Refusal Of The Overstocking Rule.

[snake007]

Im come to a conclusion that im not listening to those who are wild about overstocking, seriously you guys - people take it to far, people are telling me that my tanks are overstocked, there saying a 20 gallon with 9 neon tetras is overstocked.
I Think NOT.
I am ignoring those who talk of this nonsense, Of course im not going to be wild and put clown loaches in a 20 gallon tank, I mean apistos can live in a 20 gallon for life, People are saying they need 55 gallon each - seriously?
You say one blood parrot can live in a 75 gallon and nothing else, Who made these rules?
Who made the inch per gallon rule?
Why do we have to listen to this?
Why cant we judge for our selves if our tanks are overstocked, if we have good water quality and Perfect maintenance, and all of the fish are happy and healthy, why cant they live in a slightly smaller tank because some guy made up this rule.
Seriously who is this 'guy'?

What are your views on what ive said?

 

[Tizer]

You take the advice you are given (for free), you do your own research, then you come to your own conclusions and just get on with it.

 

[Kelly-Jo]

Im come to a conclusion that im not listening to those who are wild about overstocking, seriously you guys - people take it to far, people are telling me that my tanks are overstocked, there saying a 20 gallon with 9 neon tetras is overstocked.
I Think NOT.
I am ignoring those who talk of this nonsense, Of course im not going to be wild and put clown loaches in a 20 gallon tank, I mean apistos can live in a 20 gallon for life, People are saying they need 55 gallon each - seriously?
You say one blood parrot can live in a 75 gallon and nothing else, Who made these rules?
Who made the inch per gallon rule?
Why do we have to listen to this?
Why cant we judge for our selves if our tanks are overstocked, if we have good water quality and Perfect maintenance, and all of the fish are happy and healthy, why cant they live in a slightly smaller tank because some guy made up this rule.
Seriously who is this 'guy'?

What are your views on what ive said?

I tend to agree with you in most respects, a slight overstocking of a tank isn't a heinous crime providing you keep the water quality excellent, provide enough hiding places and excellent filtration. I agree that there are obviously some things that aren't acceptable like your example of a clown loach in a 20g. However, by definition my tank is 'overstocked' but I know for a fact that my fish are healthy, they have a great diet and excellent water quality. They also have plenty of swimming space. I think the more experienced you are in fish-keeping the more you can push the limits of stocking providing the fish are healthy and you provide all the above factors. As for the 1 inch per gallon rule...that's the most useless system invented. 4 inches of gourami is not the same as 4 inches of oscar.

 

[england]

You will find people are going from there own exsperiences and when you have spoken with hundreds of keepers around the world you tend to know you can keep togehter sucessfully and whats not the best idea's...
As stated its free advice from people who have kept these certain species, For example i have not and would not keep a blood parrot,so if someone who has comes along and says i would tend to listen to them, knowing a memeber here whos old blood and oscar did not get along AT ALL,
But you take a thread full of advice, read through it and make you own conclusions, Most people would not seriously over stock a tank, lord knows my tanks were always over stocked, however i have seen some seriously over stocked tanks, then owners beleiving thats fine,
You will probally find the parrot situation is because of the aggrestion of cichlids

 

[KittyKat]

What are your views on what ive said?

You are saying one thing, your own stocking list is saying something quite different.

Don't forget to take tank dimensions, décor and fishes' companionship requirements when thinking about stock: it is a lot more complicated than just n fish in x gallons.

p.s. I also take my recommendations from my personal experiences and what I have observed.

 

[snake007]

What are your views on what ive said?

You are saying one thing, your own stocking list is saying something quite different.

Don't forget to take tank dimensions, décor and fishes' companionship requirements when thinking about stock: it is a lot more complicated than just n fish in x gallons.

p.s. I also take my recommendations from my personal experiences and what I have observed.

My stocking list is outdated and needs to be changed.

 

[england]

If your whole list is changing ok, otherwise,

60 Gallon - Cycling - Future Stock - 1 Green Terror - 4 Kuhli Loaches - 9 Zebra Danios - 1 Bristlenose - 2 Dwarf Gouramis

Pesonally i would not keep Kuhli loaches<dinners served or Zebra danios> with a Green Terror, maybe giant danios

 

[fishyfeet]

If you have a good filter ( i always over filter) and are prepared to put in the work doing water changes, then you can stretch the overstocked rule, it is better if you know you are overstocked and make allowances.
I had 72 guppies in a 20 gal tank, what a nightmare, would i recommend people keep the same ratio, nope, in fact i worry when i see people saying yet another lot of fry, but if they dont listen then they will learn the same way i did. If you want to learn the hard way thats your choice.

 

[swaylight]

on another note, look at your lfs, yeah i know they have a bigger filtration system, but it's going over x amount of tanks. i've seen 50-70 guppies in the 2 ft tanks. plus i got my RTBS out of a 2 ft tank with at least 50 others. overstocking is there as a precation. but like others say. if you keep the water parameters excellent then you may not have a problem. spend time looking at your tank, notice any changes. i keep a log everytime i change something. that way i can take steps back to correct it.

 

[fishyfeet]

fish shopes dont keep fish they stock fish, its a diffent system entirely, no plants etc, the fish are never relaxed milling about, they are all swimming like heck, its stressful. di

 

[micko]

Its entirely up to the individual as to whether you listen to a stocking suggestion, take it or leave it. I think people take this as a personal attack on them when someone points out their stocking isn't correct, in fact, its not, the person offering the suggestions are looking at the best intrests of the fish, which is inturn looking after the fish keeper.

By the way, you said in your first post about "happy" fish, how do you know this?

 

[soybean]

All advice given here is given for free. Unlike advice given by an lfs, for example, we have nothing to lose or gain if the advice is taken or ignored. Therefore most people here give the most honest and accurate advice you are likely to receive. I say most - I see a lot of unhelpful nonsense...

'Rules' are not set in stone but are based on experience, which is then passed on. Often this advice can seem rather generalised - but without actually being there and knowing the ins and outs of a tank exactly, it is better to err on the side of caution, especially when advising new keepers. The inch per gallon rule is pretty much nonsense and I personally would never suggest it even to a newbie in case it was taken a bit too literally.

There is more to stocking than simply fish having space to move, as you know. Territory, growth rates, etc.

People ask for advice but often they're actually asking for people to give the thumbs up for their poor stocking ideas, and then they spit their dummy out when they don't like what they hear. But everyone is free to do as they please, really.

 

[mike455555]

i agree with you although the inch per gal rule is a rule of thumb...like most things it doesn't have to be spot on to insure the fish's happiness theres allways leighway

 

[ZoddyZod]

there saying a 20 gallon with 9 neon tetras is overstocked.

I mean apistos can live in a 20 gallon for life, People are saying they need 55 gallon each - seriously?

You say one blood parrot can live in a 75 gallon and nothing else,

who has stated these rules? Do you have links to the posts? I'm most intrigued.

 

[Spurry]

i dont see the point of over stocking a tank and having it look like the m25 but its yours not mine