inch a gallon rule

S

shawn in bakers

AC Members
Nov 5, 2005
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I have been keeping fish for over thirty years now, and I must say that I disagree with another hobbyist who says that the rule one inch of fish per gallon is not a good "guide ". Well anyone who has kept fish any length of time knows you cant keep some fish together no matter how big the tank (i.e. mutible breeding pairs of angel fish). The rule was created to be a guide as to the amount of fish you can keep in a tank, some fish i.e. mbuna like to be overcrowded, so again, just a guide. It should be used for all community fish, or fish that can be kept in a community type aquarium.
p.s. I was always told for the larger new world cichlids 5 gallons per inch of fish as a rule, as some are very agressive. Shawn
 
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did you read the sticky about the inch per gallon guide?? It gives alot of reasons for why it is not the best "guide" especially for those just starting out in the hobby. There are too many other factors to consider.
 
The guide stands to do more harm than good in the hobby, and creates more confusion than it could ever be worth. It's that simple the negatives outweigh any possible positives, and therefore it's a poor guide. Randomly pick any 100 fish species, and see how many of them apply well to the inch per gallon rule. not many do. three 6 inch pictus cats don't belong in a 25g etc. two 5 inch gourami's will not fit well in a 10 gallon tank. So on and so forth. There really only are a small handful of fish that the inch per gallon rule will apply to. and given that it is stated as a blanket rule, it is useless.

Experienced hobbyists don't need the guide, newbie's do and they are the ones who stand to be hurt the most by it. It should not be used or reccomended as useful.
Dave
 
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Yes it is a good guide if you study the fish and use it as a guide only. The problem is most people use it as a rule and they apply it to every fish out there.
 
i think it's only useful as a *very* general guide for what not to do. . . if you have a 20 gallon tank with 35 inches of fish, you automatically have a problem. to stock correctly, you have to look at compatibility, eating habits, bottom/middle/top, temp, etc. . . inches per gallon won't make you do things right, but it can show you that what you're doing is wrong.
 
There's way too many factors when stocking fish. Body shape, feeding habits, waste produced, fish activity, and the list goes on. I don't even think the inches per gallon rule is even useful as a general guide. It's useless, but that's only my opinion. I prefer common sense, water quality and the advice of others who have lots of experience with the same species.
 
reiverix said:
There's way too many factors when stocking fish. Body shape, feeding habits, waste produced, fish activity, and the list goes on. I don't even think the inches per gallon rule is even useful as a general guide. It's useless, but that's only my opinion. I prefer common sense, water quality and the advice of others who have lots of experience with the same species.
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Right on!!! The inch per gallon rule was made up by hippies.
 
Right on!!! The inch per gallon rule was made up by hippies.
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Hey! What's wrong with hippies? Next, you people are gonna start making fun of Communists! ;) :D

Seriously though, I wouldn't use it. It can be helpful as a very general guide, but that's pretty much it. You have to look at aggression, mass, etc.

If I went by that rule I could keep a 10-inch Oscar in my 10 gallon.
 
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