Fish and Size Of Tank?
by Aquaboy on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 | 3 Comments
I currently have a 55 gallon fish tank. Right now I have 2 Blood Parrot Fish, a Ryukin Goldfish, a Bala/Tri-Color Shark, a African Black Ghost Knife, 3 Emerald Corydoras, a Sailfin Pleco, and a Clown Pleco. They have all been in my tank for over a year now but what I wanted to know is will they all or some outgrow the tank and if so how big of a tank do I need to go to?
The Goldfish is doing great in the tank and doesn’t get bothered by the other fish.
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1 gallon = 1 inch of fish.
The 1 inch per gallon rule doesn’t apply to fish as large as yours.
Bala sharks are schooling fish, so it’s best to have a group of about 5. Also, goldfish prefer colder water (around 70 degrees) and won’t be happy in a tropical aquarium. I would suggest getting him his own 20 gallon tank. The rest of your fish could probably be okay in their current tank, but it would be a good idea to either upgrade to an 80 gallon or more or divide the fish into two aquariums.
The Blood Parrots, Corys and clown pleco wont outgrow that size tank, so they will be fine.
The Goldfish isn’t really suitable for that mix of fish (water temp and possible agression from the large pleco)
The Balas grow big, (up to 12″) and really need a 6ft tank as an adult, and are better in a group (less nervous and jumpy)
The Black Ghost Knife and Pleco could reach 18″, and likewise you are looking at a 6ft tank for them as well.
They are probably OK in the 55gal at the moment, but in a few more years thay will need a bigger home. A couple of years maybe?
Ian