The classic "Small tank to closet" comparison

[SimonL]

Why? The neon doesn't, you don't actually think the neon can comprehend this, do you?

^^ behold the truth

A further example of the paradox of common "appropriate tank-size wisdom";

Take a Tiger barb and Tinfoil barb and ask people what the minimum size tanks are fo both fish, they'll usually say 20 gal for the Tiger and 180 (or smaller) for the Tinfoil. Both fish have the exact same body shape, swimming habits, etc, so you'd think they would require the same ratio of space...The Tiger gets 12x it's body length, 6x it's width and 8x it's length in depth.

Yet if you apply the same tank vs fish ratio of the Tiger to the Tinfoil, the appropriate tank for a foot long Tinfoil barb would be 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 8 feet deep, or approx. 4300 gallons.

However we accept a far small tank, because it is practical...

EDIT: Also, if we reverse the ratios and apply the Tinfoil/180 to the Tiger barb, you end up with a tank that is 12" long, 4" high and 4" wide...which is .67 gallons

Food for thought next time you advise someone about appropriate tank size

 

[TTTT]

That's what I was thinking..

People say a 10g is fine for a 2" betta. it is one tenth the size of the tank. Would someone give a 3' silver arowana a 30' tank?

 

[Gahandi]

Not torture, but not as good as the wild. Do oscars have human contact in the wild? I think they'd rather have lots of space and tunnels to forage through than to be teased by humans.

Nothing is as good as the wild, but you seem to be forgetting that these fish will have been raised in captivity (hopefully) and will have adapted to the presence of humans in everyday life. In Captivity, they have never known predators and see humans only as an intersting source of food. Like all good things, they have adapted and learned to live with their new environment. While you can't give them the amazon, you can do your best to make sure they live a clean and healthy life in the best environment you can provide.
(sorry if i went off topic there)
but thats my 2 cents worth.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

In the wild, most fish except migratory and saltwater oceanics, which no one keeps anyway, usually occupy territories in the wild

 

[Bottomfeeder]

That's what I was thinking..

People say a 10g is fine for a 2" betta. it is one tenth the size of the tank. Would someone give a 3' silver arowana a 30' tank?

Yep I agree, there is a LOT more leniency towards the fish to tank ratio with bigger fish.

 

[koltsixx]

I think it should be common sense that animals primary concern is survival. Remember fish don't swim for fun they swim to find food, to elude predators or to find some territory and stake it out as there own. They are not obsessed with the needs for distraction as we are. They don't need much to feel comfortable. They just need to be well fed and feel secure in there surroundings. All fish have different needs in order to produce this comfort. For some fish instinctively they swim as a way to elude predation. Such a fish would need alot of swimming space to feel secure(or happy if you want to call it that). These are usually schooling fish they stay in schools for protection and travel all the time as ways to elude predators. If this fish is put in a small tank alone it will be nervous(unhappy), because it's instincts are screaming at it that this is a very unsafe state to be in. This stress will lead to unnatural behavior, disease and in some cases death. This is a miserable life i agree and inhumane. What's funny is putting this fish in a huge tank the end result will be the same because it's needs were not met. It needs it's school were not provided. Pacu's are prime example of this. They are remarkably hardy and adabtable fish, but this is in my opinion one of the worst aquarium fish to have if your forthe bigger tank argument. These fish are schooling fish and virtually none of us here have the tank necessary to provide it an environment that it would truly be comfortable in. Imagine a true school of adult pacu's whose got the room to keep them very few of us. Now in my opinion the exact oscar. You know why Axelrod was able to breed these bad boys in a 55 gallon tank so many years ago. It was because he met the comfort requirements for 2 Oscars in that small tank. They were so "happy" they bred for him. Why because Oscars feel most comfortable when they have full belly's a territory staked out for themselves and some shelter to feel they can duck in should a potential predator comes by. These are not fish that swim often. Only when the situation requires it ie: no food, predator. Here's a prime example of a fairly big fish who doesn't need a huge tank to be "happy" just the proper set-up. Each fish and it's tank requirements need to be evaluated individually, not generalizations. Again remember what makes fish happy first and foremost is survival if you make them think they're succeding at it you will have one very happy fishy.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I like to stick to a rule of 4-6 times their body length of swimming room for fish. People squaller about Bettas being kept in 5 g tanks but when you think about it......a 2" fish in a 1' long tank has 6 times its body length in swimming room. It'd be like and Oscar in a 5'-6' tank. Acceptable IMO.

 

[Fat Homer]

i think koltsix said it best, it depends on each fish's requirements as to what would make them happy... i mean given most if not all of us can't give our fish a full river, replicating a comfortable habitat for them is the next best thing we can do... so as long as they can turn around/swim around comfortably and everything is kept at the optimum level i think we're doing the best we can... unless we get fish we cannot possibly keep happily for life...

 

[ScoobyRacing03]

I will go ahead and say that keeping an oscar in a 55g is like living in a closet. You can just barely turn around, you will get miserably bored, the room will smell. Imagine living in a glass box with some driftwood and plants (if your keeper is tasteful) and you can just barely turn around. You can't go outside, you can't stretch. If this is an after shock of the oscar and senegal in 55g thread than this is getting repetitive.

You clearly haven't seem the closet my ex girlfriend had. It is bigger than my bedroom and bathroom combined. It never smelled there was a window in there you could open if it smelled and I could plug my computer into one of the outlets in there so I could be just fine for quite some time.

 

[Mazcote Yarquest]

I am not even going to get into "what the creator intended", but, fish are food, if not for you and I then for the bigger, faster or smarter fish that is hungry.

I agree we have an obligation to house these animals in as appropriate a fashion as we can but, in the end, fish are food.