[Killietalk] territoriality and square inches vs linear feet

[debunix <debunix at well_com>]

I have a new office--a real office with a window and door and  
everything--in my new hospital.

I am considering two options for an aquarium in there, where the  
primary limitation will be that I have no running water in my room  
and will have to tote it from down the hall, so I am not interested  
in a large tank of many gallons.  I am considering two different  
options:

One would be a nano-cube, probably the six gallon size, compact, well  
lit for happy plants even without CO2.  This could hold a pair or  
trio of peaceful killies or a few endlers, but the cube shape, while  
convenient, does not offer a lot of surface area for agressive or  
territorial fish (pupfish, or !).

When I went to buy my nano-cube, I saw another tank that brought up  
interesting possibilities:  it was a long, narrow, short tank  
designed for dividing and showing off multiple bettas.   I have a  
desk that is nearly 8 feet long along one wall, and could build or  
have built for me, a tank of perhaps 6 feet x 8 inches wide x 8  
inches deep, which would only hold about 8 gallons.

That gives a lot of distance from one end of the tank to another, but  
not a lot of width.  Would that provide range for several territorial  
fish, or would the narrowness just encourage them to claim longer  
territories?

Diane in Los Angeles

http://www.well.com/user/debunix/fish/fishIndex.html



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