How Many Fish Can I Have??

[ZacheryyRayy]

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??

 

[bizaliz3]

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. :-(

 

[Bru]

Yes, sounds like someone gave you fish that I wouldn't even keep in my 100 gallon, like said above I'd try to rehome them and start from scratch. A 38 is a great sized tank to get a community of smaller species going. I'd recommend going to a local fish store over petsmart/petco as they tend to have more variety and healthier fish.

 

[manning7987]

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. :-(

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.

That doesn’t mean you should keep an oscor in a 5 gallon tank.

 

[bizaliz3]

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.

Sure...that is called stunting. And it is not healthy for the fish at all!

 

[manning7987]

Sure...that is called stunting. And it is not healthy for the fish at all!

Like I said only keep what you should.

 

[lilirose]

"Only keep what you should", in the context of this thread, means that a 38 gallon tank is an inappropriate home for two kissing gouramis, a clown loach, and a common pleco. There is not enough room for those fish in that tank- they might fit right now but they need room to grow.

Personally I agree with the recommendation to rehome. Then look into something like parrot cichlids, apistogrammas, kuhlI loaches, or a large group of smaller fish, depending on what the tank owner likes.

 

[MissNoodle]

Welcome

Sorry to say, but that is pretty small for the fish you were given. They will outgrow it, or stunt themselves (which affects their health and lifespan) inside.

If you want to keep these ones, upgrade to a suitable size for all of them plus their requirements (example, clown loaches do best in groups--so youd need to buy more and accommodate those into the new tank). A 30 is too small. New proper sized tank, cycle it, move these big guys in use your 30gal for even more fish better suited for a 30

However, you could do a lot with a 30 for other species, depending what you like.

 

[johnbirg]

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.

 

[Crimson_687]

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.

That’s a perfect mix to kill all your fish very quick

Once you rehome your current fish, some fish you could consider are small schooling fish. Schooling fish will allow you to observe their schooling behavior, which is often found as relaxing.

Some tetras compatible for 30g: rummy nose, cardinal, neon, green neon, ember.

Some rasbora compatible for 30g: harlequin, lambchop, galaxy, emerald, scissor tail, blue axelrodi

If you want something unique, you can do killifish, just beware they are not always the best option for beginner aquarists, but with good maintenance and a trained eye to tank setting you could make it work.

Some centerpiece fish are small gourami, such as dwarf, opaline, pearl, or honey. If you intend to keep more then one gourami, do honey. Any other type you are better off with only 1. More then that will be territorial, and depending on personality and tank setting separating may be needed

 

[pagoda]

johnbirg

There are some who might take that advice and run with it....then get into deep trouble with fish passing away, fighting etc

Hopefully you were showing typical Aussie sarcasm.....if not, that was seriously insane advice to give a newby (or anyone else for that matter)

 

[Guppygirl88]

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. :-(

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]

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.

I am not the only person on this thread that gave that same exact advice.

I welcomed the new member and then I gave them the bad news that the fish they ended up with will all get very large and aren't really suited for that tank. The OP wanted to know if they can add more fish....but with the stock they ended up with, I don't believe any further fish should be added. Which is why I suggested rehoming them and starting fresh to give them more stocking options. No new hobbyist should have to start with fish that were given to them (not chosen by them) and are not suited for their tank. That's no way to start.

If the OP had googled each of those species, they would have learned that info themselves. If I was a brand new hobbyist and ended up having someone gift me that stock of fish and I came to the forum and asked about their care and what fish I could add with them....I sure hope people would be honest with me about their needs.

ZacheryyRayy Good luck with your new tank and fish. I wish you the best!

 

[Coradee]

Some posts have been edited or removed.
Rather than responding to each other let’s get back to helping the Op.

 

[Rich johns]

I’ve been keeping fish for many years and while I agree with what the rest of the people on here are saying don’t freak out and get rid of your fish right away if you don’t have to. Depending on their size you may have plenty of time to find them a new home. If you have a local fish store near you that would be the best bet to rehome them. Some of the larger fish chains may take them but the odds of them winding up in the same situation are pretty good. Also a local fish store would be more helpful with helping you pick out the right fish for your aquarium. Best of luck welcome to the crazy Aquarium hobby!

 

[Vibs]

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??

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..

 

[TalulahMae]

Finding a new home after you fish are already huge might be difficult, so I wouldn't wait that long. But like others have said, you don't have to be hasty in finding a new home, as they're not going to balloon in to huge fish overnight.

 

[Ulu]

It is pretty easy to find a an aquarium here, because when people have to move, it's a boat anchor! They get stuck having to sell big ones too cheap.

At our LFS you can buy a 60 gallonwith basic stand for under $200+tax new. It drives down the price of used gear & people are just giving away those 30's!

That 30 gallon will make a nice future sump for a 50~150 gal tank. In the mean time any clean plastic garbage bin will make a good DIY sump for the 30 & you'll greatly reduce water changes.

And, yes, change that water frequently! 90% of the folks coming here with sick fish have bad/dirty/unsuitable water and don't know it.

