My Fish Tank

[casilva]

Hello everybody:

I'm beginner,I have a 29 galons tank,my questions are: What's the maximun number of fish for this tank and The undergravel filter is necesary for my tank? Thanks a lot

Carlos

 

[Newman]

UGF isnt that necessary. you can easily do other filter types if you want instead or in addition to. w/e you feel is cool.

that all depends on the fish. AqAdvisor is a good program and a good way to start figuring out your stocking.

 

[aakaakaak]

+1 Newman. Give AqAdvisor.com a try. Remember that it's not a perfect program and won't give you some of the deeper intricacies about fish. Once you have an aqadvisor plan it's suggested to run it by some people with experience.

 

[Meleemaker]

They say about 1" of fish/gallon, but that all depends on how big the fish will grow. Most fish reach their maximum size fairly quickly and stay there if they have the room to grow. My oscar easily added an inch up, and 3 long in a month or two in a 10 GALLON Tank. I figured he would take at elast 3 months to mature into the 55 gallon.

And as for the filter, I find UGF(under gravel filters) to be very difficult. When you have substrate piled onto them and blocking them, it pulls the fifth into the rocks and makes vacuuming the tank unfun. I find mechanical/bio filters that sit on the rim of aquariums to be much more efficient as it allowed easier water flow IMHO. All second hand tanks I have come accross use UGF and I put in different ones. I also no not have much experience with them, but do not hear much good about them

 

[achase]

They say about 1" of fish/gallon, but that all depends on how big the fish will grow. Most fish reach their maximum size fairly quickly and stay there if they have the room to grow.

I think the 1 inch per gallon rule has kinda gone out the window in recent years. Just because it can be so misleading for beginners. I agree you should try aqadvisor and then run the results by us (or another fish forum). The adult size of the fish is not the only thing you need to take into account when stocking. For example aggression levels can impact stocking.

Like everyone else already said you don't need an underground filter but you will need a filter of some sort, which I'm guessing you already knew.

 

[ValRasbora]

1"\gal is misleading. This is telling beginngers they can keep 2" goldfish in a 2g bowl, a 12" oscar in a 12g. This rule is fine within reason, but AqAdvisor.com is certainly better.
Stocking programs still have their flaws, so be sure to research all the fish!

 

[aakaakaak]

The inch rule revised sort of works.

Instead of a flat, 1" per gallon change it to 1" SQUARE per gallon and it's more accurate.

Also, for size compatibility you can simply add a zero to the standard length of a fish to get what size tank they should be in (with exceptions for overly active and inactive fish). Your 18 inch common pleco gets a 180 gallon tank. Your three inch molly gets a 30 gallon. And so on, and so forth. It's not perfect, but it gives you a better idea.