how many fish can i keep in a 10 gallon fish tank?

Question

i have 2 red barbs,a african clawed frog,2 zebra's,a bullhead,a crab(i think the bullhead ate it) and one more that i dont know thats name of it

Answer 1

That's a pretty big tank, but don't go overboard.


Depending on how big the fish are, Id say up to about 20. That way the tank wont have to be cleaned very often, but you'll still have a impressive collection fo fish. The fish will have room to swim too!

(just so you know, even 20 is alot! you would need VERY small fish, so i would stick to about ten)

Answer 2

The rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish, not including the tail, per gallon of water. However, when the fish are large, you cannot go by that rule. Imagine, if you will, 10 one inch neon tetras (very small fish). They would do fine in a 10 gallon tank. Now imagine a 10 inch oscar.... Hmmm, not so good, eh. The more bulk a fish has, the more waste it puts into the tank. A ten inch oscar needs about a 30 gallon tank and as it keeps growing, probably a 55 is just about right for one adult.

The African clawed frog will thin the ranks for you as soon as he gets big enough. They eat anything they can get in their mouths. So will the bullhead.

The 2 red barbs and the zebras are fine and you could probably add some black skirt tetras too. I would get rid of the frog and the bullhead if I were you. The store might give you credit or swap you a couple of fish for them.

Answer 3

The "1 inch per gallon" is for a very limited number of fish. The calculation is supposed to be done based on the adult size. So a 1" bullhead that is going to be a 16" adult needs a little bit bigger tank- maybe even a lake- maybe the lake where he came from.

The bullhead will eat every thing you have in that tank as soon as it gets big enough.

Everything else seems fine. Barbs and Zebra (danios- i'm assuming ?) are schoolers and should be kept in groups of at least 3.

Added: Some fish are very delicate, you can stunt their growth (slowly kill them) by keeping them in a small tank. These fish die quickly. Other fish just keep growing. Lots of people buy the pretty pleco for their 10 gallon and he ends up growing so large they have to get rid of him.

Answer 4

General rule is 1 inch of fish (in their fully grown size) per gallon of water.

With a 10 gallon tank, that isn't very many fish (about five 2 inch fish). I'm winging it here but I'm guessing barbs and zebra [danios] get around 2-3 inches (so thats 8-12 inches of fish right there).

20, as someone suggested, is way too many for a 10 gallon tank (unless you get 20 half-inch size fish)

I don't know about african clawed frogs or crabs, but I wouldn't get any more fish than you have now. I'd watch out for the bullhead. And remember to keep the tank clean and at the proper temperature, pH, low ammonia level, etc. In the future I'd suggest getting either a barb or danio school (3 or more), and a bit bigger tank.

Answer 5

You are currently over stocked for a 10 gallon tank. The 1 fish per gallon rule works well on slim bodied tropical fish. It breaks down with heavy bodied fish, and aggressive fish.

Not to mention the frog, and bullhead are going to eat the rest of your fish. Then the bigger of the 2 will eat the other one.

Answer 6

First of all a 10 gallon tank is not very BIG! I have a 35 gallon tank. A friend has a 300 gallon tank! Get the perspective? Yes, the general rule is one inch per gallon of water. And it's from mouth to TAIL! You should definitely consider the full grown length. I think your tank is already overcrowded. You might consider a BIGGER tank. I believe the bullhead is going to be a serious problem, size wise.

Answer 7

According to pet stores and personal experience there should 1 gallon of water for each inch of fish. So if each fish is only 1 inch long 10 is okay. try to estimate how long each fish is and that will give you an idea of how big you tank needs to be

Answer 8

The common wisdom is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. So in other words, you may want to estimate the length of the fish that you already have in your tank and not exceed a total of 10inches worth of fish. I also understand that the fish will limit their growth to the available tank size.

Answer 9

For normal tropical fish, a general rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon. For more specific answer on the types of fish you have, ask a pet store, any decent one will be able to tell you.

Answer 10

up to 12. more if you keep the fish under 2".