stocking question

Larissa

Larissa

Katherine Hope
Jun 9, 2005
381
0
0
46
brenham, tx
i read the sticky about not using the inch to gallon rule and i'm really confused as to what kind of formula to use to calculate how many fish to put in a tank. for instance: i have a 10g with a pair of dwarf gouramies and I want to put a pair of german rams in with them. I have read that the rams need at least 15-20g tanks but i don't know why. they're pretty small. also i have a 55g with a 6inch pleco, 8 inch pleco that i desperately want to get rid of, six neons, two angels, a two inch rainbow shark and some type of botia that hides all the time. not a clown loach. I've had the tank about a year, some of the fish were hand-me-downs. the angels and shark i've had about 7 months. I have no idea how to determine whether or not i'm overstocked. I want to get rid of the big pleco and get 2 pearl gouramies and six congo tetras. am i really going to be overstocked then?
 
Larissa,
Rams are small, but very active and fairly agressive. That's why they need the extra room-they will chase each other, and the other fish.
Sorry, can't comment on your 55g; I don't know enough about freshwater fish anymore. I had FW tanks back when I was in my teens(that's over 20 years ago-eeek!); I never even knew you had to cycle them! I'm currently keeping a SW tank, but when it's owner takes it back, I want to set my 36g up, so I'm reading constantly on the FW forums here!
I have read several threads on rams lately-I think that is what I want to keep in my tank, although I'm not set in stone on it yet...
HTH!
 
Stocking is not an exact science and there is no magic formula. That's probably why the myth of 1 inch per gallon got started to begin with because a lot of people new to the hobby didn't want to research as it takes a lot of time.

My suggestion for stocking is research, research, and then research a little more. The species profiles on this site give VERY good recomendations for minimum tank sizes for certain species.

The main things you want to consider are the following...
Where in the tank do they primarily swim/inhabit? (Top,middle, bottom)
Are they active swimmers? (These fish will need more space then others of the same size)
How big will they get at full grown?

You don't want to get too many fish who swim in the same areas of the tank as that can stress them. Make sure they have enough room to grow and be as active as they need to be in their tank. In short, there is no quick answer.

Hope this helps,
Curtis
 
I think your plans for the 55 would be ok, but I would get rid of both of the plecos if you can. do you know what kind they are? Common plecos get way too big, even for a 55g tank. The tetras might go after the gouramis and the angels, its a bit of a gamble, then again they might be perfectly ok with them. You can usually find the recommended tank size on the web for any given species, and they are usually pretty good rules to follow. Some may seem extreme, but they did not pull these numbers out of a hat ;) , there are usually good reasons behind them.
 
they are common plecos. i bought my friend's 55g for 50 bucks fish, stand, everything. there were originally three plecos but i gave one away. i wouldn't mind keeping the smallest one because hopefully one of these days i will get a larger tank.
 
It would be fine for a while, but you have to consider that common plecos are just that "common" and once it gets much bigger that what it is you will find it very difficult to get rid of if a bigger tank doesn't come through, thats all
great deal by the way :p:
 
You should try to figure out what kind of botia you have. It probably hides all the time because they do best in groups of 3 or more, not singly. If you are going to keep it, you should plan on getting it some friends and budget their size into your arrangement. They are great fish :thm:
 
the botia was a hand-me-down and i've never seen another like it. the closest i found was in a huge fish atlas and it was called a botia morleti. yes he probably needs friends.
 
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