Overstocked Or Not?

[mhancock]

Hi,

When I started reading about tropical fish and the end of last year (got my first tank in late November), I read several pieces recommending an inch of fish per gallon, one website that recommended an inch per half gallon, and several that said it was possible to go to an inch per litre.

Given that my tank is overfiltered (1400 lph on a 225 litre tank), 3 layers of filter material plus balls, carbon and ceramic in the external cannister then discharging into the hood of the tank where there are three more two layer filters, that it is heavily planted, and has a 90cm air curtain, I thought it would be fine to go nearer the inch per litre and decided to go to an inch per half gallon to be safe. Many of the fish are small skinny ones, too!

Several people on here, however, have told me that it is over stocked.

How much do factors like over filtration, plants and air bubbles effect stocking levels, and what capacity do most people feel is a good level (and good for the fish themselves, too!),

Thanks,



Mark

 

[ZoddyZod]

inch per gallon is a very limited measure. Let's take a 12" Oscar, could that live in a 12g tank?

filtration plays a very large part in stocking. The larger the surface area of your combined media, the more waste it can handle. However, that doesn't mean you can plug three massive externals on a 30g and pack it with 100 fish.

There are no hard and fast rules on stocking, but there will always remain one constant - if your filter can handle the waste and you can handle the frequency of water changes to keep the nitrates at a decent level then you aren't overstocked.....at least in terms of filtration. But stocking a tank correctly is obviously not only about filtration & water management, you also need to consider the type of fish, personality, social behaviour, predation.....etc. etc.

So, in summary - there's no rule that works outright!



What is your current stock?

 

[CezzaXV]

The inch per gallon thing is something that's a good general guideline for beginners but it can be broken, with care.

My tank is overstocked by official rules, but I think it works. I'm overfiltering (I got my Fluval in the next size up with the intention of having a bigger tank one day) and I've got a good mix of top, middle and bottom dwellers, meaning that they've all got their own space. My guppies always swim at the top in the open water, my cories are always snuffling around the bottom and my cardinals tend to stick in and around the plants, whereas my dwarf gourami just goes wherever the hell he likes lol. I've got a lot of plants and my nitrates are usually about the same as what comes out of my tap even after several days, and I change the water twice a week. I like to think that it works and my fish are happy.

It'd be difficult to say whether you're overstocked without seeing a stock list and maybe a photo of your tank, as I don't believe there are hard and fast rules you can follow. It does require a bit of judgement. The only thing I'd say is that if you're going to add more fish, think about it carefully and consider whether your fish will be truly happy, and don't do it because you want more fish.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I am totally useless at judging what good stocking numbers are but I can tell you that stocking a tank isn't so much about filtration as filter media can mature to the level to process a larger amount of ammonia than should be in the tank in the first place! What it's really about is the appropriate amount of swimming space and territory for the species in your tank and taking into account the final, adult size of your fish. Different species live in different parts of the tank (bottom dwellers, mid-level swimmers, and top level) and often require either a long tank (e.g. fast fish) or a tall tank (e.g. angel fish).

Don't get me wrong filtration is important especially as some fish are very messy like goldfish and plecos but you would need to have adequate flow/water movement no matter what fish you had in your tank and if you have a large enough tank (taking the above into consideration) then the filtration/ammonia processing becomes secondary.

I hope that made some sense!

Edit: eee I've just totally contradicted what others have said, you're probably better off listening to them lol

 

[mhancock]

inch per gallon is a very limited measure. Let's take a 12" Oscar, could that live in a 12g tank?

filtration plays a very large part in stocking. The larger the surface area of your combined media, the more waste it can handle. However, that doesn't mean you can plug three massive externals on a 30g and pack it with 100 fish.

There are no hard and fast rules on stocking, but there will always remain one constant - if your filter can handle the waste and you can handle the frequency of water changes to keep the nitrates at a decent level then you aren't overstocked.....at least in terms of filtration. But stocking a tank correctly is obviously not only about filtration & water management, you also need to consider the type of fish, personality, social behaviour, predation.....etc. etc.

So, in summary - there's no rule that works outright!



What is your current stock?

Hi, thanks for the replies, pic here:


Stock:
7 angels
10 assorted platties
7 male guppies
5 glass catfish
3 peppered corys
1 krebensis (snail management!)
8 harlequins
5 cardinal tetras
5 glowlight tetras
4 kuhli loaches (very shy in the daytime)
2 honey gourami
1 male dwarf gourami

Ammonia is always zero, and I do 30% water changes each week. Filtering as per the start of this thread, and you can see the plants in the pic!

