“Bigger is better!” is what so many aquarists say with respect to aquarium sizes. I don’t disagree with that, generally speaking. However, sometimes large tanks aren’t practical considering available space, cost, etc.
Because I keep dwarf cichlid species, I don’t have any real need for large tanks. In fact, my largest tank is a 75g and, truthfully, it’s too big.
If you follow the blog, you probably already know what fish I mostly keep. If not, cruise over to the About the Author page.
I generally don’t keep any fish greater than five inches in length. Therefore, large tanks aren’t needed. The good news about keeping dwarf species is that you CAN keep these fish in large tanks. The converse isn’t true however – you shouldn’t keep large fish in small tanks.
So, what would I consider the ideal tank sizes for dwarf species? There are many variables to factor in, but the one tank that is pretty universal in the dwarf world is the 20g long. It’s 30″ long and 12″ wide (front to back), which typically provides adequate tank-bottom space for most species (see photo at top). However, depending on your fish plans for the tank or tanks you want to set up, i.e., species only, community, or in between like a bi-species (e.g., two species only), other tank sizes might be better.
You might hear lots of people talk about 10g tanks. These are quite common also and they have their place, but I don’t like them because, in my opinion, they really limit what you can keep. Though a pair of small shell dwellers will do fine in a 10g, I just don’t like putting any fish larger than 2″ in a tank that size. I typically reserve 10g tanks for quarantine, sickness, and fry grow-out.
I have posted before about my shell dweller tanks, which are 45 gallons. These particular tanks were custom made, so you won’t find them in stores. They have the same footprint as a 75-gallon, meaning they’re 48″ long by 18″ wide, but shallower at only 12″ in depth. However, there is a tank size readily available in stores for every need.
I also use 40-gallon breeders and 33-gallon longs. I like giving most of my fish plenty of floor space to explore. The 40-gallon breeders, easily found in stores, are 36″ long and also 18″ wide, a bit shorter but they’re deeper. In practice, I keep tanks that are lower depth, meaning few of my tanks are more than 18″ deep.
Below is a video of my fish room, showing all of my tanks.
There are lots of sizes in between those I discuss above, so you can certainly find something that fits your fish keeping goals. If you like mid or upper water dwelling fish, you might want to go with something relatively tall, like a 29 or 30-gallon or even a 55-gallon. There are lots of options.
If you aren’t sure what might work best, reach out. I’m happy to help.