Growout space?

[a date with nature]

In everybody's opinion what is the best size of growout tank? i will have plenty of 20 highs, but from what i here it sounds like i'll need much bigger, they will be for all around stuff, including but not limited to: apistos, angelfish, and rainbowfish.

[TheSwissAquarist]

@tolstoy21 does plenty of Apistos, @AllFishNoBrakes angelfish, and @Randy does Rainbowfish. 

[tolstoy21]

On 9/3/2023 at 11:14 PM, a date with nature said:

In everybody's opinion what is the best size of growout tank? i will have plenty of 20 highs, but from what i here it sounds like i'll need much bigger, they will be for all around stuff, including but not limited to: apistos, angelfish, and rainbowfish.

It all depends on the the size of the species, the size of a specific spawn, and how long you will be growing them out for.

I use 20 highs and 40 breeders. I will move fry to 40 breeders when they begin to look crowded in a 20 high.

For instance, a spawn of a dozen or two apistos will typically remain in a 20g.  A spawn of 50+ will get moved as soon as they start to put some size on. Frequently, I will combined a few different spawns from a few different apisto species (as long as they are similarly sized/aged) into a 40 breeder, to free up tanks. As long as the fish don't out compete each other for food, you should be able combined fish for grow out if needed. However, I would refrain from combining two differently aged spawns from the same species.

I don't know that any of this is a specific 'rule' to breeding, but it's just what I seems to work for me so far.

Edited September 4, 2023 by tolstoy21

[AllFishNoBrakes]

My Angel eggs get hatched in a 2.5 gallon with a seasoned small ACO sponge filter. Then, they go to a 10 gallon. From there, into 2/3’s of a 55 where they complete grow out until selling. Works for me! Multiple ways to skin a cat. 

[a date with nature]

Thanks! I'll definately play around with the sizes, good to know that there is no set in stone way that you have to do to make it work.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I like to hatch in the super small tank and start raising them there as it’s super easy for the fry to find food. Same goes for the 10 gallon, more space so they can grow, but super easy to find food. Then, to the big tank, and by that time they can all find all the food and it’s enough space to hold them until selling. 
 

When I sell/trade to the LFS I take the biggest 20 each time. This allows the smaller ones to continue to grow out. Then, hit them up and take em another 20. Rinse and repeat. 

[tolstoy21]

As @AllFishNoBrakes said, 10 gallon tanks certainly work for spawning and growing out many species. I also use some 10 gallons for fish like tetras that are super-duper tiny at birth.  I also use 10Gs for some of my selective shrimp breeding projects, as these typically house less then 20 shrimp at any time. 

But, my preference is for 20 gallon highs due to the following factors:

1. They take up a similar foot print on my racks. I can do four 10 gallons per shelf or four 20 gallons. In either case, I wind up with three shelves of 4 tanks, the only difference being in head room above the tank on the rack.
2. I prefer the extra water volume since I tend to foul 10 gallons easy with feeding
3. I break 10 gallon aquariums 50% of the time that I drill them, so I no longer drill them which means they wont be on my auto-water-change system, which means extra work for me.

However, there is something to be said for the small size factor and it being easier for fry to access food in a tank that size.

In the end, you'll figure out what works for you. You just need to try a few different sizes over time and you'll eventually come to a good conclusion as to your preference.

Edited September 10, 2023 by tolstoy21