Inches per gallon?

[lightningryan]

Hi,

I forgot where I read this and what it was.
so here is my question:
how many inches of fish can i have in my 10 gallon tank?
I remember reading it here but forgot where.
how many inches is it per gallon?

Help

Thanks

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The whole inches per gallon thing is sort of bunk. What sort of fish are you looking to keep?

 

[PBirdsong]

The whole inches per gallon thing is sort of bunk. What sort of fish are you looking to keep?

VERY TRUE!!

 

[lightningryan]

some one told me what i could have but i forgot, i just want to know what the ratio is.

I have 3 fancy guppies, 3 neon tetras, 3 black skirt tetras in my 10 gallon.
what is the inches per gallon for my 10 gallon? how many more inches can i add to my tank?

 

[PBirdsong]

I think all three species stay small so you should be fine. I don't think I would add anything else in there though. What are you wanting to add?

The ratio really is bogus. Most say it is 1 inch per gallon. Some say two per gallon. But according to that rule I could keep a full grown Bala Shark in a 10 gallon tank . . . which would just be terrible.

You just have to use good judgement.

 

[TomK2]

If they were little fish, the rule would be about one inch per gallon at tank maturity. The rule doesn't hold for bigger fish, really small tanks, tanks without enough filtration, or tanks that are not well maintained, and most certainly uncycled tanks!

So I guess its not much of a rule at all!

 

[lightningryan]

someone told me 12 and i forgot where and im really freaking out trying to find out who said it

 

[lightningryan]

I know the rule is kinda bogus, i didnt really mean inches per gallon, people that told me went by size of tank. im making these numbers up by like 10 gallon is 12 inches, 20 gallon 24 inches. but it really depends on the size of the fish. sure the rule would work with a million small fish. but with a huge fish like 24inches in a 22 gallon wouldn't work.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

wow, the longer I'm in this hobby the more bizarre "rules" I hear about. Inches per gallon does not apply for most fish. Think about this, if you went by "one inch per gallon" a 36 inch koi would be perfectly fine in a 36 gallon tank. Even if you doubled that, to 72 gallons. Of course thats completely rediculous and youd need at least a few hundred gallons for a fish that size.

For little fish like guppies or tetras, the inch per gallon is a good reference. But for bigger bodied fish, that rule goes out the window. But of course theres other things to consider besides body size. Theres agression and territorial issues too.

Your stock sounds ok, you may want to take out the skirt tetras because youre pretty full there. But your tank isnt really overstocked, almost

Just make sure you have a good filter rated for at least 20 gallons, and with regular maintenance should be cool.