fish tank size?

Question

i have a nice 6 gallon tank and a stiped 10 gallon tank. I have 3 kinds of tropical fish in mind id like to get. Would the 6 or 10 gallon be better. Id like to use the 6 gallon since i have everything for it...but i want more fish

i dont have fish yet, i was planning on getting an angel fish & a black ghost w/ a snail or bottom feeder

Answer 1

It all depends on the type of fish. You could put 8 neon tetras in the 10 gal, or 5 white cloud minnows or 4 killifish in the 6 gal. Those are all small fish that don't need too much swimming room.
However some fish get much, much bigger and in consequence need much biggers.

You mentioned angelfish; there are unsuitable for a 6 or 10 gallon tank. Angelfish can grow to 5-6" tall (without counting fins), they should be in groups of 3 or more, and they require a lot of swimming room. A minimum for two angelfish with would be 30 gallons.

Black ghost knife fish are completely unsuitable. They need 100+ gallon tanks as adults ; they are BIG fish. They should also be kept in species-only tanks. They are really not suitable for beginners with small tanks -they spend most of the day hiding, and tend to be very delicate.

If you're limited to your 6 gallon tank, you will have to go with small fish. Tetras are out, because they are schoolers and active swimmers. You could go with:
One male betta
OR
5 white cloud minnows: http://www.aquababies.com/images/fish3.jpg
OR
3-4 killifish: http://garden-ponds.com/images/Kill%201.jpg
and maybe an african dwarf frog or two:
http://members.aol.com/chris420529/frognuptual.JPG


In your 10 gallon you have a few more options, you could go with a community tank with a school of 5-6 tetras http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/Fishpics/cardinals.jpg

AND a dwarf gourami http://www.biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/naibunpi/Image/Gourami-photo-old.jpg or a male betta

OR you could do a tank with guppies: http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/fancy_guppies_001_w360.jpg Say, 3 males, 5 females if you want to breed
OR platies
http://www.elmersaquarium.com/image_fish/01_Platy_MICKEY_MOUSE.jpg

Whatever you do, be sure to cycle your tank before putting fish in (google: Nitrogen Cycle Fishtank) AND do not trust what the petstores tell you (heck, a petstore would probably tell you that a ghost knife would be fine in a 6 gallon tank just so you would buy it - when in reality, a ghost knife would die within a couple months or less in a tank that small) and always research before you buy.

If you're looking inexpensive supplies, try finding them used on craigslist, ebay, local classifieds, local fish club, etc.

Answer 2

Its a matter of opinion. In general 1" of fish per gallon is fine if your dealing with fish that grow to 1" after that it's wrong. For arguments sake we're dealing with two types of fish one has evolved in rivers and one in still waters. the one in still waters can secrete a vitiman in the water, this is then measured by a glands if the said vitimin/chemical is too strong the glands telss the fish to stop growing and the fish in the lake all become stunted. In a river what function would this serve? none the water flows through taking the vitimin/chemical away, Which is why some river species that a put in still waters can attain some amazing sizes. So as you say you put you pleco in the tank and guess what it continues to grow and grow, its a river fish which can be seen by the torpedo like shape it has it hugs the bottom head into the stream. If however you put a large lake fish in it releases its chemical and you come along and do a partial water change in fact every 2 weeks or more you do this so said chemical/vitimin has not real effect and the fish grows and grows. Water can contain only a finite amount of oxygen, so if that being the case what would you think was the key to how much fish you can put in an exclosed system, and what is the importance of surface area. Some would argue that you can put oxygenating plants into that system to create oxygen however, you should carry through that arguement in the fact that plants actually take in oxygen when they can't photosynthesis, so the benefit is minimal if effective at all, and most people with planted aquariums stock fish lightly. So the guide to stocking an aquarium is not so easy as shops certainly would have you believe, as a guide in most literature they will point you towards 1" of fish per 12sq" of surface area, this is a guide as a gold fish will require at least twice that amount, where as a neon tetra half of it. The fact that fish eat, process and dump waste into the tank gives you some idea of what your water can cope with as in the above example. The fact that some fish have short body length and tall body's like the Angel fish should indicate that you can't rely on just that. In the end you add you fish and test, then add another and test after a few years you tend to have a knack of knowing whether thats it or not. AJ

Answer 3

Both those tanks would be too small for an angel, they need 30 gallons. There are plenty of nice smaller breed of community fish that could do okay in a 6 or a 10 gallon. For you six gallon, why not a betta and a snail and a dwarf sucker fish? for the ten gallon, you could have some guppies or smaller tetras.
Your general rule of thumb is one inch of adult size fish per gallon of water. I wouldn't go puttin two five inch fish in a 10 gallon, but the rule works for smaller types of fish. plus you need to research about each breed, some fish need larger 'territories' to be happy. Whatever type of fish you get... research the "Nitrogen Cycle" first! Fishlore.com has a great forum for begginers and has lots of fish profiles. Make sure your tank is filtered and heated for tropical fish.
have fun!

Answer 4

I don't know much about angelfish but I don't think either of those tanks are big enough for them. The black ghost knife fish needs a very large tank so that can't fit in either of them either. A betta would be perfect in the 6 gallon though and maybe a few guppies or a different type of small tropical would be good for the 10 gallon.

Answer 5

You can't use either of those tanks for those fish, I'm sorry to say; they get way too big. You could have a betta and a school of neons in the 10 gallon, 5 or 6 fancy guppies in the 6 gallon... if you get snails, be sure you don't get mystery or apple snails, as those get very large as well.

This is one site of many that will tell you a black ghost can grow to almost 2 feet long, and needs a minimum of 50+ gallons of tank.
http://animal.discovery.com/guides/fish/freshwater/blackghost.html

This site is also one of many that give angels a size range as high as 8" long and 12" tall, needing minimum tank sizes of 29 gallons or so for solitary angels.
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Freshwater_Angel_Fish

Answer 6

Just stick to the 6 gallon tank for now, since you have everything for it. When you get up to 6 fish, switch to the 10 gallon tank.

Answer 7

It depends on the fish. Endlers live bearers or least killies are small enough that your could put 4-5 in a 6 gallon. But you can't put 3 oscars(or even 1 oscar) in a 10 gallon. You need to say what fish you have before we can give you an answer you can actually use.

Answer 8

its always better to go with the bigger one. Use 1" of fish per gallon and you should be pretty safe. that should keep you lined out on that and most things that work on you 6 gallon will probably work on your 10 ga. if you have any other questions feel free to message me.

Answer 9

3 fish is about the limit of a 10 gallon tank, depending on the size of the fish of course.

Answer 10

a good rule of thumb is determine how large the fish will get as an adult- you should have at least 1 gallon for each inch of fish.