How Many Fishes In A 3 By 1.5 Feet Fish Tank?

[RenesisTurbo]

Hi, everyone...I had been out of keeping fishes for the past 5 years and I am going to get my 3 by 1.5 by 1.5 feet tank from Seaview in May when I move into my new flat. The filter that I am planning to use is the Eheim Classic 2217. I am just planning to put driftwood and artificial plants in my tank for the landscape though...


I believe that the life support system for my tank is quite good and I just wanted to check if my lifestock listed below is too crowded for my tank. Here are the probable 3 lineups for my lifestock that I planned for my tank.

Line Up A:
-15 platies
- 6 guppies
-3 lyretail mollies
-5 Steba's corydoras

Line Up B:
-15 platies
- 6 guppies
-4 Boseman's Rainbows
-5 Sterba's corydoras
-15-20 glowlight tetras

Line Up C
-15 platies
-6 guppies
-5 Steba's corydoras
-3 lyretail mollies
-8 Black Phantom Tetras

Are the fishes that I planned in the 3 line ups above too crowded for my 3 by 1.5 by 1.5 feet tank? I also plan to buy a plastic divider and give a space of 5-8cm so that I can breed some platies/guppies/mollies fries as well.

Please give your honest advice for my tank design and the number of lifestock listed above!

[atruhfee]

get a good mix of medias in your 2217 and u should be able to support. small fishes doesn't generate a lot of waste so shouldn't be a problem. just my humble opinion haha.

[GHD97]

Platies and mollies and corydoras are quite heavy waste producers. If I may recommend...
Line Up A
-15 platies
-5lyretail mollies
-5 Sterba's Corydoras

Line Up B
-6 Boseman's Rainbows
-5 Sterba's Corydoras
-20-25 Glowlight tetras
(This lineup would be more lightly stocked with space for 3lyretails or some mollies)

Line Up C
-10 platies
-5 Steba's Corydoras
-3 lyretail mollies
-10 Black phantom tetras

These are just my suggestions... Calculate waste production of a fish based on body mass a Molly or platy weighs close to 4-5 Glowlight tetras...

If your tank is going to be heavily planted, it would give you better water conditions and might heighten your appropriate stocking levels And do introduce your fish in batches over a few weeks to allow time for the filter bacteria colony to grow and cope with the stocking levels

[RenesisTurbo]

Your suggestions are good, GHD...The mainstay or stars of my aquarium are the platies and guppies because my missus wants a few guppies in the tank too. I can do without the mollies but I am actually thinking about keeping some glowlight tetras and a reduced number of corydoras. Think I can forget about the Boseman's Rainbows cos they grow quite big too.

And not forgetting the small partition to serve as refuge/breeding area for the livebearer fries too.

[GHD97]

Thanks for the compliment It's my dream to have a large tank like yours so I plan in my head^^ if you use line up B...without the rainbows you could probably add 6platies and 6guppies...play around with the numbers Corydoras do need to be in a school so 5 is quite the minimum

Why not add the Glowlight tetras...then add the corydoras since these are the shier fish after a week add the platies and guppies. That way you have a chance to gauge if your tank is crowded(asethetically) and give your bio filtration a chance to keep up with the fish load add your guppies and platies accordingly...the small space isn't much so no worries

[RenesisTurbo]

Thanks for the compliment It's my dream to have a large tank like yours so I plan in my head^^ if you use line up B...without the rainbows you could probably add 6platies and 6guppies...play around with the numbers Corydoras do need to be in a school so 5 is quite the minimum

Why not add the Glowlight tetras...then add the corydoras since these are the shier fish after a week add the platies and guppies. That way you have a chance to gauge if your tank is crowded(asethetically) and give your bio filtration a chance to keep up with the fish load add your guppies and platies accordingly...the small space isn't much so no worries

Thanks for the reply GHD, I have always been a livebearer die-hard fan hence for the large numbers of platies and the few guppies and also a fan of schooling fishes from Central and South America. But if the lemon tetras appear ahead of the glowlights, then I will go straight for the lemons. I have decided on my final line up. Been thinking about it everywhere I go even at work and in my sleep too. Take a look at it and give it your 2 cents.

Final Line Up

-4 male and 8 female platies
-2 male and 4 female guppies
-15 lemon or glowlight tetras
-2 Boseman's Rainbows
-5 Sterba's Corydoras

If it gets too crowded, then maybe the Rainbows have to go. Such an exciting time for me, bro!