What stocking rule do y'all follow?
- Thread starter Malbri
- Start date
I don't have a rule per sae. I just decide what fish I want to start with, then I make sure it won't get too large for my tank and choose it's tankmates accordingly. I find it's best to understock for a multitude of reasons.
kjr928
Go fish yourself.
I'm learning all sorts of stuff lately. Mostly that I am clueless on stocking!
Here's what I learned today:
1. 1" of fish per gallon rule doesn't apply to all fish, but only to skinny little fish like tetras.
2. Puffers and other big fat fish need loads of extra room and I can't put 2 in my 12g because they will each need 30g.
3. Don't listen to the LFS guy because he is full of bull and doesn't know what he's talking about despite his 30+ years of experience. (He told me I could put 2 puffers in a 12g & now my heart is broken because I LOVED them!!!)
I hope that helped you or at least you enjoyed it.
Here's what I learned today:
1. 1" of fish per gallon rule doesn't apply to all fish, but only to skinny little fish like tetras.
2. Puffers and other big fat fish need loads of extra room and I can't put 2 in my 12g because they will each need 30g.
3. Don't listen to the LFS guy because he is full of bull and doesn't know what he's talking about despite his 30+ years of experience. (He told me I could put 2 puffers in a 12g & now my heart is broken because I LOVED them!!!)
I hope that helped you or at least you enjoyed it.
the amount of fish you can put in a tank depends a lot on the person and how much time they can sacrifice to doing water changes and cleaning the tank. in theory one could really overstock a tank(granted with fish are not to aggressive) and just do a large water change 2 or 3 times a week. For most of us that is not possible though because of other time commitments. so to stock a tank get a few and then test the water while doing water changes as often as your schedule can accommodate and if the nitrates remian at 10ppm then it is safe to add another fish but when you test the water and they are at 50ppm then you should probably get comfortable with the fish you have. also it must be taken into account how big your fish will grow.
there really is no 'rule'. the number and size of the fish you keep in your tank should be based on several factors. it should not be based solely on the chemistry of your water nor on the magic of the inch per gallon myth. it's more than simply a matter of successfully keeping the ammonia and nitrites at zero or the fact that you may have "great filtration". certainly these are important issues, but one of the most important factors is almost always overlooked. the number and size of fish that one maintains in a tank should be predicated on the "biology" and behaviour of those fish.
this means that the interraction of a mixed community tank and/or the behaviour of a single species is the single most important factor to consider. you want the fish you're keeping to have the ability to exhibit "normal" and functional behaviour. normal behaviour is important. abnormal behaviour results in stress. stress leads to disease. disease can lead to death. for example:
1. if species (A) does not get along with species (B), then these fish don't belong in the same tank no matter how few fish you have or how large the tank. "getting along" is based on the visual and behavioural Q's that each fish species is genetically programmed with. this is why African cichlids don't belong in the same tank with Central American cichlids for example. Africans don't "understand" Central American fish speak and this leads to behavioural problems and stress.
2. if species (A) has specific food or water chemistry requirements which are completely different from species (B), then these fish don't belong in the same tank no matter how large it is.
3. if species (A) is aggressive and defends a territory of 2 square feet, then you cannot expect to successfully keep more than one of these fish in a tank which is smaller than 2 square feet. convict cichlids are an excellent example of this ... this little fish aggressively defends territories of about two square feet give or take. if you have a tank which allows only that much room and no more, the convict will defend the entire tank to the detriment of any other fish (no matter how large it is) in that tank.
fish need room to swim without having the rest of the tanks inhabitants "in their face" continuously. when crowded, fish exhibit stress syndromes that result in poor color, improper fin form, insufficient metabolic development, do not exhibit proper musculature, do not develop properly functioning organ systems and most importantly slowly lose their inherant resistance to disease. this results in a significantly shortened lifespan and along the way, lots of diseases for which the poorly conditioned fish is a good target..
think about your local lake or river --- the fish are free to inhabit whatever space suits them biologically. if it gets crowded by their standards, some will disperse and move to other areas where they again have the space they need to exhibit functional behaviour.
it's difficult to allow for that "space" in your tank -- the fish have no escape within the confines of your tank so it's up to you to insure that the fish have that space in the first place. if your tank "looks bare" .. it's probably just right.
