The dreaded 1 inch per gallon rule

[VFC]

jm1212,
That would be correct.

However, think about the size of the fish. It would be 24 x the 1" length of a neon; 24 x the width of a neon (say 1/8"); 24 x the height of a neon (say 1/4"). The fish would be 24" long, 3" wide, and 6" tall. That's one big fish!

 

[Hooked Newbie]

Based on the first chart, if I remove all the fish from one of my 55Gs I can restock it with 1200+ Neons! Talk about fish maintaining a tight school. lol

I agree with the common sense and judgement needed. A hard and fast rule would be convenient, but there are way too many factors to take into account besides simply length or mass. Filtration, maintenance routine, relatve bioload, diet, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.

 

[VFC]

Hooked Newbie,
You probably are VERY over-stocked with the equivalent of 1,200+ neons in a 55G.

I just made a fish mass excel spread sheet and calculated the fish mass of my three African cichlid tanks. Using one large neon = to 1" fish mass:

75G #1 has 673 neons
75G #2 has 417 neons
150G has 1,476 neons

 

[jpappy789]

As usual, and as it has already been said, there is no possible way to put stocking into a mathematics equation...

 

[Hooked Newbie]

Hooked Newbie,
You probably are VERY over-stocked with the equivalent of 1,200+ neons in a 55G.

I just made a fish mass excel spread sheet and calculated the fish mass of my three African cichlid tanks. Using one large neon = to 1" fish mass:

75G #1 has 673 neons
75G #2 has 417 neons
150G has 1,476 neons

I am heavily stocked, not overstocked. I run multiple large filters on the majority of my tanks and they are heavily planted intentionally to be able to be stocked as I am. Also, I do large weekly water changes (even though my NO3 doesn't go over 10). That is my most stocked tank and I have zero issues with it.

 

[VFC]

The neon stocking calculation gives you a relative bio-load. My calculated 673 neon fish mass in my 75G drives my nitrates up to over 70PPMs before the weekly 50% WC. If I had Hooked Newbie's fish in my tank, with his calculated fish mass of 1,200 neons, I suspect my nitrate level would be twice as high.

 

[Maisie Holmes]

I think the weight of fish is best considered to use to determine the stocking densities. The inches are used for smaller fish as they have almost negligible weight.

 

[Maisie Holmes]

The feed to weight conversion ratio is a popular parameter to determine how efficient and economical a fish is. The fish usually eats according to a fraction of their weight and excrete accordingly, hence making a parameter for their space requirement.

 

[Rbishop]

Any documentation to your theory? And where can we get a scale for the weighing..lol.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I can't get a good length measurement, let alone get the little buggers to stand on a scale.