Tank Stock And Guidelines (tropical Freshwater)

[dgwebster]

having read around a number of places, a guideline often given is to divide your surface area by 10 = number of fish inches as a guideline (obviously waste and body mass need to be considered etc. too) Elsewhere RDD1952 quoted 1" per gallon - he seems like a knowledgable person on the subject, although this removes between a third to 50% in comparison to a number of other supports. Arrrrggg, the question of who to believe... no offense rdd, but mostly due to overwhelming numbers quoting more or less the other rule, im inclined to believe it is quite safe (ish) with good care for the fish taken and consideration for areas of tank being populated.

My original idea had a fairly populated tank, most likely over populated. by a good 6" going by the above. The filter is a fluval 2 which I have been informed would be a little on the under powered side/limit which is a very good point.

What do others recommend to count their fish population when considering?

I have 29" of tank with the above model. I have come to the following collection of fish, based on ability to live in a community tank, peacefully together:

6x Danios (zebra) - 10.5" total upper level shoaling peaceful.
3x Dwarf Gouramis (1 male 2 female) - 6" total middle to upper levels peaceful.
4x dwarf sucker catfish - 8" total lower level peaceful.
6x neon tetras - 6" total all regions shoaling peaceful.

total 30.5" - a bit above the tank limit, but not by much.

So I then come to the next set of questions:

This is covering upper and lower levels with a number of fish happy to go anywhere, a good mix i think, not over populating any one area. However, I feel I may still be over populating. So a reduction to 3 dwarf sucker fish, reduces me to:

28.5"

Also, Im concerned about the issue of mating. Ive read the Dannios are easy to breed, but this can be held off by the water temp??

But, 1) would an all female Gouramis, or 2 females only (to reduce the fish inches by another little bit to 26.5") and an all female danios tank be suitable, or is a male a good thing too?

so the choices are:


option 1
original option 30.5"

6x Danios (zebra)
3x Dwarf Gouramis (1 male 2 female)
4x dwarf sucker catfish
6x neon tetras


option 2
remove the males to reduce fry 30.5"

6x Danios (zebra) (females)
3x Dwarf Gouramis (3 female)
4x dwarf sucker catfish
6x neon tetras


option 3
reduce by 1 fish 28.5"

6x Danios (zebra)
3x Dwarf Gouramis (1 male 2 female)
3x dwarf sucker catfish
6x neon tetras

option 4
reduce by 1 fish all females 28.5"

6x Danios (zebra) (females)
3x Dwarf Gouramis (3 female)
3x dwarf sucker catfish
6x neon tetras

option 5
reduce by 2 fish, all females 26.5"

6x Danios (zebra) (females)
2x Dwarf Gouramis (2 female)
3x dwarf sucker catfish
6x neon tetras

Conclusion

I have a number of options here, all very similar. I dont have the facilities to deal with fry ATM but the gouramis have more coloured males... and i wouldnt want to leave 1 male:1 female. Im inclined myself to go with option 3 or option 4 out of all of them. and option 5 wouldnt seem to do any harm and lighten the load on the tank...

What would the people here say? would you change any of the particular fish to make a slightly better community, which of the above would you pick? which "fish calculator" would you use?

I think I have waffled enough for now.

 

[dgwebster]

Many thanks for the votes so far (I had decided this would make it quick to review peoples opinions etc). With the fish, it does seem vey mixed although so far with the calculation method it would appear that they are generally acceptable, its just personal preference. More votes though, a clearer water....

 

[dgwebster]

hmm, again thanks for the voting. i think it may be going for the lower number of fish., another one or two can always be added if deemed fit - easier to do than taking away. many thanks people.