What will happen if several fish are placed in a small space? And how do you feed hornwort plants?

Question

I am about to start my first aquarium, and am wondering why several fish cannot fit into a small space. (As in 4 or 5 in a medium-sized tank) What happens if you do put that amount--what will happen to the fish?
Also, my friends have recommended me to buy a snail and get a hornwort plant... but how does the hornwort plant survive? What do you give it besides light and water? And does it need to stay submerged?
Thanks for all the help! I appreciate it!

Answer 1

A good rule of thumb for estimating the amount of fish you can fit in your tank is, is 1 inch of adult fish per 1 gallon of water. But keep in mind this rule does not apply to goldfish, because they are really nasty and produce more waste than tropical fish. If you try to cram too many fish into your tank, you're going to end up with a lot of dead fish.

I personally prefer snails in my tank over algae eaters because they seem to do a better job. Just make sure you get only one larger snail, if you get two you are guaranteed to end up with 200.

Most aquarium plants do need to be submerged. And as long as you have a healthy tank, with healthy fish you shouldn't have to add anything for the plants. But if you do find you need fertilizer every pet store sells it for aquarium plants.

Hope this helps.
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Answer 2

First, I'm going to say ignore the one inch rule - this is more of a "one inch suggestion", and isn't applicable to all fish. I'll includ a link at the end where you can read more.

To answer the first part of your question, consider how fish live in the outdoors. You might see a large school of fish, but notice how few there are in the water around them. Fish eat and produce wastes. Currents caused by water flow or wind will remove the wastes from where they originate and they'll dilute until bacteria in the water break them down and convert any ammonia produced to nitrites and nitrates. The nitrates are used by algae and aquatic plants as fertilizer. The fish can then come back and nibble on the plants for food.

This doesn't occur as perfectly in a tank. There's nowhere for the wastes to wash "away" to - your filter will remove solid particles, but nothing dissolved in the water. There will be beneficial bacteria in the substrate (gravel) and filter media once your tank is cycled, but until then, nothing sufficient to remove all the ammonia (which is toxic to fish) or nitrite (also toxic). Once the tank "cycles" and a bacterial population has established, ammonia and nitrite will be converted to nitrate. nitrate is less toxic, and fish can be kept as long as the concentration is below 40ppm. Some can be used by algae and plants if you have them, but most aquarists don't like the look of algae in their tanks and scrape it. Aquatic plants are good, but will need better lighting. Even with plants and algae, you'll probably still have nitrates building up. The only way to really reduce them is with water changes - mimicing the natural world's "currents".

If you have too many fish, too big of fish, too small of a tank, or are prone to overfeed (as many beginning fishkeepers are), the concentration of ammonia (uncycled tank) or nitrates (cycled tank) builds up that much faster. Once this passes the danger point, more sensitive fish will start to die. A dead fish puts out all that more ammonia, causing more death - it's a cycle that keeps going till the conditions improve or all fish die. This will happen more quickly in an uncycled tank than a cycled one, but will occur in each.

The purpose for your hornwort is take up some of the nitrate as food, so you won't need to feed or fertilize it - your fish will do this for you.

This may not be the best choice for an aquarium, since it prefers cooler water than tropical fish, and it prefers to float than be planted (there are no true "roots", so it doesn't need to be in the gravel - anything you bury will die and the plant will float anyway). It's advantages are that it's not eaten by many fish and provides a good hiding spot for small fish and fry. If you decide to buy this, be careful to rinse it and put it in a jar of bowl of tank water for a few days first, or you may introduce an unwanted snail population to your tank.

For something with less light requirement and that can be "rooted" java moss, java fern, Anubias (banana plant), or crypts can be used.

Other info:
previous answer on 1 inch rule: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ah0IwevCmLvaSkazWhWmJ3EAAAAA?qid=20070217174921AAi9sOJ

tank cycling: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

aquarium plants: http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pCatId=768

Hope this explains everything!

