How Many Fish To Keep in a Tank?

How many fish to keep in a tank is a question that many people ask themselves when keeping fish. The general rule to use when you keep fish in a tank is to allow 1 gallon (4.5L) per inch of fish.

This would mean that a 20gallon fish tank would be able to hold 20 fish, each of which are an inch long, or ten fish that are 2 inches long. When you keep many fish in a tank you need to consider how much they will grow and alter the numbers in the fish tank accordingly. Many pet shops sell fish that are not fully grown and this can cause problems later.

A Marine or Freshwater Fish Tank?

Generally, a fresh water fish tank is much easier and cheaper to look after, especially for someone who doesn’t have much experience in keeping fish. A marine (or saltwater) fish tank has a lot more potential problems and is a lot more expensive to maintain. The money you spend on the tank may have a bearing on how much money you can spend on the fish themselves.

How to Keep Fish in a Tank

When you are setting up your fish tank, there are a few important things to consider such as providing plenty of hiding places for the fish. This will cut the stress level among the fish and keep the fish in the tank healthier. Put in all the water and let it settle for 24hours before you add any fish. A more in depth guide to setting up a tropical fish tank is already on clickpets.co.uk

Keeping Fish in a Tropical Fish Tank

Researching what types of fish you want to keep in your fish tank is very important as you need to know what types of fish will get along with others. Keeping fish is all about experience and there will be people at the pet shop who can help you. If you want fish that will school then you will need a couple at least. It is also not unknown for fish to eat other fish if they are physically able to. Angelfish and Cichlids are very aggressive and must be kept away from others of their kind.

It is tempting to keep as many fish in the tank as you think is possible but this is not advisable and will only lead to problems when keeping fish. When it does come to adding the new fish, keep the bag in the water for a couple of hours to even out the temperature and then net the new fish into the fish tank. Try not to pour any of the bag water into the fish tank. Keeping fish is much easier if the water is kept stable.