questioning size of fish

[wyldchyld01]

Size matters so they say, i've been thinking for a while and after seeing Bills posting about his storage drums (see diy) and his tanks in the background a little i just had to put this online

my major breeding (trying to lol) pair barely fit into a 4x1 standard tank with swimming space, but most of the members here seem to have their pairs in a little 2x1 tank, in my case this would mean that the fish are always cheek to cheek, almost.

what size tanks do people generally prefer to use for breeding comparitively to their fish (you know my fish is 20cm nose to caudal, in a 4ft tank or should we just keep the water as close to 10 gals per fish and not go too far over)...having a pair in a 4x1 seems like a waste but might be better for them, then again having them so confined might be better for the breeding process, does this make sense????

cheers all

Brenton

[ctvu]

Hi Brenton

mine is 2x18x18, not too big and not too small and easy for me to control the level of water when required. HTH

ctvu

[Merrilyn]

The biggest tank I like to use is a 3 x 18 x 14.

I think the ideal size is 2 ft 6 inches by 14 by 18.

The smaller size tank just lets the parents keep closer to their fry, and the fry don't go wandering off and get themselves lost.

I think people have been successful in raising fry in all sizes of tanks, and if a four footer is what you have available, then just use that :wink:

[Dave76]

I'm using 2ft x 18 x 14 for my breeding attempts

Dave

[wyldchyld01]

And the size of the fish you all have in the two footers (i can split them into two with dividers and have more fish)

[Merrilyn]

Most of my pairs seem to be about 6 inches (15 cm) but if your fish are closer to 20cm you might be better in the four footer.

[Trebs]

2 x 18 x 18 seems to be the best size for an average size pair (except golds and whites which do better in 18 cubes). If your pair are 20% bigger than average then a slightly bigger tank is probably the way to go. I'd avoid using an overly long tank as when I have used a 4ft the parents stay at one end and the fry can get lost down the other. Also I think it's best not to have the tank too deep so I'd still stick with 18 high. I'd suggest 30 x 18 x 18 or 3 x 18 x 18. I think a 2 x 2 x 18 would cost more due to the glass sizes.

[Ben]

I have all different sized breeding tanks, from 2 foot by 20" to standard 4 foot tanks.

a couple of things with the larger tanks, i have noticed the pairs in the 4 foot tanks seem to keep growing while the pairs in the smaller tanks slow down in growth.

When there is fry the tank is large so i am not syphoning water right next to the parents and sucking up babies!

The only down fall of the larger tanks is it will cost a bit more $$$ in power.


Cheers,
Ben

[kalebjarrod]

60cmx50cmx50cm

nice and easy to clean

nice depth

nice height

they fit together weel in a group

nice size for benches

cheap :wink:

[wyldchyld01]

thanks all, very interesting responses, obvously the fish don't need a lot of swimming space and can cope with smaller environments. hence the changing of water (changing 50 percent on a 2 footer is different to a 4ftr)

cheers

Brenton