Answer 3

Common Glass Aquarium Sizes

5.5 Gallon 16x8x10 (128 sq. in.)
10 Leader 20x10x12 (200 sq. in.)
10 Hexagon 14x12x18 (127 sq. in)
15 Gallon 24x12x12 (288 sq. in.)
20 High 24x12x16 (288 sq. in.)
20 Long 30x12x12 (360 sq. in.)
25 Gallon 24x12x20 (288 sq. in.)
29 Gallon 30x12x18 (360 sq. in.)
30 Gallon 36x12x16 (432 sq. in.)
30 Breeder 36x18x12 (648 sq. in.)
33 Long 48x13x12 (624 sq. in.)
37 Gallon 30x12x22 (360 sq. in.)
38 Gallon 36x12x20 (432 sq. in.)
40 Long 48x13x16 (624 sq. in.)
40 Breeder 36x18x16 (648 sq. in.)
45 Gallon 36x12x24 (360 sq. in.)
50 Gallon 36x18x18 (648 sq. in.)
55 Gallon 48x13x20 (624 sq. in.)
65 Gallon 36x18x24 (648 sq. in.)
Petite body fish
1” per gallon or 1” per 12 sq. in. of surface
For example 20 long has 360 sq. in. surface area
360/12=30
Can a 20 long support 30” of fish? Probably not.
A 20 high has only 288 sq. in. surface area
288/12=24
Can a 20 long support 20” of fish? Probably not.
A 25 is also 288 sq. in. surface area
288/12=24
Can a 25 support 24” of fish. Probably.
I like to average the two for a more accurate capacity.
For the 20 long, 30 by surface area, 20 by volume averages to 25”
Can a 20 long support 25” of fish? Probably.
For the 20 high, 24 by surface area, 20 by volume averages to 22”
Can a 20 high support 22” of fish? Probably.
Why does the 20 long support 3” more fish that the 20 high?
A larger surface area allows a greater oxygen exchange, which is as important as volume of water.
Large bodied fish, such as gold fish you need to double or even triple these numbers, i.e. 3 gallons per inch and 36 sq. in. of surface per 1” of fish.
This is not the only consideration for fish tanks. Types of fish will appreciate one type of tank over another. For example, fast swimmers like Zebra Danios, Pearl Danios and Blue Danios will do best in a tank that is at least 30” long. They would be better kept in a 20 long rather than a 25. Giant Danios would do best in a tank at least 48” long. They would be better kept in a 55 rather than a 65.
On the other hand, slow, tall bodied fish like Angel Fish and Discus will do best in a deep tank. They would be better kept in a 65 rather than a 55. They, like other cichlids also need a bit more than the 1” per gallon and/or 12 sq. in. surface.

Answer 4

Don't put too many fish in because they'll die of ammonia poisoning, and once they get big, they'll be too crowded. after awhile you'll realize you're getting algae ( green stuff ) on the glass and on the things in the aquarium. snails ( and some fish ) eat that stuff... so snails are basicly house-maids of the aquarium. the aquarium light should be on for 10-12 hours a day. they only thing fish really need is light, food, and a clean aquarium.


good luck in your fishy adventures :-B

lol I always wanted to say that ;)

Answer 5

First it depends on how many gallons of the tank.

Second how big your fish gets.

And last how many ornaments (barns, caves, plants, ets.)are in your tank

oh ya the guy above me, his answer only applies to SOME species of fish not all.
Sometimes a long anwer isnt the best answer.
You can search for fish that apply to his rule if you want

Answer 6

Really it all matters about what kind of fish you get.If you get small fish it would be healthy for them than if you got several normal sized fish.*Note: you should really get the biggest tank you can afford.

Answer 7

If you overcrowd your tank the fishes will become stressed and die.
Fishes can become stressed easily for example:
*Sudden temperature changes
*Vibrations (from tapping the glass etc)
*OVERCROWDING
*Too much/less food
*If they are attacked bullied
*If their is nowhere to hide (for shy fishes)