just for comparison, my son has a 23l tank, and he has five male Endlers, two ghost shrimp and an assassin snail in that.

How big should the new tank be

 

[fluttermoth]

I would say a three foot/100 or 120l tank would be ok for those fish and allow you to up the shoalers to their proper numbers

That's a pretty standard size for tanks, and you'll probably be able to pick up a second hand one quite cheap if money's an issue (as it is for most of us!).

 

[M4R13Y]

Thanks for the advice fluttermoth

 

[fluttermoth]

Again, you're welcome

At least you have all the facts and can make a decision for yourself as to what you're going to do now

 

[Bugdozer]

It is really only catfish and loaches that use caves, yes. No tetras or guppies will use them, though they might swim in and out of them on occasions. They do like to have plants to hide in though; it makes them feel safe, and oddly that makes them less shy and inclined to hide and they'll be out and about more often

I beg to disagree; my Black Phantoms will often loiter in my cavelike ornament for a good while (usually only one at a time though). This could be because of their territorial nature though.

 

[M4R13Y]

Again, you're welcome

At least you have all the facts and can make a decision for yourself as to what you're going to do now

Would a 96 litre aquarium fit the bill

 

[fluttermoth]

It is really only catfish and loaches that use caves, yes. No tetras or guppies will use them, though they might swim in and out of them on occasions. They do like to have plants to hide in though; it makes them feel safe, and oddly that makes them less shy and inclined to hide and they'll be out and about more often

I beg to disagree; my Black Phantoms will often loiter in my cavelike ornament for a good while (usually only one at a time though). This could be because of their territorial nature though.

Really?! I've never seen any of my black phantoms doing it! Your fish are weird

Again, you're welcome

At least you have all the facts and can make a decision for yourself as to what you're going to do now

Would a 96 litre aquarium fit the bill

Just about, if you do enough water changes

 

[M4R13Y]

I just found out from this guy who is like a aquarium keeping encyclopaedia ( knows pretty much everything about em) that my fishtank will be fine if I maintain good water quality An that there is no need to upgrade

Not sure what to do now ???

 

[fluttermoth]

No, you do need to upgrade and I'm sure everyone on this forum would agree with me.

Of course, it's your tank and your call; no-one's going to come round and force you to have bigger tanks!