Does it count?

[nerdyguy83]

Ok, I know there is some debate about how to figure how many fish to put in your tank. The two main defined schools of thought seem to be inches per gallon and inches per some number of square inches of surface area. (There are probably other ways to figure it, but those are the two I know of.)

So my question is, if you use either of these methods, do fish that stay at the margins of the tank (otos, cories, and the like) or inverts (shrimp, snails, etc.) count towards the total number of inches? My argument would be that these fish don't take up room in the open areas of the tank (although I admit that isn't the main concern when talking about overstocking), and they do a good job of cleaning up algae, extra food, and the like on the bottom and sides of the tank.

True, you can make the arguement that any organism in your tank will increase your bioload by producing waste and therefore too many will still result in overstocking, but isn't it better to have something that eats algae and other debris (which your filter can't move) and turns it into waste that an effective filtration system will be able to take out of the water?

So the bottom line when it comes to otos, shrimp, snails, and the like: do they count?

(I readily admit that cories are probably a bad example because they do get quite a bit bigger. I left out plecos for this reason too.)

[Alestro Bakai]

After being in this hobby for quite some time, I've come to the conclusion that there is no rule of thumb whatsoever. Inch per gallon can't work because obviously an inch of goldfish is different than an inch of tetra.

Also, when talking about goldfish I've heard reasonable arguments made anywhere from 10-30gallons per fantail goldfish. Nobody ever seems to take into account there's even differences in tanks. There's a 20 gallon, and there's a 20 gallon long, which I'd think would be better, because it allows for longer uninterrupted swimming. Then as you mentioned, what about tall tanks? Obviously a slim 30 hexagon tall tank isn't as desireable for cories as a long 30 gallon would be, because the total bottom space is important for them.

I believe that the fish per gallon theory is about as elusive as the universal theory of relativity.

[nerdyguy83]

I completely agree. The "1 inch per" rules are not a good measure of how to stock an aquarium in my opinion. I personally go by how well the tank is doing, and if it looks like I can add a another fish without upsetting the balance. I just wanted to ask the question because I was curious.