Lucy_kk

I need a bigger tank! I have just found out my tank is smaller than i thought it was and although my fish seem fine and dont not appear to be cramped pf anything, i have checked it out and i definately have too many fish in it.
So my plan of action is to buy a bigger tank to put my fish in and maybe use old one for a betta at some point in the future.

But i dont know how to work out how big my new tank needs to be, i currently have:

-->2 dwarf neon blue rainbow fish
-->3 zebra danios
-->1 leopard danio
-->1 male dwarf gourami (Monica died :,,( )
-->3 neon tetras
-->3 phantom tetras
-->2 white cloud minnows

And i dont really want the tank to be "packed" either, i would quite like some room for a little growth..

Any help will be much appreciated, thank you all so much!

Buzz

Hi Lucy,

At the very top of the general discussion section, there is a post by Rose (2nd or third from the top I think) called "How many fish Can I have chart" ...You should check it out, it should help answer your questions more specifically

Buzz

Isabella

The general rule is to have 1" of fish per 1 (US) gallon of water. But I personally prefer 1" of fish per 2 gallons of water. And it also depends on how massive the fish is, and not just its length in inches. Suppose you have an angelfish that is 4-5" long and some other fish that is the same length as the angelfish but it's body is thin and slim. Such angelfish is much more massive than the other fish and therefore the angelfish will need more space than the other fish. Also, the more massive the fish, the more wastes it produces. And more wastes mean, of course, worse water quality. So when you stock your tank you have to take into account all of the above considerations.

Fish that you already have, such as zebra danios, neons, white clouds, etc ... are all small fish of very little mass. So they don't produce that much waste. In fact, one adult angelfish probably produces more waste that 5-10 neons or zebra danios. You also have to take into account the overall size of the tank and whether the fish have enough room to swim in there freely, as opposed to being confined in there.

I don't know how large your rainbows are, but if they're larger than zebra danios and neons, you'll need a larger tank indeed. I think phantom tetras are also significantly larger than neons and zebra danios. I think that at least 20 (US) gallon tank would be nice for you, for the current list of fish that you have. If you want to get more fish in the future, consider getting perhaps even larger tank.

20 US gallons = around 16.5 UK gallons
30 US gallons = almost 25 UK gallons

0morrokh

Danios, Tetras, and Minnows all need to be kept in groups of 6 of their own species. This helps them feel safe and secure, so as well as the fish being more happy, you will probably see them out and about a lot more.