How many fish should I have in my 12 gallon tank?
by Aquaboy on Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 | 6 Comments
I’ve been doing some research and the numbers of fish people seem to put in a 10 gallon really seems to vary.
Some people say just 4 tetras, other say 5 tetras, 3 guppies, 3 mollies.
I’d obviously like to go with a few more than just 4 tetras… I’d like
4 tetras, 4 guppies, 3 mollies, and a few cherry shrimp.
What do you recommend?
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The “rule of thumb” is 1 inch of fish for each gallon. Therefore, about 12 fish like mollies – unless they’re like mine and are really big.
It’s far more than a numbers game. For instance Mollies get quite a bit larger than Guppies and can bully them, there’s one problem. They may also eat the Cherry Shrimp.
What species of Tetra were you thinking? Neon? In which case they need to be in groups larger than 4, at least 5-6, as they’re shoaling fish and can’t shoal properly in a group of 4, one may get bullied in that small a group.
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/10_Gallon
Don’t use the inch per gallon/fish per gallon/whatever rule, use common sense and species research to stock your tank.
It all depends on what kind of fish and their size. In a 10 gallon I had a 2 beta sharks, 4 guppie like fish, 1 scum sucker, and 2 bottom feeders 9 in total in a 10 gallon and they lived nicely together (all community fish though) I went to a store callde that fish/pet place and just told them the fish I had and they kept telling me i was at the limit so if u stick to smaller fish ide say try to keep it at 10 or below ant bigger fish ide count as two fish and still stick with the 10 fish limit. I was once told its about 2 fish per gallon but obviouslt big fish wouldnt be able to apply to this rule. Just add a fish at a time. Pick the initial fish you would like 3 after you stabalize your tank and then adding another fish at a time until it causes you an issue or until your happy with your mix. Its just a balancing act =)
The problem is that 12 gallons aren’t that much different from 10 gallons. The fish you’re listing really don’t feel comfortable unless they have a lot of friends around them — friends of their own species. So for the sake of your fish, you go with more of their friends, instead of just doing the bare minimum. Especially since, with a small tank like that, the water parameters swing more.
In your case, I would go with 8 tetras and 4 guppies OR 3 mollies, and a few cherry shrimp.
i don’t know about that one inch rule of thumb to the gallon thing. i have a 30 gallon tank and i have a tetra and 4 huge fantail goldfish in it and they totally live in outer space!
Your combo sounds fine, except not so many Mollies, they are large and messy.
Let me change it around a bit:
6 Tetras
3 Guppies
2 Mollies
5+ Cherry Shrimp
Get a good filter and heater and do regular water changes!
Good luck!