Stocking Question

G

gman7589

Registered Member
Oct 19, 2009
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I have tried to research stocking and it seems a good rule of thumb to start with is the 1inch of fish per gallon of water rule. From there it seems I need to take into consideration on the swimming room needed for the fish. Another factor to consider is where in the tank the fish spends predominately the most amount of it's time (top, mid or bottom of tank). Finally, filtration. Does this seem like a good start to consider when stocking? I have the following in a 75 gallon freshwater tank with a marineland penguin 350 HOB and a marineland Magnum 350 canister filter:
7 neon tetras = 14in
3 black tetras= 12in
3 sword tails = 9 in
2 black mollies = 6in
3 rosies = 9in
Total inch count = 50

I am looking to add in the future over time the following:
6 guppies= 12
2 mollies = 6
3 neons = 6
2 angels = ?
4 gourmai = ?

Will the tank become "overstocked"? I am also going to add the angels and gourmai as the very last addition to the tank. Any suggestions or modifications?

Thanks in advance for the input.
 
:welcome:

The 1" rule is a very basic guideline that doesn't account for many key factors (as you mention). I would suggest adding a few groups at a time, monitor your ammonia / nitrite / nitrate levels, monitor for behavioral issues, and then stop when you've hit the sweet spot.

IMO, the optimal stocking is where all your fish are happy & healthy, and you can keep nitrates at 10-20 with a good weekly water change.

In your case I would suggest first adding some groups of tetras to build up those schools, then add a few more guppies or mollie as you like (understanding that with mixed genders you'll get plenty of fry), then....I think angels could be trouble (eating and abusing your other fish), but maybe a few pearl gouramis would work nicely.

Good luck!
 
First of all, I would like to point out that angels will predate the neons so they should be excluded. It looks good other than that but what kind of gourami are you interested in?
 
froglover007 said:
First of all, I would like to point out that angels will predate the neons so they should be excluded. It looks good other than that but what kind of gourami are you interested in?
Click to expand...

Either kissing gourmai or dwarf, maybe 2 of each? Any suggestions?
 
no kissing groumies as they can excede to a foot in lenght most fishstores wont tell u that or they dont now that but i myself fell for there crime one time. kissin groumies are a beauty wen there full grown but need a tank of min of 120 or bigger
 
As others have said the inch per gallon rule does not take into account many factors such as bio-load.

I would recommend you research each type of fish and their needs/compatibility with other fish. Also research the individule fishes bio-load.

But before you get you fish you should fishless cycle your tank/filter, link: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

Fishless cycling causes ZERO stress on fish. Fishless cycling is also easier in my opinion because you don't have to do daily water changes.
 
I think you need to focus on uping your schools to more comfortable numbers. With the gouramis, I wouldn't put more than 2 in a 75, and 0 kissing gouramis. skip the angels too. I think that would be too much, in addition to the conerns about your fish becoming food.
 
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