ok, i want to start a tropical tank. what are some guidelines i should try to adhere to? ie: how many per gallon, filtration rollover per hour? bubble stone? heater?

i have everything i need in surplus parts/tanks. should i start out on a 10 gallon or a 20 long? sorry for all the questions, im basically lost when it comes to tropicals.

any info will help!

I used to have tropicals a LONG time ago. No some of this may be wrong... but here goes. The general rule as I learned it was 1 inch per gallon. So you could have 10 1 inch fish or 5 2in fish (etc) in a 10 gallon. Now this means ADULT size. When they are babies they are all cute and small, but some can grow to be whoppers.

I am not sure about filtration... I think considerably less than goldie tanks because the smaller tropicals can't handle that much flow. When I had my 10 gallon tropical I just had a basic filter that fit a 20 gal tank.
As for the bubble stone... yes... heater... Definitely! tropicals require tropical temperatures.


As to what you should start out with, its up to you. Definitely look into what types of fish you want to get. Do you want more of a community tank with several smaller fish? Or an aggressive tank with one or two showpiece fish? Do you want... mollies, danios, tetras, barbs, guppies, dwarf cichlids, cichlids, angel fish ummmmmmm I really can't think of anymore at this point. Look into the fish you want and find out optimum temp ranges, what fish they are compatible with, the optimum number (some are schoolers) and maximum adult size.

It seems a little daunting. I am eventually planning on getting a trop tank when I move out of my apartment. I really like dalmation, sliver, and gold dust mollies... I think a tank with them would look real nice. But I also like the cichlids (which are more aggressive) and am thinking of getting a blue ram or a pair of convicts.


goodluck, hope I helped!

Yes 1 inch a fish per gallon. You dont need a filter but it keeps the tank cleaner. Ask a person at the pet store what size of filter. Yes a heater and bubble stone dont need one but u can put one in for decoration.
Hope your set up works out.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with robertcrowe. You DO need a filter in a tropical tank! Get one rated for the size tank you have. I use Penguin Biowheel filters and am very happy with them. And yes you need a heater, also I think the more oxygen, the better, so I use air wands, etc. The bubbles are pretty as well as good for the water and the fish.

I think it goes by inch and cm .... not sure

( sorry)

thank you to all who posted back!!

ive been doin some research about tropicals and heres what i found:

yes, they do need filtration. i believe that ANYTHING living in a tank w/water needs a filter of some sort.

yes they do need a heater, 75-82 degrees F. seems to be the area that most prefer.

one inch per gallon of water seems to be the general concensus.

im going to shoot for a community tank.

it may take me a few weeks but, im going too start looking at what fish are available to me around here! again, thank you to all who posted back!

Just remember to do research on any specific tropical that you become interested in... don't just trust the pet stores, they're as bad with trops as they are with goldies most of the time!

The 1 inch of fish per gallon is really just for small tropicals, like fish that stay under 3 inches. Even some of those small fish need special considerations (ex: fast fish like danios shouldn't go in any less than a 20 gallon tank for space reasons, livebearers will breed a lot and you'll want extra room for that).

Temperature and pH needs vary so much for tropical fish, so make sure you research all the fish you want to get. Some fish would hate being at anything more than 78 degrees, while others would start getting sick if the temperature was under 80! Some fish need special substrates, or do best in planted tanks.

It's really not so complicated, just start choosing fish and looking them up, or posting here about them to get some idea of how to care for them!

Hi,
Having just started my own tropicl tank about 6 or 7 months ago I won't be able to help alot but here goes...when it comes to the tank size bigger is better, its better for the fish and trust me, it'll make you happy!!! I looove my tank, but unfortunatly I got some bad advice and started w/ a 5g :0( I would much :Drather have a 10-30 gallon tank!!
But thats just me!! Good Luck!