[Bob1]

Could I keep in the tank, can any other natives be put in with them. Heating and filtering needed?

[donkeyman876]

Your tank is approx. 60g. It would be able to hold 50" or so of fish. Orangespots get to be 5-6" long. 8 or 9 should be the absolute most you put in there. However; that probably could have been figured out with a quick internet search.

Ben

This post has been edited by donkeyman876: 29 July 2010 - 08:17 AM

[Burbot]

Welcome,
I just want to say that stocking a fish tank is not a mathematical formula. "gallons X length of fish = number of fish" or any other type of equation, does not apply. There are SO many of these exact same questions on here, so it is a very normal thought process. However, if you create your tank set up, what if you lose 10 gallons of space to decor? Perhaps a totally empty 60G could hold x number of fish, but your set up can hold y number of fish. It takes common sense as well. Do you want to have a tank maxed out with fish, or a few to enjoy? Anyways I wish you the best of luck with your tank.

And of course no offense to donkeyman, as that guy knows what he's talking about and answered your question very well according to how it was asked.

[schambers]

I agree that the "inch a gallon" rule is not very useful. Five 1" fish do not equal one 5" fish.

I actually found a mathematical formula for stocking tanks that I like quite a bit, in "Dr. Axelrod's Mini-Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes." It's in a section called, "Fish Capacity of Tanks." He starts out by figuring out the surface area of the tank in centimeters, then you find the body length of your fish (not including the tail length) and look it up in a table he provides. A 2 cm long fish uses 9 square cm of surface area, while a 5 cm fish uses 80 square cm, and so on.