What Size Fish Tank Should I buy?

Generally your fish tank should be the largest size you can afford. Think of buying a fish tank as a long-term investment for you fish. Like your home, your aquarium is your fish's home.

If you are starting out with a Betta or a small fish that does not mind confined spaces, you can go small, 1-2 gallons. Check out this handy free Betta guide.
You also need to consider how many fish you want to keep in your aquarium. As far as fish number goes:

1:1, 1-inch fish per 1-gallon of water for freshwater fish
4:10 for marine aquariums (4-inch fish per 10-gallons) if fish are slow growing
2:10 for marine aquariums (2-inch fish per 10-gallons) if you select fast growers

If you are gearing up for something like neon tetras, you could get a 10-gallon fish tank and keep ten fish in it.

However, many species grow large over time. A good example here would be Cichlids, my personal favorite. You may get a 2 inch juvenile and end up with a 8-inch whopper in a few years. Yes, these fish will live for years.

Larger aquariums are also more stable than smaller fish tanks: Your water quality tends to hold better. With a larger fish tank, you can also get away with less frequent cleaning as opposed to a small fish tank.

So, what size fish tank should I buy? Bigger is better.



2 comments:

  1. Hi! Congratulations on the birth of your new blog site!

    We have a huge fish tank with plenty of cute fish. But the only problem is cleaning it. It's a all day affair just getting it right, especially now that the boys have moved out of home.

    If only the boys were back home, all my problems would be solved.

    Take Care,
    Peter

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Peter!

    Thanks for taking the time to visit the new blog!

    Are you using a siphon and bucket or do you have a hose siphon? I use the Python Clean and Fill System. It attaches to your sink and you vacuum and fill directly. You can see it here:

    http://www.pythonproducts.com/aqprod.html

    I can vacuum my largest tank in no time when I'm just doing a regular cleaning.

    Where I get lost in time is when I decide to rearrange all the tank decorations. Of course this is all for naught. The Cichlids in there tend to rearrange all my rearranging!

    Again, thanks for the visit!

    ReplyDelete

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