Alternatives To Thinkfish

[Lizzie71]

I have been using Thinkfish to play about with alternative stocking ideas for my new tank, and I find it a really useful tool. However, I have seen it said on here that it allows far too many fish per tank, and from looking at what it says would be OK for my very small tank, I would say that's right.

I was wondering if there are any other online tools available that do a similar job but with more accurate information on stocking? I'm still playing with various ideas for my tank and something like that would be ever so useful.

Alternatively I can just post all my ideas here and let you lot advise - but you might soon be sick of that!

 

[rdd1952]

It is almost impossible for any program to calculate stocking levels. I definitely think that Thinkfish stocking levels are ridiculous. The best way to figure stocking levels is the 1" per gallon guide. That is 1" of adult fish per gallon of water. This only works for small narrow bodied fish like tetras, danios, corys, etc., mainly the fish that are considered communit fish. It's definitely not a steadfast rule but if you stock according to it, it is very unlikely you will ever have a problem with overstocking.

Compatibility is another potential problem. Just do a Google search for the fish you are interested in and look at profiles for them. You can fins out about aggression, etc. As a general rule though, fish that are suitable for a small tank won't have a compatibility issue. It is more likely that you won't have enough room to keep them in the groups that they need to be in.

What size is your tank?