I'm a little confused

[JamesTasker]

On the forum, most people seem to suggest one inch of fish per gallon on the posts I've read but in Dragonslair's pinned topic in the newbie section it says 1 inch for every 12 square inches of surface area. If you use the first sum for my tank it says to have 30 inches of fish but the second says 50. . Are the dimensions of my tank just wierd (40X15X12) approx. (maybe slightly less can't find the measurements right now but I think the sums are right ) Which one do you think I should use?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

When in doubt go with less. An aquarium does not always have to be crammed with fish to be nice and appealing

 

[Cheese Specialist]

When in doubt go with less. An aquarium does not always have to be crammed with fish to be nice and appealing

But it's so HARD not to!!

lol

 

[wuvmybetta]

When in doubt go with less. An aquarium does not always have to be crammed with fish to be nice and appealing

I agree, I prefer to keep my tanks mildly stocked without cramming everybody together for life

 

[crazie.eddie]

I like to stick with the easier math...1" of fish for each gallon, which applies to fish 3" and under. Larger fish require the same rules as marine aquaria, which is 1" of fish for every 5 gallons. This is becuase larger fish require more swimming space and also produce more waste. The easiest way to think about it is, you can have 10" of neon tetras in a 10 gallon tank, but you can't have a 10" Oscar in a 10 gallon tank.