how many inches of fish do i have?

Question

4 neon tetras
1 angelfish
1 dwarf emerald gourami
3 swordtails
2 green and gold catfish
& 1 clown pleco

Answer 1

"Inches" of fish is a guideline, rather than a rule. There are too many other factors to consider ingetting a good stocking rate for a tank. And the actual inches of your fish in size may not be the same as when they're adults (the size you should plan for).

The "inch of fish per gallon" doesn't take into account things like the body shape - fish with wide or deep bodies produce more wastes than fish with thin, slender bodies. After all 10 one-inch neons aren't the equivalent of a 10 inch Oscar in a 10 gallon tank! Another guideline uses grams of fish per liter of water - this will take body shape into consideration because a "wider" or "taller" fish will have more weight from the additional body mass (but have you ever tried to weigh a fish?). There's also an inches of fish (okay, we already know the problem here) per surface area - multiply the length and width of your tank and divide this number by 12 for the "inches" of fish to keep - this is the only method that takes into consideration the shape of the tank and the O2/CO2 exchange. None of these methods considers space needs based on activity level or the territoriality/aggressivness of the individual species either. Also, some species have preferences for the area they occupy in the tank - the bottom fish, midwater, and surface species.

The "guidelines" as I've given them above will apply to typical, freshwater species only. Some species should only be kept one, or a mated pair to any sized tank, others should have more room if sensitive to environmental conditions because a larger tank will keep temperature and chemistry more consistent. And then there's saltwater.

None of these methods will mean anything if you overfeed or don't perform water changes and cleaning on a regular basis. You can get away with higher stocking rates with larger filters and/or using a sump (hidden tank plumbed to your fish tank to increase your overall water volume (this is what fish stores use, which is why they look overstocked, plus they usually have an automatic water replacement system that changes a set volume per hour) Maybe the best thing to do is calculate using several methods and take an average, or consider your committment and experience in fishkeeping (or lack thereof) and keep the stocking at the lower end of the range - this would be the safest method.

So I'd have to say no single method is completely accurate - it's best to consider all these factors and arrive at your own realistic stocking rate. If in doubt, understock. I don't know of many problems that arise from having too FEW fish, as long as you have an adequate number for the species that prefer to be in schools.

So if what you're really asking is "Am I overstocked?" or "Can I add more fish?", I've also come across a few "aquarium planners" that attempt to take all these other factors into consideration when stocking a new tank. Here are links to two of them:
http://www.tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/templates/BMan1Blue/Stocking.htm
http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/community.html

You input the info, and it will sort through what you have (or plan to get) and point out potential problems. Two I'm sure will pop up is that as adults, the angel will probably eat the neons, and as a schooling fish, the neons should be in a larger group (6+).

Answer 2

When determining how many inches of fish you have, you use the ADULT size of your fish.

In your case:

4 Neons= 4 or 5"
1 Angel= 5 or 6"
1 Dwarf Gourami = 2.5 or 3"
3 Swordtails= 15"
2 Green/gold cats (I'm assuming you mean Corys)= 5"
1 Clown Pleco = 4"

You have about 40 inches of fish- give or take a few inches.

Answer 3

A 6 INCH FISH CAN'T LIVE IN A 10 GALLON AND THAT'S FINAL. The "One inch of fish per gallon!" rule is a piece of fish sh*t and it only applies to very small creatures, like shrimp, small aquatic frogs, and tetras!! Hell, my 10 gallon IS six inches long! If you put a 6 inch fish in your 10 gallon, it won't have enough room to turn around! And a big fish has big sh*t, which produces a LOT of ammonia, which will KILL THE FISH. Not even two 3 inch fish would be able to live in the 10 gallon. It depends on the breed of fish and the size that the fish gets. The only real fish that can live in 10 gallon tanks are guppies, bettas, and sometimes tetras. And that's IT. Whatever fish you want, you go online right now and look up its minimum tank size. I DARE YOU. And I doubt that any fish growing to 6 inches would have "10 gallons" listed as the minimum tank size. Just get a betta. They get 3 inches long, are hardy, easy to care for and would do so well in a small tank like a 10 gallon! And if you somehow happen to kill a SINGLE BETTA in a 10 gallon, then you have completely failed at fish keeping, and you should just give up completely on fish keeping because you clearly don't understand BASIC INFORMATION on the tank size for a fish.

Answer 4

Probably between 14 and 20 inches.

Neon Tetras tend to be on the small side, maybe half and inch to an inch each.
The angelfish two or three.
The dwarf gourami is about two.
Each swordtail one or two.
The catfish, between one and three inches.
And the pleco right now, probably two.


All depending on their current size/maturation.

Answer 5

well the problem here is that a pleco can grow to outstandingly beautiful size more than 12 inches and none can reach a limit adult size if given right tank size and even angel fish can be small as 1 inch to 5 inch :S if you give me the tank size i can make an estimate if its over stocked or good

Answer 6

That depends on how mature the fish are - but you should be aware that the "inch per gallon" rule is NOT an accurate way of stocking your tank. Every species of fish has a profile posted somewhere online showing how many gallons each fish needs. Please do some research for the sake of your fish and don't overstock!

Answer 7

I would guess around 20 inches.

I would also not suggest an angelfish with neon tetras, because it might eat them as it matures.

~ZTM

Answer 8

before or after the angel discovers and eats the neons?

Answer 9

Does the winner get a prize? This must be for getting a new tank, right?

Answer 10

I am going back to the cat category....it is scary down here.