this means that the interraction of a mixed community tank and/or the behaviour of a single species is the single most important factor to consider. you want the fish you're keeping to have the ability to exhibit "normal" and functional behaviour. normal behaviour is important. abnormal behaviour results in stress. stress leads to disease. disease can lead to death. for example:
1. if species (A) does not get along with species (B), then these fish don't belong in the same tank no matter how few fish you have or how large the tank. "getting along" is based on the visual and behavioural Q's that each fish species is genetically programmed with. this is why African cichlids don't belong in the same tank with Central American cichlids for example. Africans don't "understand" Central American fish speak and this leads to behavioural problems and stress.
2. if species (A) has specific food or water chemistry requirements which are completely different from species (B), then these fish don't belong in the same tank no matter how large it is.
3. if species (A) is aggressive and defends a territory of 2 square feet, then you cannot expect to successfully keep more than one of these fish in a tank which is smaller than 2 square feet. convict cichlids are an excellent example of this ... this little fish aggressively defends territories of about two square feet give or take. if you have a tank which allows only that much room and no more, the convict will defend the entire tank to the detriment of any other fish (no matter how large it is) in that tank.
fish need room to swim without having the rest of the tanks inhabitants "in their face" continuously. when crowded, fish exhibit stress syndromes that result in poor color, improper fin form, insufficient metabolic development, do not exhibit proper musculature, do not develop properly functioning organ systems and most importantly slowly lose their inherant resistance to disease. this results in a significantly shortened lifespan and along the way, lots of diseases for which the poorly conditioned fish is a good target..
think about your local lake or river --- the fish are free to inhabit whatever space suits them biologically. if it gets crowded by their standards, some will disperse and move to other areas where they again have the space they need to exhibit functional behaviour.
it's difficult to allow for that "space" in your tank -- the fish have no escape within the confines of your tank so it's up to you to insure that the fish have that space in the first place. if your tank "looks bare" .. it's probably just right.
kjr928 said:I'm learning all sorts of stuff lately. Mostly that I am clueless on stocking!
Here's what I learned today:
1. 1" of fish per gallon rule doesn't apply to all fish, but only to skinny little fish like tetras.
2. Puffers and other big fat fish need loads of extra room and I can't put 2 in my 12g because they will each need 30g.
3. Don't listen to the LFS guy because he is full of bull and doesn't know what he's talking about despite his 30+ years of experience. (He told me I could put 2 puffers in a 12g & now my heart is broken because I LOVED them!!!)
I hope that helped you or at least you enjoyed it.
O.K. while there are a great many people out there that probably should not be working in a LFS and are full of it, there are some of us out there that really do know what we are talking about. Having seven tanks at home with all of them that everytime someone sees them they rave about them, and the fish and all critters within look happy, healthy and thriving is proof enough for me that some of us are NOT full of it. Unfortunately those that are make it look bad for us. Now, making a general statement about not listening to any LFS employee because he is full of it is a statemnt in a sense that is full of it. I get tired of people that always make this statement. If you go to a store and find that the employees know nothing then do not go back there. However, there are places where people do genuinely want to help people in this hobby and that is why they are there. I am one of those people. I choose to work in a store like this so maybe if I can help just five people not screw up there tanks and help them take care of the fish in those tanks so everyone is happy which includes the fish and the fishkeeper, then I can feel like I am accomplishing something in this world.
Now in response to the question about the stocking levels, there are a lot of factors involved. The best rule is not to overstock any tank no matter how much you think just one more little fishie won't matter. It will matter and could send the tank into overload status and crash the tank. Of course there are rules to the exception but I think this is the most important one.
Marinemom
kjr928
Go fish yourself.
Wow. I was talking about a specific person in a specific incident. I wasn't talking about you or any other LFS person.Marinemom said:
I still think my LFS person was full of it & I'm quite amazed that you think my "statement in a sense is full of it", especially considering what he told me to do.
kjr928 said:
The statement comes off as a statement in general about LFS employees which really cannot apply to every single person that works in a store like this. If that particuliar person told you to do that then he is full of it. However, not everyone would give info like that which is just plain ridiculious.
Marinemom