How Many Tetra Is Too Many?

[pray for mojo!!]

Howdy,

I have a tank about 100cm x 50cm x 50cm (36"x12"x12"), and i have approximately 30 fish (mainly tetra) just wondering how many fish you think is too many?? I hear that i can have up to 60 fish is that correct??
Also is it cool to put freshwater prawns into a tank with tetra or will they just get killed.

 

[IovaykInD]

It depends on the size of the fish. The normal rule of thumb is 1" for every gallon, but that is only for small fish. With tetras like neons you can have more than that because they produce little waste. You have to see what kind of fish you have, and how much waste the produce. Using that, you can figure out how many fish you can put inside your tank.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> With tetras like neons you can have more than that because they produce little waste.

I see this often The one inch per gallon is a guideline to the absolute maximum stocking level. This, "low waste" nonsense was dreamed up to allow people to cop out, overstock their tanks and point to that argument for support.

It is certainly true that 6 inches of Neons will produce less waste than a 6 inch cichlid, but that means you stock lower with the cichlids, not higher with the Neons.

 

[newfishaddict]

>>> With tetras like neons you can have more than that because they produce little waste.

I see this often The one inch per gallon is a guideline to the absolute maximum stocking level. This, "low waste" nonsense was dreamed up to allow people to cop out, overstock their tanks and point to that argument for support.

It is certainly true that 6 inches of Neons will produce less waste than a 6 inch cichlid, but that means you stock lower with the cichlids, not higher with the Neons.

I don’t want to disagree, I have little experience, but;

I know of a fish expert who writes columns in a magazine (TFH); he has 35 neon tetras in a 20g tank and says he (and the fish) are having no problems...

Also, would you consider a 90gallon tank with 95 neons overstocking?

 

[ccg]

It is certainly true that 6 inches of Neons will produce less waste than a 6 inch cichlid, but that means you stock lower with the cichlids, not higher with the Neons.

Lateral Line:

You are absolutely right. I see this all the time as well and can't stand it. Some people asking for stocking advice will have a dozen tetras but completely ignore them while considering stocking the rest of the tank.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Howdy,

I have a tank about 100cm x 50cm x 50cm (36"x12"x12"), and i have approximately 30 fish (mainly tetra) just wondering how many fish you think is too many?? I hear that i can have up to 60 fish is that correct??
Also is it cool to put freshwater prawns into a tank with tetra or will they just get killed.

How many and what types of fish do you have and what type of shrimp are you putting into the tank? Plus how long has it been set up and what is your average tank maintanence cleaning regime and how often do you do it?


"Ahem"
I agree with both Lateral Line and IovaykInD...I think, as you learn more and more about fishkeeping, you find there are more and more exceptions to the rules- there is so much to stocking a tank than just finding out the max size, bioload and compatability of a fish. There are dozens of factors to take into consideration when it comes to stocking, and not with just the fish and filtration in the tank and how big it is.
I think you can only say if a stocking is good when you know the whole situation and take into all the factors into consideration and not just go by the common rules on stocking and compatability.

Although i agree 95 neon tetras in a 90gal would not be overstocked, 5 neon tetras in a 5gal would be overstocked- it is not to do with the one inch of fish per gal rule, but rather the space taken up by the neons and the excess space around them that is important in this scenario i think.
A tetra is a tetra as well, i agree ccg i also do not like it when people treat tetras as if they are not there when it comes to stocking tanks and that they are just some sort of mindless fish with about as much substance as a ghost, as they can certainly effect a tank and its inhabitants to a very great extent, and thus should not be ignored ever.
Bioload isnt everything u'know?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Yeah, it's all about finding some sensible balanced golden mean here, isn't it? The other day (here or other forum, can't remember) there was somebody discussing their stocking for a medium-sized tank, and then adding: 'and I've got 18 neons but I'm not counting them'. I would have thought 18 neons would add something to the bioload! He seemed to think that neons being neons, 18 of them would crap less than say 1 danio. Which makes you wonder, do the 18 of them get fed less than 1 danio? Years since I kept tetras, but I seem to remember they ate something.
My instinct would probably be to count the very smallest tetras for slightly less than say guppies- but then arguably I should be counting the guppies (little crap machines that they are) for more instead. And of course, once you have the experience, the extra filtration etc etc, then you can stretch the rules- but once you are confident enough to do that, you won't need this forum's advice about your stocking anyway. So I think it's safe to assume that the people who ask advice on stocking levels are not yet ready to be rule-benders.

 

[Lateral Line]

It gets more outrageous when you see people with a tank filled to over capacity with small tetras and then have several plecs as well!

TP gave a reasonable take on this.

The inch per gallon "rule" is a guideline. Most of the people that have to ask the question "am I overstocked" or "how many x can I keep in a y" are not ready to "break rules".

 

[KerriPaul]

It gets more outrageous when you see people with a tank filled to over capacity with small tetras and then have several plecs as well!

TP gave a reasonable take on this.

The inch per gallon "rule" is a guideline. Most of the people that have to ask the question "am I overstocked" or "how many x can I keep in a y" are not ready to "break rules".

One of my books or something else I read said that once the tank settled down with decent filtration you could have two inches per gallon. Also powerfilters and increased water changes can increase this further. The limit is theoretically when the amount of fish you have produce too much ammonia for the filter to cope with

 

[IovaykInD]

Tokis-Phoenix is right. It's really all by feel and if your tank looks like it's overstocked, it probably is. Tank stocking really comes by experience, because you really wouldn't expect a newbie to stay understocked for too long. After some research, people will begin to realize that they are overstocked and will take action to help.

Isaac