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Aqua clear 30 on a 10g tank

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  ChrisK 
#1 ·
Would this allow me to put more fish in my tank? The tank is a 10 gallon and i have the filter on the lowest setting. I currently have:
1 Cory Catfish
3 Neon Tetra
2 Glowlight Tetra
and 1 tiger barb that im going to be bringing back to petsmart today
 
#2 ·
adding a bigger filter doesn't necessarily mean you can add more fish. If anything it just improves your water quality. You can add about 4 or 5 more tetras since they stay pretty small. I would consider upgrading tanks though. corys generally like to be in schools like the tetras do
 
#4 ·
I saw your previous thread, so as you are a new member, I'm happy to welcome you to the forum.

The size of the tank has two major impacts on the fish inside. First is the obvious physical space, and second is water quality.

Some fish need more physical space than others even though they might be the same size, or even smaller. The natural temperament and behaviours of each fish species is significant to the tank size required. In your other thread, the issue of Tiger Barb was noted, and that is an example. All barbs require more space for swimming, first; and they need to be in groups of 6 or more so that means more space. That's why a 30g tank is recommended in our profiles for a group of 8 TB. If you instead have neon tetra, you can have 6-7 of them in a 10g. This is because they do not swim actively so they need less physical space, and they are more peaceful so there is less need of space for each to escape the other. That deals with physical space. But before leaving, this is also why the "inch of fish per gallon" does not work; each fish is different, and it is absolutely impossible to come up with suitable rules.

The water quality is largely determined by the tank size and the number and type of fish. There is the rather obvious aspect of waste from fish, and needing sufficient filtration to handle this. But that is the obvious. There is also the "crud" that no filter can remove; only a water change deals with this stuff. "Crud" is a term I coined from another aquarist to include urine, dissolved waste that becomes liquid, and pheromones. The latter are sort of chemicals released by fish, and other fish can "read" them. Pheromones from an aggressive fish will tell other fish that it is aggressive; this is highly stressful, even if no physical interaction occurs. The fish is still being "aggressive" to the other fish. Like those Tigers earlier. So this is another reason they need more water volume. Plus more water changes. So in this case, more filters achieves nothing.

I hope that helps to answer your question on more filters for more fish. The best short answer is "no."

Byron.
 
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