THE BIG QUESTION: WHAT DETERMINES THE MINIMUM TANK SIZE???

[TTTT]

I think with smaller community fish, the gallonage is more important. the more water is in your tank, the more fish you can add.. The more water you have, your params will be more stable so you are able to get more fish.

With larger "Monster" fish, footprint is much more important. Large fish need wide tanks to physically turn around, etc

 

[vfc]

This is the paradox present in all these "minimum tank size" threads, the answer of course is practicality. That is the reason why a "min. size tank" for a Tiger barb is 20 gallons, and a Tinfoil barb a 180.
.......
Appropriate tank size has very little to do with the fish and everything to do with the norms of fishkeeping, which are determined by practicality.

I guess what we call "practicality" is really putting our needs before the welfare of large fish.

I know if I were "captured" and put in a single room that had everything I needed to survive; obviously my mental health would suffer more if the room was only 3 times my body length rather than 24 times. That same reasoning is why people pay large sums of money for large homes and big offices (even though they are not confined to them 7x24).

 

[SimonL]

I guess what we call "practicality" is really putting our needs before the welfare of large fish.

I know if I were "captured" and put in a single room that had everything I needed to survive; obviously my mental health would suffer more if the room was only 3 times my body length rather than 24 times. That same reasoning is why people pay large sums of money for large homes and big offices (even though they are not confined to them 7x24).

What we call "keeping fish in aquariums" puts our needs before the welfare of fish in general.

Comparing human mental conditions to a fish is a mistake far too many people on this forum make, fish do not have anywhere near the cognitive abilities of a human, nor do they understand concepts of freedom.

 

[CTU2fan]

I can tell you that my Hoevenii barb is a bit over 12" long and I feel like my tank (170G, 72"x18"x30") is the bare minimum for him. I would shoot for 4x length of the fish long x 1.5x length of the fish wide, and adjust from there...for example I wouldn't keep a 1' barb in a 4' tank.

 

[SimonL]

But would you keep a 1" Tiger barb in a tank that is 6" long, 1.5" wide and 2.5" long? Seems waaaaay to small right? That's the fish-to-tank ratio you've got the Hoevenii barb in...

 

[Darth Scohin]

I noticed that my min didn't work for small fish I even stated
Now Obviously I just realized that this doesn't work for small fish
And like SimonL said cubic inch for small fish is best

 

[SimonL]

Er...I don't believe I said that...but it's a better formula than "one inch per gallon" lol.

 

[CTU2fan]

But would you keep a 1" Tiger barb in a tank that is 6" long, 1.5" wide and 2.5" long? Seems waaaaay to small right? That's the fish-to-tank ratio you've got the Hoevenii barb in...

And here I thought I was being generous, since the consensus around here seems to be 4xlenght x 1xlength for a footprint...ie I could keep my barb in a 55 (for now anyway, he's still growing). And I also wouldn't keep a guppy in a shot glass, but that's probably what the "cubic inch per gallon" rule would call for.

I just don't think their really can be a "rule" about it. It's going to come down to what's practical, and how willing you are to compromise your fish. You've got the "any tank is too small, fish should be free" folks on one side, and the "do what you want, it's just a fish, and it's YOUR fish" crowd on the other.

 

[aloys]

I think it all depends on the fish and every situation could be different. It also changes a lot once you start talking about "bigger" fish.

I just want people to use common sense and to stop buying fish that they can't properly house. There are plenty of great fish out there that would love to live in a 125 gallon tank for their entire lives. But people see that 125 as a huge tank and start throwing in these fish that belong in giant ponds.

I think people go about this whole process in reverse. I think you should start with the tank and then decide what fish you want instead of the other way around.

 

[steelayer]

Sounds like SimonL has it pegged down pretty well take his advice