ZacheryyRayy
Member
I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
You should only keep fish for the size tank that you have but I have always heard that fish will only grow to the size tank that they are in.bizaliz3 said:Welcome to fishlore!!!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news....but none of those fish are appropriate for a tank that size. The kissing gouarmis get up to a foot in size!
The clown loaches can get as big as a foot too. And belong in groups as they are shoaling fish.
And if the pleco is a common....it can get 18+ inches.
My best advice would be to try and rehome them all and start fresh. Which I know is not the news you want to hear. :-(
Sure...that is called stunting. And it is not healthy for the fish at all!manning7987 said:You should only keep fish for the size tank that you have but I have always heard that fish will only grow to the size tank that they are in.
Like I said only keep what you should.bizaliz3 said:Sure...that is called stunting. And it is not healthy for the fish at all!
That’s a perfect mix to kill all your fish very quickjohnbirg said:I work on the principal that if you fill the tank with as many fish as your platinum credit card will buy and there is some room for water which you don't need to change you probably have about the right mix.
None of the things you cited in your post are going to happen anytime soon or for years, Common plecos can get 18 inches plus but not for years - most of the fish available for sale to the average hobbyist will one day get too big for the tanks they will be put in- but we all can't just keep Bettas - experience has to come from somewhere.bizaliz3 said:Welcome to fishlore!!!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news....but none of those fish are appropriate for a tank that size. The kissing gouarmis get up to a foot in size!
The clown loaches can get as big as a foot too. And belong in groups as they are shoaling fish.
And if the pleco is a common....it can get 18+ inches.
My best advice would be to try and rehome them all and start fresh. Which I know is not the news you want to hear. :-(
I am not the only person on this thread that gave that same exact advice.Guppygirl88 said:None of the things you cited in your post are going to happen anytime soon or for years, Common plecos can get 18 inches plus but not for years - most of the fish available for sale to the average hobbyist will one day get too big for the tanks they will be put in- but we all can't just keep Bettas - experience has to come from somewhere.
IF THE FISH ARE SMALL IN SIZE..you don't have to rehome any of them right away.. keep the current stock for about a month or two.. like a grow out tank.. but keep changing at least 50 % of the water every three days.. don't worry about how big theyll get right now.. after a month or two pick one fish amongst all if them and give the rest away.. or move them all to a bigger tank.. like a 75 gallon.. which again will have to be replaced by a 125 in about 16 months..ZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
IZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
One of the beautiful things available both here and other sites is an aquarium stocking calculator. Its easy to use. You simply enter the size of your tank and filterand then the kinds if fish. It will tell you if what you are doing is okay or not okay. Then if you’ve overstocked, simply donate the ones you cannot keep back to the fish store and buy the right kind of fish. That’s fair to the fish and humane. Make sure if you buy schooling fish you buy at least 5 or more. A happy community tank is much nicer.ZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
So very untrue. This is only considered true because fish die before growing too large for a tank or stop growing out of depression essentially. They will not live to their full potential and will die early. To say fish only grow to the tank size they are in is essentially saying, "fish die when they grow too big for your tank but that's ok cuz they stopped growing"manning7987 said:You should only keep fish for the size tank that you have but I have always heard that fish will only grow to the size tank that they are in.
Depends on what you prefer. The fish that you were given are, as has been stated, not good for that size tank. Re-home them, ask local fish store if they'd take them for credit, or post locally. Is the 38 gallon a rectangular tank? You need to keep in mind the actual surface area of the top for proper oxygenation. What kind of filtration do you have? That's probably, if rectangular, a great tank for a small school of tetra's and a trio of small cories. Best of luck, holler if you need more help. email removedZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
Zachary,ZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
I highly highly disagree with this. So much of the poor info out there, and so many of the misled newbies, were misled BY THE FISH STORE! Chains are the worst, but even the mom and pop shops don't always offer the best advice. Fish stores are in the business of selling fish and making money. So they are not the folks that people should count on for the most accurate advice. I am not saying people will never get good advice from a fish store. But more often than not....its poor advice. I have been on this forum for years and there are constantly people coming in with poor stocking that was encouraged by the fish store. Its really unfortunate.Rich johns said:Also a local fish store would be more helpful with helping you pick out the right fish for your aquarium.
The calculator is also not the best gauge. Its an ok place to start...but the calculator doesn't factor in compatibility of the fish, temperature requirements or the footprint of the tank (Which is more important than gallons in my opinion)marshall1019 said:I
One of the beautiful things available both here and other sites is an aquarium stocking calculator. Its easy to use. You simply enter the size of your tank and filterand then the kinds if fish. It will tell you if what you are doing is okay or not okay.
I think you might be right. And that is really unfortunate. People shouldn't be scared off by good advice from other hobbyists, like themselves, who only want them to succeed and for the fish to thrive.nikm128 said:I think we've scared off OP
I agree, you really don’t want anything bigger than 5 or 6 inches going in there if you’re having a community tank. And loaches definitely need to be in groups. I recommend bringing them to your LFS if you don’t have anybody that can take them.bizaliz3 said:Welcome to fishlore!!!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news....but none of those fish are appropriate for a tank that size. The kissing gouarmis get up to a foot in size!
