What stocking rule do y'all follow?

Marinemom 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
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In my original post, I mentioned that it was a "he", that he has "30+ years experience" and that he told me to "2 puffers in a 12g". It's pretty specific if you ask me.

I NEVER said that 'everyone' would give me that info, so please do not insinuate on a public forum that I am prejudice and bad-mouthing all LFS employees.
 
I really don't follow any rule. I just look for fish I want, research them, and get fish that I know will work with my tank and my other fish. From there I pretty much stock by appearance. Its hard to explain how I stock my tanks because there really is no rhyme or reason to it.
 
I assume that any LFS person I talk to does not know what they are talking about until they prove otherwise. I have found a few that do know what they are doing, but the majority of them don't. No offense Marinemom, I'm sure you are one of the AWESOME ones :)
 
I assume that any LFS person I talk to does not know what they are talking about until they prove otherwise. I have found a few that do know what they are doing, but the majority of them don't.
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You bring up a great point here. When you make this assumption, you will be inclined to take your time, not buy on impulse, and research the species you want before putting it in your tank. Of course, there are LFS employees that know their stuff and give the best advice they can (such as Marinemom and myself :cool: ). But, ultimately, many LFS employees either don't know what they're talking about, are only trying to get you to buy stuff, or both. It's the responsibility of the aquarist to research and make informed decisions.
 
severum mama said:
You bring up a great point here. When you make this assumption, you will be inclined to take your time, not buy on impulse, and research the species you want before putting it in your tank. Of course, there are LFS employees that know their stuff and give the best advice they can (such as Marinemom and myself :cool: ). But, ultimately, many LFS employees either don't know what they're talking about, are only trying to get you to buy stuff, or both. It's the responsibility of the aquarist to research and make informed decisions.
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I couldn't of said it better. Thanks for making this issue clearer.

Marinemom
 
Here is an example of why I am cautious when taking LFS advice, this isn't actually advice, but simple lack of knowledge.

This actually happened at my favorite LFS which goes to show even the best sometimes hire the ignorant. My BF's little bro took a batch of blue brig babies in to drop them off. The guy that put them into the snail tank asks him, where did you get all those little blue shells? :rolleyes: Gee...I dunno.... lol.
 
As far as the one inch per gallon rule goes..... i would say its more like one inch of adult size of species per gallon. You dont want to put three 3 inch bala sharks in a 10 gallon. They grow to be much bigger than that. And then your tank would be overgrown with fish. DONT DO THAT to them.
 
WeeNe858 said:
one inch of fish per gallon considering the ADULT SIZE.. so if you get a small one inch molly then thats 7 inches of reserved gallons for that fish due to its full grown size.. (even though a majority of them dont get that big :/)
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Even then, the only time this is even to close correct is for species under about 3 inches. When you start to get into larger fish, such as angels and a lot of other cichlids, you almost always need much more than a gallon per inch of fish. You also must consider temperment... "aggresive" or territorial fish will always need more than a gallon for each inch of thier body length, while I actually think smaller, community fishes wich are never aggresive would do fine with slightly higher than inch per gallon, provided that water quality is good.
 
The main thin is to FORGET the inch/gallon rule. You can use a simple linear measure to work out a necessary volume. It just doesn't work. Even if there were some magic simple rule it would have to be something like gallons per inch squared or something. ie inch long fish might need a gallon, while 2 inch fish need 4 gallons each (just an example).

Unfortunately new people need to have some idea of what they can put in a tank. I'm not sure what to suggest. I just go to what 'looks right'. The biofilter keeps up and the fish are stressed and aggressive and have swimming room.
 
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