guppylover2 Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 hey there am wanting to add some fish to my 250-300 litre tank, and just curious as to which formula is better for determining roughly the total no. of fish a tank can hold : (I know that this is just an estimate) ? 1 inch of fish (2.54cm) per every 64cm squared of surface area (this formula is in 2 aquarium books i have looked at) ? 1 inch of fish per gallon (read this somewhere) my surface area i have calculated (difficult because it is a bowfront, but it is roughly one quarter of a circle as it is a right angle at the back) is 16286 cm. (radius is roughly 72 cm squared, formula for SA of circle is 4 times pi times radius squared, divided by one quarter) thus using the formula of 1 inch of fish for every 64cm squared of SA (10inches squared), I get 255inch of fish. so do you guys reckon the first one is the right formula as a rough estimate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 it also depends on the filter you are running and how many water changes you are doing as to the number of fish you can have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 i just use the "inch of fish to every 3.4l of water! 255inches of fish is deffinatly a NO! for a 250l tank!!! Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppylover2 Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 thanks i do 25-30% water change every week or so, and i have a fluval 304. the inches of fish i would be thinking of adding would be total when they are fully grown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 Then its a good idea not to get so many fish! you can not have over an inch of fish to a litre!!! Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 You could put something like 100 tetra/guppies without much trouble in a tank that size. Give or take a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 That is more like it! as long as you are looking at the smaller guppys, the ones that are only about 1.5-2 inches at adulthood! but a tank that size full of tetra would look awsome! Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 Here's my view: If your tank is well aerated then a volume estimate is usually better; if it isn't aerated then the lower of the two is the one to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 The adult size of the fish makes a difference too. One large oscar will poo more than the equivalnt length of guppies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 I tend to go by the 1/4 cubic neon rule(Yes, I made that up myself)... If a fish is 8 neons long then it's about the mass of 8^3 neons, so 512. Divide by 4, gives you 128, so it needs 128 liters all to itself. Ok, so I don't follow that, my 440l cichlid tank has an equivalent of 5000 in it, hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 I would only start off with around 12 guppies to begin with 3 Male and 9 Females. After a short time I'm sure you will have heaps and heaps of guppies swimming around in your tank. I had 7 guppies to start with and now my 300l Tank has 60 baby guppies swimming around it :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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