How big of a tank do i need?

I currently have 2 small tiger oscars , 1 small gold severum and a small pleco.

how many gallons will be ideal for these 4 fish?

 

Hi, easy answer, LOTS & the more the better, your Oscars can get to about 12" & the Severums to around 8" & depending what type of Pleco you have they can grow to around 18" so you're going to need at least a 100 gallon & more if possible & a good filter system as they all have high bio-load.

 

Long term a tank 150cm long, 60cm deep, 60cm high would be minimum. I'd go for 200x80x80cm actually. Volume means almost nothing in fishkeeping.

 

Long term a tank 150cm long, 60cm deep, 60cm high would be minimum. I'd go for 200x80x80cm actually. Volume means almost nothing in fishkeeping.

Except the more volume you have the bigger the tank's going to be, but I understand where you're coming from, foot print is more critical than water column with big fish, usually.

 

I look at the footprint for any fish, not only for big ones. I don't really care for the volume as long as the dimensions are ok. Then the volume only determines numbers of individuals or species.

 

Footprint is important but volume = weight, and weight limits the placement for a lot of situations.
Not everyone can put a quarter ton to half a ton of aquarium where they live.

 

Footprint is important but volume = weight, and weight limits the placement for a lot of situations.
Not everyone can put a quarter ton to half a ton of aquarium where they live.

That is true but it does not affect what fish you can put in the tank (I mean the weight).

 

Not everyone can put a quarter ton to half a ton of aquarium where they live.

True, and who can't do this - like me - should then abstain from monsterfish.

 

True, and who can't do this - like me - should then abstain from monsterfish.

Totally agree. But if people thought things through beforehand there won't be much of a market for the monsterfish babies and standard plecos/armored catfish would hardly get sold.

 

I would say in terms of what size tank to buy, one around 300 gallons would be good when they are full grown. Of course the dimensions are most important as stated a above but generally you aren’t able to buy tanks by dimension.

 

Totally agree. But if people thought things through beforehand there won't be much of a market for the monsterfish babies and standard plecos/armored catfish would hardly get sold.

Good one!

Sincerely, though: Which I would welcome. Not researching the fish before buying them is just one of the cardinal mistakes beginners make. And not selling fish responsibly is a reason to boycott a store for me.

 

Of course the dimensions are most important as stated a above but generally you aren’t able to buy tanks by dimension.

Of course you can buy tanks by dimensions, why wouldn't that be possible?

 

Well you can but as stated above generally that is not how it is done. Buying a tank by dimension that is not a dimension commonly manufactured and produced such as a 20g, 40g, 75g, etc. will be much more expensive. To do so you would have to get one custom built, which for many could be inaccessible or even if accessible just very expensive. For someone not looking to buy a custom sized tank, going with the staple sizes commonly manufactured is much easier and cheaper. I was merely suggesting that a commonly made standard 300 gallon would be an easy and, more importantly, appropriately sized tank.

 

I do that for quite a while, I had standard and custom sized tanks. Custom was mostly only necessary above 200cm length.

When you use the metric system the dimensions (usually one goes by length, as depths and height can influence the volume) I name are the standard sizes:
60cm(15/20gallon), 80cm(29), 100cm(40), 120cm(55/75), 150cm(100), 180cm(125/150), 200cm(190). All available, obviously.

If a dimension is odd (like... say 110cm), you simply take the next bigger size. Except if the space doesn't fit, then it's a size smaller and the fish with bigger space requirements is off the stocking list. Simple as that.

So buying tanks by dimensions is absolutely not a problem.

Well you can but as stated above generally that is not how it is done. Buying a tank by dimension that is not a dimension commonly manufactured and produced such as a 20g, 40g, 75g, etc. will be much more expensive. To do so you would have to get one custom built, which for many could be inaccessible or even if accessible just very expensive. For someone not looking to buy a custom sized tank, going with the staple sizes commonly manufactured is much easier and cheaper. I was merely suggesting that a commonly made standard 300 gallon would be an easy and, more importantly, appropriately sized tank.

 

Well you can but as stated above generally that is not how it is done. Buying a tank by dimension that is not a dimension commonly manufactured and produced such as a 20g, 40g, 75g, etc. will be much more expensive. To do so you would have to get one custom built, which for many could be inaccessible or even if accessible just very expensive. For someone not looking to buy a custom sized tank, going with the staple sizes commonly manufactured is much easier and cheaper. I was merely suggesting that a commonly made standard 300 gallon would be an easy and, more importantly, appropriately sized tank.

I agree, I had my latest tank custom built by size to fit my study it's 6' x 2' x 1.5' & it cost me £850 + delivery so I agree it's not a cheap way of doing things.

 

Stiil, buying tanks by dimensions doesn't mean custom necessarily.

 

Stiil, buying tanks by dimensions doesn't mean custom necessarily.

Agreed, I could have got a 6 x 2 x 2 but it would have stuck out into my room too much so I had to get a narrower one made & I just couldn't find the size I needed 'off the shelf'.

 

Agreed, I could have got a 6 x 2 x 2 but it would have stuck out into my room too much so I had to get a narrower one made & I just couldn't find the size I needed 'off the shelf'.

Fits in the "exceptions" category.