Is It Really Bad To Be Overstocked By 12 Inches?

[Lynden]

I dont think its a big deal to be a little overstocked. The inch per gallon rule is a load of bullcrap, it should not be used as a guide, no less a system. Good filtration and temperment must always be retained, remember.

120 mollies in a ten gallon tank is a little extreme, but they were very likely all fry. 3 seconds of thought from any sane person should clear that up. There is no need to attack Stone Warrior for saying what he said, nor is it acceptable to form a rally to demote him. Thats whats disgraceful around here.

-Lynden

 

[Iron Man]

Having kept both african cichlids and goldfish in the 55 gallon at different times, I can verify that the 1 inch per gallon rule is just something that gives beginners some kind of starting idea.

It is not an end all rule and if you never break this rule as an advanced fishkeeper, you will never grow in this hobby and enjoy the real pleasures of it.....this is unless you like a lot of water and only a couple fish...

Edit: Forgot to add....your stocking is fine and sounds like a nice tank.

 

[andywg]

The reason people are doing it to Stone Warrior is because he is consistently giving out bad and incorrect advice. It is not just this one instant.

 

[Spader]

when he said 120 mollies in a ten gallon i knew he meant fry. and he also said he gave some away so that let me know

 

[4ftguppy]

when he said 120 mollies in a ten gallon i knew he meant fry. and he also said he gave some away so that let me know

well he did say for a year - most fry are not fry for a year. I assume he was exagerating a little to emphasise a point - no big deal.

and about his signature - I like the fact that he took the time to count his 97 molly fry - as if anybody is going to check its not just 93.....

Actually anyone who has tried to raise a tank of fry will know that overcrowding and a too small a tank are the best ways to stunt all the fish

 

[Lynden]

The reason people are doing it to Stone Warrior is because he is consistently giving out bad and incorrect advice. It is not just this one instant.

Ahh. I see. Forming a rally to demote him is still no more acceptable, however.

-Lynden

 

[OohFeeshy]

ChestnutMoray, numpties have no place on this forum, the more we get rid of the darnsite better this forum will be.

 

[dwarfgourami]

The reason people are doing it to Stone Warrior is because he is consistently giving out bad and incorrect advice. It is not just this one instant.

Ahh. I see. Forming a rally to demote him is still no more acceptable, however.

-Lynden

I am not part of any rally to demote him; I just pointed out the obvious fact that most of his posts are provocative in tone (courtesy towards other forum members is not his style) and that his stocking list is clearly not for real. Also, as has already been pointed out, 120 mollies in a 10 gallon are not going to stay fry for a year and are not going to grow healthily. I suspect that he exaggerated the figure heavily, but then a tendency to exaggerate is something members have to take into account when evaluating his stocking suggestions, so I felt I had a perfect right to point this out.

As for his present stocking list, the fact that 97 of his mollies are listed as fry does rather suggest that the rest are not.

I have no wish to see Stone Warrior hounded from the forum: I just want members to take his advice with a pinch of salt. Remember there are newbies on this forum who might not immediately see what is wrong with a ratio of 12 mollies per gallon of water. As somebody with a passionate interest in livebearers, this is not how I like mollies to be kept.

 

[MoreCoffee]

i have a 29 gallon and when the fish are full grown i will be overstocked by 12 inches

is there anything i can do besides get a new tank?

wat r some good ideas?

weekly water changes?

Perhaps it would be a good idea to return this thread to it's original purpose..... namely avirex's stocking issue.

Avierex, as you have already stated you will be overstocked by 12" (according to certain stocking 'guidelines') when all the fish are fully grown.
As you will no doubt be painfully aware the 1" per gallon rule of thumb is really only a guide and only applies to smaller fish.

Personally I think it is a very worthwhile guide for when starting out (but opinion is divided on that )

But as mentioned earlier (by most people) this is NOT a hard and fast rule and it CAN be broken.
But breaking it can lead to problems if you are not careful in managing your tank, the fact that you have asked the question, shows that you care about the health of your fish.
If you are to avoid problems there are a few things you will need to do.

Things that will help keep any problems under control include ............

Adequate filtration: I dont know what the flow rate of your filter is. Your tank is 29gal ..... what is the max tank size for your filter ?
If you are going to overstock, then you are better off over filtering to remove the extra bio load.
If increasing your filtration, you may need to deal with the ammount of current flowing around the tank .... some fish love a current (danios) some fish are not so keen (gourami's).

Regular water readings: If you are overstocking, you should keep a regular eye on your water quality (I'd do at lest weekly checks to start with).
Particularly your NH3(ammonia) & NO2(nitrIte), but also your PH and NO3 (nitrAte) would be a good idea.
I would consider this to be the most important step, as it will show you if you are having problems ans you can deal with them before your fish suffer

Regular water changes: Changing 10 or 20% per week will help control any buildup in the water, if you get any ammonia or nitrIte spikes when doing your water readings ..... do a partial change.
(the answer to pollution ... is dilution !)

One thing I would avoid is adding the range of chemicals available from most LFS's that promise to cure all your problems (they are usually expensive and not guaranteed to work), far better to cure the problem than mask it !

None of the fish you list in your sig are going to get too big or have an excessive impact on the amount of waste produced (thankfully no plecs!), so with regular maintenance you should be able to cope.

There are no doubt other things that you can do .... maybe somebody else can offer some advice !

regards
Mr G


( hopefully thread back on track ... hopefully helpful ... hopefully nobody offended ! )

 

[anvil63]

I absolutely agree with Mr. G, and it sounds like a great tank. Over filter if possible (get a filter one size bigger than what you need) and keep up with your water changes and you'll be fine.

Also, if you are up for a challenge you could always add some live plants as the actually use up the nitrogenous waste your fish produce after it has been converted to nitrates.

Good luck
Carl

 

[Iron Man]

Excellent post Mr G. I suppose its what we should have said in the beginning, instead of arguing points.

 

[samyboy]

the tetra website sujests 2 inch of fish to 1 gallon for tropicals

and 1 inch of fish to 1 gallon for coldwater fish

 

[andywg]

I absolutely agree with Mr. G, and it sounds like a great tank. Over filter if possible (get a filter one size bigger than what you need) and keep up with your water changes and you'll be fine.

Also, if you are up for a challenge you could always add some live plants as the actually use up the nitrogenous waste your fish produce after it has been converted to nitrates.

Good luck
Carl

Plants prefer to take their nitrogen in the form of ammonia to nitrates, which is why a heavily enough planted tank will never cycle, as the ammonia will never be converted to nitrite (and then nitrate) as it is used by the plants.

 

[anvil63]

Plants prefer to take their nitrogen in the form of ammonia to nitrates, which is why a heavily enough planted tank will never cycle, as the ammonia will never be converted to nitrite (and then nitrate) as it is used by the plants.

Hmm that's interesting. I knew some aquatic plant species preferentially absorbed ammonia, but was under the impression that it was not an across the board rule.

Good to know, thanks

Carl