9gallon / 34L tank newbie help please

[qtchick02]

i have a ar-380, and i want to know some recommendations of the type of fish i can put in there ... i like the angelfish ...

i also want to know how many i can have to not overcrowd the tank ... i want a variety but i also want to know wat other people think ...

thank u in advance

[bullseye69]

I'm Sorry to tell you but you can not get any angels in a 9 gallon tank. angels get tall and need a nice tall tank, for 1 angel i would say you would need at least a 30 gallon tall which is 24" tall, but if you want more you would need to go with a 60 gallon tall/75 gallon/90 gallon. those are what i would only put angels in min. is the 30 tall though and at that should only be one in that.
What other fish do you like, then i can help you further. suggestions of like cory cats, neons, cardnals, glolights, are among a few smaller fish and you could do a small school of about 6 in there.

[JustOneMore20]

For that tank size, I suggest a male Betta and a school of Harlequin rasboras. Or you could get a Honey gourami instead of a Betta.

Your options are pretty limited.

[FinnFan]

I have seen some really cute and small dwarf platys at the store. You could try some of those.

[qtchick02]

i like small fish and sumthing that looks good and are good fish ... ... i also like guppy's ... but i want a variety ... coz i'm new to this whole fish hobby, im not too sure wat to do ... i dont really know how tall it is ... let me check ... 35cms tall ... does that help?

[qtchick02]

the ppl at the store say i can have an angel in my tank ... LIARS!! my boyfriend bought me an ar-380 tank by aqua one and we didnt expect how much everything would cost and all these problems ... we looked at tanks online just the past 2 days and have found that they are so much cheaper!!! and they also include heaters and filters and stuff ... i was so upset ... coz we got this new tank but didnt realise that it'd cost so much cheaper online for bigger ones! thought i'd just share that ... i understand if nobody really cares .... hehehe ....
thank u!

[JustOneMore20]

Your tank is on the smaller side.....so its going to be hard to get a good variety in there.

Yep, some tanks cost alot more than others. I usually just by generic rectangle tanks and then buy all my equipment separate....its cheaper that way and I can choose my equipment. Fish keeping is an expensive hobby, but its worth it.

You could try some tetras or rasboras (choose something smallish) and then get some shrimp and maybe a couple Otocinclus. Or you could go the Betta/Gourami and tetra route. That would allow some color variety.

You could get a few Dwarf Platies and maybe a shoal of Dwarf Cories if you can find them.

Really, once you get a school of something in the tank, you don't have much room for more than maybe a couple more fish.

Have you been to the fish store to see what options you have? Don't buy anything just yet....just see what is available.

Angelfish get too tall for your tank. 35cm is 14 inches and Angelfish can reach 9-10 inches.....plus with substrate/gravel in the tank, you lose some height......you cannot keep Angels. They need atleast a 20"/50cm tall tank IMO.

[qtchick02]

ohk ... well we've bought the tank and everything else ... just not the fish ... does having a plant and ornament in the tank overcrowd the tank? wat i mean is will it lessen my number of fish i can have? wat is the rule with the fish and tank? in size wise. i read somewhere its a certain amount of in with certain amount of water ... and divide ... i have no idea ... just read it sumwhere. i could be completely wrong though ... im so sorry for asking so many questions. but i do thank every1 for helping!

[JustOneMore20]

Plants and ornaments don't really limit your fish choices. If you put too many in the tank it can affect the swimming room, but decorate lightly and you'll be fine.

There are a couple "rules" of stocking, but I don't like either of them. I've just kind of learned what the acceptable number of fish for different tank sizes is.

For an 8-12g tank, 1 school of 6-7 fish, a centerpiece type fish (small gourami or betta), and maybe a couple algae eaters (Otocinclus) will work. You can change that around too, for example the Dwarf Cories (only get 1 inch) so you can have around 8, plus a centerpiece fish (or a few dwarf platies).
Its just kind of something you learn IMO....you'll get many suggestions from people who have different opinions on stocking....just kinda have to believe someone and hope their advice is good.

With larger tanks (20g and up) you can have a fish to fill all areas (bottom, middle, top), but anything smaller than that and there really isn't room for that many fish. Plus smaller tanks aren't that tall, so you really don't have the middle area.

[Betta1]

Luckily I have a great LFS close by (or did this is it's last week) But before they got rid of most of their stock I found some nice fish which are temporarily in my 29g. Try some of the fish only stores, chain stores have spotty knowledge and generic selection. I managed to get me a few Liqourice Gourami's and a couple other similar (related to gouramis) both only get about an inch or so.I also got some otto cats and bumblebee gobies. Ghost shrimp make a great addition to any tank where they won't be eaten.

Basically what i'm trying to say is if you want a good stocking of a small tank you've gotta find some rare fish or stick to whats been suggested for stocking.