Is it okay to have these fish together in a twelve gallon tank?

Question

2 Female and 1 Male Black Molly
1 Female and 1 Male Platy
7 Cardinal Tetra
1 Cory Cat

Answer 1

The "rule" 1 inch of fish per gallon of water is not "TOTAL CRAP" but is a perfectly good although archaic means of working out how much live stock a particular size tank will hold without too much detriment to that livestocks health, so therefore I would suggest that the stock of fish in this tank is the absolute maximum. Don't forget everything grows and in a few months all your livestock will be bigger than they are now.

Answer 2

You should get 3 more Cories and get rid of the Mollies. Mollies aren't terribly small, and at 3 inches a fish, these messy guys will make your tank seem really crowded (bad). Cories are shoaling fish, so an extra 3-4 will be much better and cause them less stress. Other than that, your tank sounds great. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: The "one inch of fish per gallon of water" "rule" is TOTAL CRAP. There are many more aspects to stocking than fish length and water volume. These factors include (but are not limited to) surface area (greater surface area allows more oxygen into the water), temperature (colder water holds more oxygen), pH (the pH affects the toxicity of ammonia), waste production (dirtier fish make dirtier water, which holds less oxygen), aggression (aggressive fish need more room than peaceful fish), swimming level (you can keep more fish if you balance the number of fish in each swimming level), maintenance schedule (the cleaner you keep your tank, the more fish you can keep), and shoaling behavior (fish that travel in compact groups take up less space in the tank than loners).

Answer 3

It Seems Fine But Its A Little Over Crowded And Live Bearers Do Reproduce Very Quickly

Answer 4

Seems great, put you need a bigger tank for these. You should get rid of the platy or molly altogether, get 6 tetras, and one more cory. Your set up is fine, I mean it is pretty crowded, but it is okay. Mollys are dirty and platy are pretty bad too. Cardinal tetras are very low waste, and cory are no too bad.

Answer 5

The rule is 1 inch of fish (full size not the size when you get them) per gallon that is overcrowding your tank and you have picked live bearing fish which means you will have fry which can be around 60 in one drop once a month. And the females can hold sperm and have up to 8 drops without a male, your tank will be overcrowded even without any fry so get a bigger tank or don't get livebearers.

Answer 6

Overstocked for a 12 g.

Answer 7

Its completely ok for now. But as soon as it starts breeding, there will be a problem. because, mollies & platties breed like crazy.

Answer 8

Well according to the 1 inch rule that is fine. You may even add another one if you'd like but make sure to clean it out often. ;)

Answer 9

Together they are o.k. but you need a BIGGER tank. I would get at least a 40 gal.