Stocking Question.

[Rubric]

Right i have elite 95 W80 x D30 x H40cm, 95 litre. with gravel and decorations it holds just over 80 litres.
I currently have 5 neons, 1 Kuhli Loach and 2 Dwarf Gourami's. Question is, is my tank now full? or How many more fish could i get?

 

[Truck]

Right i have elite 95 W80 x D30 x H40cm, 95 litre. with gravel and decorations it holds just over 80 litres.
I currently have 5 neons, 1 Kuhli Loach and 2 Dwarf Gourami's. Question is, is my tank now full? or How many more fish could i get?

you could easily accommodate 7 more neons and 3 more khuli loaches, you should up the loaches to atleast 4 anyway as they feel more secure in groups.

you probably wont see this post for another 12 hours anyway so im probably wasting my time, i am submitting this post at 12:51pm BST

 

[waterdrop]

Well, we'd hope this would be an exercise that most of our beginners would learn to do pretty early on. The homework involved is reading here and other sites the individual fish details, looking for some consensus from different sites about the final maximum size of the adult fish. Using that, you add up the inches (fish body, fins don't count, it should be understood) in your list and see how that compares to 1 inch per US gallon, which is the point you want to be at or under for your first year of fishkeeping, to better ensure a positive experience.

So to use your case as an example and give my own thinking out loud, my initial thoughts would be:
DGs - 2.5" x 2 = 5" (note though that 2 females may be needed to one male eventually)
neons - 1" x 2 = 5" (note though that a shoal of 5 is a bit too small for the shoal, 6,8,10 better)
single KL 2,3 or 4" but I'd say 3" of fish body since they are skinny (they get 4" long, so... I don't know)
(note though that they should be kept in minimum grouping of 3 Koulis)

So my thought at this point would be "I've used up 13 inches out of my 20 inches, I've got 7 inches to acquire but I've not met various stocking minimums with all 3 of the species I've already got!"

Hope that helps!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[aly_starh]

agree with waterdrop, but i would also add maybe 3 cories

 

[Rubric]

agree with waterdrop, but i would also add maybe 3 cories

Thanks, i didn't know how to work out my US gallons.

The LFS said the loach would be ok on his own I did have 12 neons once upon a time but the had neon tetra disease in the second batch i got.

The loach seems happy enough at the moment, will it do him any harm being on his own?

Oh i forgot the 2 guppies i got. Im guessing they are an inch each so 5 inches left.

 

[aly_starh]

You should never believe what employees of petstores tell you, they say things to make money.

Neon tetras need a 6 month mature tank so thats why they died, and yes i would reccommend getting 2 more loaches, they would show more character.

I personally dont follow the inches of fish rule, Just make sure the stats are fine and filtration is good.

 

[Jack Middleton]

I would up the neons to 12, the Khuli loaches to 6 and keep the gouramis as they are, you would then be more or less full.

@Betta246, you cant pin point the death on an immature tank, although it is a feasible idea. I have put neons from a mature tank into a new one before with no problems.

In my opinion, The 1 Inch per Gallon rule isn't a very reliable way of doing things! 1Cm Per Gallon Is a much more feasible guide with filters being as good as they are these days. I have stocked 4 inches per gallon before...no problems at all...the reason why it doesn't work is because a 2 inch tetra will produce less waste than a 2 inch Plecostumus.

 

[Rubric]

I would up the neons to 12, the Khuli loaches to 6 and keep the gouramis as they are, you would then be more or less full.

@Betta246, you cant pin point the death on an immature tank, although it is a feasible idea. I have put neons from a mature tank into a new one before with no problems.

In my opinion, The 1 Inch per Gallon rule isn't a very reliable way of doing things! 1Cm Per Gallon Is a much more feasible guide with filters being as good as they are these days. I have stocked 4 inches per gallon before...no problems at all...the reason why it doesn't work is because a 2 inch tetra will produce less waste than a 2 inch Plecostumus.

Now im confused lol.

Thanks everyone.

I guess i will just have to play it by ear. I wish i could have afforded and had room for a bigger tank.

 

[arobinson1984]

I would up the neons to 12, the Khuli loaches to 6 and keep the gouramis as they are, you would then be more or less full.

@Betta246, you cant pin point the death on an immature tank, although it is a feasible idea. I have put neons from a mature tank into a new one before with no problems.

In my opinion, The 1 Inch per Gallon rule isn't a very reliable way of doing things! 1Cm Per Gallon Is a much more feasible guide with filters being as good as they are these days. I have stocked 4 inches per gallon before...no problems at all...the reason why it doesn't work is because a 2 inch tetra will produce less waste than a 2 inch Plecostumus.

The 1" per gallon rule is used as a basic guide for beginners based on medium sized fish. Its basically suggested to put the beginner in a good position in which the tank should be comfortably stocked. As an when a fishkeeper becomes more knowledgable about the hobby, their tank and filtration etc etc then the level can obviously be extended. A knowledgable fishkeeper can spot telltale signs in a tank that point to any problems, quite often without even needing a test kit.

I think guiding a newbie to use the 1cm per gallon rule could on many occassions results in alot of problems although as said an experienced keeper shouldnt have any problems providing the tank has good filtration and adequate surface area.

Andy

 

[bitteraspects]

Good post andy.

 

[Curiosity101]

Another point, through experience fishkeepers can judge just how much of a bioload fish will produce once fully grown so will know what to expect (without using any inch per gal rule).

For example you could 'play it by ear' on a tank that was very overstocked. An experienced fishkeeper would know already if you will end up with skyrocketing nitrates or an overloaded filter.
A new fishkeeper simply ends up in the situation where they have sky rocketing nitrates or an overloaded filter.

However...once you have been around fish for awhile longer then you can end up in a situation a little bit like I am at the moment.
I'm running my tank with about 1.6" of fish per gal, but due to my high plant mass, even with fertilisation my nitrates don't hit more than 7ppm. Despite how low they are I still do my 30-40% change weekly.
But also due to how low they are I actually could do with more fish, levels consistently below 10ppm are thought to encourage a cynobacteria aka. Blue green algae.
And I'm currently suffering from it.

Anyhoo, just to re-iterate, waterdrop n andy have you on the right path.