The clown loaches can get as big as a foot too. And belong in groups as they are shoaling fish.
And if the pleco is a common....it can get 18+ inches.
My best advice would be to try and rehome them all and start fresh. Which I know is not the news you want to hear. :-(
Generally your rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for roughly every 4-5 gallons. This is of course keeping in mind the compatibility of the fish in your tank as others have mentioned in this thread.ZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
The inch-per-gallon is generally not recommended for the avid fishkeepers. Reason being why the inch-per-gallon isn't recommended is that it doesn't determine the potential size of a species, compatibility, and bioload. Besides, would you want to put a one inch fish in a 5 gallon aquarium that could potentially grow into a monster overtime?Eric898 said:Generally you’re rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for every 5 gallons. This is of course keeping in mind the compatibility of the fish in your tank as others have mentioned in this thread.
Hey, I might recommend having guppies or similar fish, they are shoaling fish and would work very well in your tank. It’s roughly 1 gallon per fish but if you are planning to keep some babies leave room for them to grow xZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
You've got two possibilities. 1. Buy fish suitable for your tank. 2. Buy a tank suitable for your fish.ZacheryyRayy said:I recently bought a 38 gallon tank and I was given a clown loach, a pleco and 2 kissing gouramis. What else could I add and any tips for taking care of them??
Or give it away to an lfs or someone who has the tank size and is willing to take care of the fish.Yehoshua said:You've got two possibilities. 1. Buy fish suitable for your tank. 2. Buy a tank suitable for your fish.
Foushboy said:Depends on what you prefer. The fish that you were given are, as has been stated, not good for that size tank. Re-home them, ask local fish store if they'd take them for credit, or post locally. Is the 38 gallon a rectangular tank? You need to keep in mind the actual surface area of the top for proper oxygenation. What kind of filtration do you have? That's probably, if rectangular, a great tank for a small school of tetra's and a trio of small cories. Best of luck, holler if you need more help. email removed
PEACE ✌
Good for you! I know rehoming fish is no fun. How did you end up finding homes for them?ZacheryyRayy said:Hey I recently for rid of them and I was wondering what you would put in there and any advice? I don’t wanna do the same thing again
You have loads of options! What kind of fish do you like? You could do a bit of googling or go to a fish store and note down fish you like the look of. Come back here and we might be able to recommend some stocking ideas with the fish you like.ZacheryyRayy said:Hey I recently for rid of them and I was wondering what you would put in there and any advice? I don’t wanna do the same thing again
Yes I am starting completely fresh and I gave them to one of my friends parents. I’m about to go buy new fish and I wanna have a variety if possiblebizaliz3 said:Good for you! I know rehoming fish is no fun. How did you end up finding homes for them?
So...are we working with a totally clean slate now? No current fish at all?
I did keep the pleco so anything that goes well with him.BottomDweller said:You have loads of options! What kind of fish do you like? You could do a bit of googling or go to a fish store and note down fish you like the look of. Come back here and we might be able to recommend some stocking ideas with the fish you like.
Sorry my brother told me he kept the pleco so other than that we are freeZacheryyRayy said:Yes I am starting completely fresh and I gave them to one of my friends parents. I’m about to go buy new fish and I wanna have a variety if possible
Be sure to do lots of research into whatever fish you get before you buy them so you don't have to rehome any more fishZacheryyRayy said:Yes I am starting completely fresh and I gave them to one of my friends parents. I’m about to go buy new fish and I wanna have a variety if possible
Do you know what type of pleco he is? Different types of pleco have different temperature requirements so go well with different types of fish. If you do not know what type of pleco he is you can post a picture of him here and someone might know what kind he is.ZacheryyRayy said:I did keep the pleco so anything that goes well with him.
I believe he is just a common pleco he hides a lot.BottomDweller said:Be sure to do lots of research into whatever fish you get before you buy them so you don't have to rehome any more fish
Do you know what type of pleco he is? Different types of pleco have different temperature requirements so go well with different types of fish. If you do not know what type of pleco he is you can post a picture of him here and someone might know what kind he is.
There are fish that occupy different levels of the aquarium top, middle and bottom swimmers. If done right you could have a species of each and it looks nice. As long as they can all get food. If you want fish that make more–livebearers or a smaller species of cichlid would be the way to go. Although you may be easily overrun with babies/fry. There's a lot to consider when stocking a tank! Compatibility of species parameters like temperature wise, ect. Some fish are territorial and could bully others to death, some are nippy and will go after others with longer fins. Take your time and start with a fish you like. You don't need to fully stock it all at once, when you find something you like you can do more research and find out what other species go well with it. Good luck!ZacheryyRayy said:Hey I recently for rid of them and I was wondering what you would put in there and any advice? I don’t wanna do the same thing again