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First off, Hello! Im new here! I'm also a novice aquariast, but willing to learn.
I have at the moment what I think is a 30G tank (12in X 12in X 24in) filled with plants such as Anubas, Cacomba, Hasterya, Java Fern, Crypt, and a few more I think. PLenty of rocks as well as a artificial root with Crypt on it aswell as aritificial log nicknamed "The castle" because its tall and hides things very well. There is also a piece of wood whic I will get to in a second.
Over the years I've had;
7 penguin fish (of which 5 have died, and one has mouthroot, yay.)
RIP 1 Honey Gourami
RIP 1 Dwarf Gourami
RIP 1 Flying Fox
RIP 1 clown pleco
(Still alive)
1 Clown PLeco
1-2 Penguin fish (one s literally lost, when I clean the tank tomorrow, I hope to find him. As for the bloke with mouthrot, I am not sure if he will last the night.)
2 Gold Gouramis (Male and Female pair.)
When I got my first Pleco, I had no wood in the tank. I realised that mystake as the first one died. I got a new one and placed (after soaking and boiling) a safe piece of wood in. Its a piece of wood. Not even bogwood, but it does the trick.
As for the Gold Gouramis, from both research and experience, I foud the Male very aggressive. I think the only reason the female survived so long was because she had a hidding place between a rockand the glasse/or anubas. I feed her safely when I can, by chasin the male away with a stray.

By the way, this is the fish tank from the junkyard. I have a fishing bobber with line holding some plants tothe surface connected to the thermostate. A cut piece of wood, and marbles.


Just a few questions about fishkeeping.
1) What shouldi do about the penguin fish(s)?
And what are good techniques for euthanasia?
2) What would be a good replacement for the penguin fish that would sit well wth the gouramis?
3) My sister is staying for the summer from university. Do you guys/girls think it would be safe for the Betta fish se owns to stay in the aquarium? As in Gold Gourami/Betta battles?

To start of with a good welcome to FP

Now with your calculations you are way off. In the black heading you will see "Interactive" and by using that this is your tank size 65.6lt, 15G US, 12.5G UK. Then you subtract the gravel(Substrate) and any rocks, plus the water height from the top of the tank and you can see your 15G could easily be 13-14G this measurement is extremely important when it comes to using any fertilizers for your plants and any medications for your fish. Being a small tank there is very little room for any error.

And what are good techniques for euthanasia?

That question has as many answers as fish in your tank but the easiest and one of the better ways is to put it in a plastic bag and place it in the fridge freezer.

Going by what you are saying that tank is way to small for all those fish you have.
For the Betta I would not put it in that tank with any other fish. But it would make a perfect home for him with a few smaller safe fish like Neon/Cardinal tetras.

By the way, this is the fish tank from the junkyard

If you are saying it is a old tank I would clean it up then fill it up to see if it leaks before you do any thing.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith


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Well, by junkyard I mean more that it has random things that normally wouldn't be out in the aquarium (eg; fishing bobber)

As for the calculations, that is always the case. All calculations add up to my tank being to small for my fish. (I found the corpse of one of the penguin fish mind you, and the other will, hit the freazer)
The pleco is never seen, but for the gouramis, there seems to be anple room. As in the "1 inche of fish per 1G" rule which is really just a suggestion. When I look at some other tanks (not the petstore, like youtube videos) they have larger tanks but have ridiculously large amounts of fih compared to what seems to be right. Does the size of the tank really have that much of an effect?

The size of he tank really does have a big impact. And the fish that are in it really dtermines that. like with the fish you have, you have seen, they can be aggressive twards each other and other fish. This makes them require more room so they have there own territory. I would not add anthing else besides the two gouramis and pleco.

Tank capacity in relation to fish population appears to be a very important aspect for a healthy, well-maintained system. I am as new to this hobby as it gets and have devoted the last three weeks to nothing but research. I hear a lot about this "one inch per gallon" ratio; unfortunately, I don't think I fully understand. Is the recommendation that, for example, a ten gallon tank should house ten one-inch fish or five two-inch fish, and so on?

Yes and no. You're on the right track. What you stated is correct but.... U can't expect a 10 inch fish to move about much in a ten gallon tank. U have to also think environment. If the fish is ten inches how much room do you think would be comfortable and entertaining for the fish to move about and you to see. Also excrement from the type of fish, some fish are very messy, others not so much. You have to look at how fast the fish will "foul" the water. Obviously, a smaller tank will need more water changes, alot more often than a larger tank if you fill it to capacity or with a lot of messy fish.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Kellyjhw: Thanks for helping to clear that up a bit, though I doubt I'll be keeping ten-inch fish! You brought up some interesting points about other contributing factors to consider. I appreciate your insight.

Something i read on another forum that seemed to work pretty good with the 10 inch rule. Was that 1 inch sqaured of fish mass per gallon of water. So if you think of it like smashing the fish into a cube(not literally guys) that would tell you how many fish you could keep in a certain tank.