Thanks,


Mark

 

[ZoddyZod]

57 fish in a 225L then?

I've got 45 in my 320L and I'd say I'm stocked to the gills (excuse the pun)

it's got a very active middle section as the vast majority are midwater swimmers (only the corys and kuhli are not), so there's not much in the way of 'personal space'. There's no way of telling how the fish 'feel' about that but it's certainly a very busy environment.

 

[mhancock]

You are right it is rather busy at times, although they do seem to spread out. Some of the latest additions I did not intend to buy - I went to get an assassin snail and came back with the kribensis and 6 platties, and am thinking of giving away some of the platties.

The guppies tend to hang around at the top, and the glass cats at the bottom - they are the reason I got the bogwood so they could hide underneath it, but they are actually quite happy under the plants.

 

[FishBlast]

I kind of see those angels causing havoc in there later on...
And holy fishstricks! so many fish in one place, not even my old 40L was that filled, and I had pretty much every common egglayer and livebearer sold on the market in it.

But the way your tank looks, it's beautiful. I wish I could grow plants like those. -.- My water sprite's suffering...

 

[Dieses Madchen]

no offense but that tank doesnt look like its 225l/60g. I have a 47g tank with close to the same stock and it doesnt look anywhere as busy. are you sure of the tank size? what are the dimensions?

But to go along with what others are saying, your tank looks hectic because of all the mid-dwelling fish. I personally think that if you have fish known to be in different depths of the tank, you can overstock (with good filtration, of course) and have a stunning looking eco-system. I will use my tank as an example, as I know I am probably overstocked.
47g bowfront tank, powered by a marineland empororer 400 which turns my tank about 9 times and hour

on the bottom I have 13 cories, 2 albino bns, and 5 kuhlis loaches.

mid-bottom, two bolivian rams,

upper mid I have 10 cherry barbs and 3 angelfish

top I have 10 red eyed tetras.

THe other thing that helps with the personal space is that my red eyed tetras and cherry barbs shoal so they are usually in a tight group, allow more open space for the angels and rams.

So, I really believe its not a matter of what you stock, but how. You can get a great look in an overstocked tank. I know I have about 50 inches of fish in my 47g, but this is the look I get because of how I stocked it:

 

[mhancock]

no offense but that tank doesnt look like its 225l/60g. I have a 47g tank with close to the same stock and it doesnt look anywhere as busy. are you sure of the tank size? what are the dimensions?

Good question! It is about a metre long, 2 foot high, 18 inches deep I guess:




(before cycling)

 

[Dieses Madchen]

That's a nice looking tank! And the decor in your finished tank is really nice. It has a lot of potential, but I will admit, it looks very busy.

 

[FishBlast]

That's a nice looking tank! And the decor in your finished tank is really nice. It has a lot of potential, but I will admit, it looks very busy.

I think yours has way fewer big fish and less plants occupying fishes' swimming space.
Probably the reason it doesn't look overstocked.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I'm adding more plants actually. I had a lighting issue and killed half of my plants. You are looking at what is left lol. And I do have fewer fish, but as stated, its not the number of fish you have, its how you stock the tank. Having fish in all levels of the tank versus having all fish on the same level will evenly disperse the groups of fish you have, and spread out your stock. If you think about it, the OP has 12 more fish than I do, and a tank that is 13g bigger. So roughly are stocking size is about the same. I just dispersed mine throughout the levels of the tank.

 

[FishBlast]

I'm adding more plants actually. I had a lighting issue and killed half of my plants. You are looking at what is left lol. And I do have fewer fish, but as stated, its not the number of fish you have, its how you stock the tank. Having fish in all levels of the tank versus having all fish on the same level will evenly disperse the groups of fish you have, and spread out your stock

Well, I still don't understand why my swordtails prefer to graze on the sand and one of them acts like a bottom dweller. I thought their area is supposed to be mid-top layers. and the catfish feeds mostly at the surface, as he wants to be the first served when he sees the flake box or the bloodworm cube. It's like everything's reversed in my tank during feeding time, and when it's not feeding time, I have a floor occupied by all the fish. -.-

 

[Dieses Madchen]

That's not normal...