Do You Count Bottom Feeders, When Calculating How Many Fish You Can Ha

[matchstickman47]

i suppose it sound ridiculose because that like saying a 60 litre wouldnt be overstocked with 4 common plecs

but im not sure
is there a rul lik 4 inches of bottom feeeder per gallon?

 

[MHunt]

Bottom feeders contribute to your tank stocking level exactly the same way as any other fish. the fact they feed from the bottom doesn't mean that they don't put waste into the water, infact fish like plecs are pretty messy fish and perhaps should be consedered more than other fish.

The big issue with bottom dwellers is to allow them enough territory to be happy with their fellow bottom dwelling fish.

 

[tom_os]

people dont tend to count shrimps towards their stocking

 

[LesleyB]

i suppose it sound ridiculose because that like saying a 60 litre wouldnt be overstocked with 4 common plecs

but im not sure
is there a rul lik 4 inches of bottom feeeder per gallon?

Hi

Plecs are messy fish and each one of those little babies is going to need about 240 L tank absolute minimum with 350L being preferable.
If they are common plecs they will reach 16 to 20 inches in length. They are, together, probably too much for a 60L already.

Regards

L.

 

[bitteraspects]

i suppose it sound ridiculose because that like saying a 60 litre wouldnt be overstocked with 4 common plecs

but im not sure
is there a rul lik 4 inches of bottom feeeder per gallon?

Hi

Plecs are messy fish and each one of those little babies is going to need about 240 L tank absolute minimum with 350L being preferable.
If they are common plecs they will reach 16 to 20 inches in length. They are, together, probably too much for a 60L already.

Regards

L.

amen. lol

 

[GSD]

I could bottom feeders as much as any other fish, they make waste therefore they need to be included in stocking.
As for shrimp, have you seen how much waste these guys make, they should also be counted imo

 

[Syphoniera]

Actually, it seems plecs can vary a LOT, not only in size but in dietary needs and waste production.
I have a very shy, predominately wood-eating, dwarf plec (in a 35 gallon) not much over 3 inches (hard to work out length when you almost never see more than the flick of a tail or a blur in retreat) and producing tiny poops, who I tend to think of as having a much smaller bioload than my female Bristlenose of about maybe 3 and a half inches (if that) who eats far more vegetable matter.
But, loosely speaking, and as One Who Knows Nothing, I'd say larger bodied - even if not necessarily enormous - plecs with bigger appetites and poops, with such increased waste production and respiration levels and a wider body shape, could probably be counted at least double (if not more) in comparison to multiple smaller, more slender-bodied fish technically representing similar numbers in inches of total length, especially regarding meat-eating plecs.
I focus on such thoughts to comfort myself for not ever being able to have big enough tanks for any of the larger plecs - doesn't work.

 

[snowflake311]

If it is alive you count it. 4 common plecos in a 16 gal tank is very overstocked. They are poopers and grow big fast. They will out grow that tank so fast.

 

[Super Dude]

they would likely be overstocked as soon as you get them, and it would become worse as they grew.

 

[MHunt]

I think what the OP is getting at is ignoring the bottom feeders is like saying 4 common pleco's don't count. I think (hope) it's just an analogy rather than an actual situation.