 

[marshall1019]

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

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.

 

[RyeBreadNBudda]

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.

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"

 

[Foushboy]

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??

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 ✌

 

[ThatMikeHill]

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,
Where are you located? I have a Clown loach tank and I’d be willing to give that loach a home where he can thrive and live happily and healthy. Clown Loaches are very prone to ich especially when they are stressed, one thing that stresses them is not being in a group of at least 5 of their own kind.

Because you don’t know me I want to explain, this is not my attempt to get your Clown loach, I wasn’t even planning on adding another because my tank is in my opinion complete. But in order to ensure the safety and long life of one—I would be willing to adopt it.
This of course depends on where you live.

 

[Faytaya]

This is why research is paramount. Believe me, I've made the same mistake as you. :/ I'm stuck with two khulis in a 5 gallon tank! I say look at your LFS for what you like and then research their max size. That's what I'm doing for my 35 gal in planning. I hope you can rehome your fish so they can live happily. Best of luck finding the pets that work for you!

I forgot to add, try to stick to animals who live in similar conditions in the wild. You don't wanna mix african rams with tetras for example because of water hardness requirements. Someone will end up dead.

 

[nikm128]

I think we've scared off OP

 

[bizaliz3]

Also a local fish store would be more helpful with helping you pick out the right fish for your aquarium.

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.

The best way for people to get the best advice is to do their own research. Google is an amazing tool that anyone can use. The next best thing is to talk to other hobbyists who have actual experience with the fish you are interested in. Last resort should be the fish store. And even then, you should google the fish in question to make sure the advice is valid.

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.

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)

While I do think it is a good place to start, I still feel strongly that research must be done before proceeding with anything. Researching fish couldn't be any easier in today's world. It takes just minutes. And for a lot of people (heck, I'd say most people) they have google at their finger tips even when they are already at the store. As soon as I see a fish at the store I really want....I pull out my phone and check a few key things....their adult size, their temperament and their temperature preferences. If they are not appropriate for any of my tanks, I walk away. And that should be the standard in my opinion.

I think we've scared off OP

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.

 

[Girlygreen]

You don’t have to give away your fish.

You can to upgrade your tank, in time and possibly split them up into multiple large tanks.

If the sticker shock of a large tank is too much and you have the room, you can consider a small pool. There is a 572 gallon pool for about $80 on Amazon, people do keep larger fish in pools like this. You would not want to use substrate in this case, but you can utilize the space for lots of potted plants.

If you opt to keep the 38 gallon instead, consider a Barb tank. It will have lots of activity and Odessa Barbs and Tiger Barbs would do well.

In the meantime consider over filtering with a 75 gallon hang on back filter and keep on the water changes and beneficial bacteria dosing. Keep those fish healthy for a couple of months while you figure out what you want to do.

 

[Crispii]

There's also the Petco dollar-per-gallon sale.

 

[Coradee]

Faytaya’s question & responses have been moved
Tank Footprint?

Another reminder... please do not respond to just each other, two pages on & you’ve only just noticed the Op hasn’t returned!
When or if they return to this thread please respond only to their questions.

 

[manning7987]

Just get a larger tank!

 

[HighCaliberAquatics]

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 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.

 

[Eric898]

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??

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.

 

[Crispii]

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.

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?

 

[Katie Allibone]

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??

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 x

 

[BloodyNoses]

Echoing what the people have said above. All of those fish are inappropriate for the tank. Feels like you got offloaded a problem case of don't know what to do.

To be specific the gouramI will outgrow the tank at the end of the year if not earlier, the clown loaches depending on how much you feed them will take 1-2 years to mature fully (initial growth spurt).

A 38 gallon is really only good to plant and for guppies, tetras, mollies, bettas or the like.

Recently just moved my 6 month oscars into their new 600 gallon which cost a pretty penny considering I got the fish at barely $20 a pop when they were babies.

 

[Yehoshua]

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.

 

[Crispii]

You've got two possibilities. 1. Buy fish suitable for your tank. 2. Buy a tank suitable for your fish.

Or give it away to an lfs or someone who has the tank size and is willing to take care of the fish.

 

[ZacheryyRayy]

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 ✌

 

[ZacheryyRayy]

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

 

[bizaliz3]

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

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?

 

[BottomDweller]

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]

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?

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

 

[ZacheryyRayy]

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.

I did keep the pleco so anything that goes well with him.

 

[ZacheryyRayy]

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

Sorry my brother told me he kept the pleco so other than that we are free

 

[BottomDweller]

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 fish

I did keep the pleco so anything that goes well with him.

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]

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.

I believe he is just a common pleco he hides a lot.

 

[BottomDweller]

A common pleco will get to almost 2 feet long so will definitely need rehoming at some point or you will need to upgrade his tank to at least 180 gallons.

Are there any specific fish you would like to keep?

You could do something like this
10-12 zebra danios, neon tetras or skirt tetras
3 female platies
1 bolivian ram
10-15 panda cories

 

[Bru]

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

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!