Stocking Recommendations

[Abernathy]

A lot of people seem to ask the same questions, like how many X fish in a Y size tank? It would be great if some of our more experienced fishkeepers would post their recommendations on some of the more common fish, like African and SA cichlids, corys, plecs and other cats, and so forth. What do you folks think?

 

[G_Sharky]

Some people go for 1 inch(fish adult size) per gallon Hope this helps...

 

[guppygirly]

I was just browsing on the Practical Fishkeeping Web Page and they have a pretty good calculator. It uses the actual dimensions of the tank to come up with the amount of "inches" you can have. It also takes into account what type of fish in general (i.e. coldwater, tropical, marine etc...), not specific species though. I think it would be hard seeing as there are so many species and behaviors to take into account. For example: one can't generalize South American Cichlids because you could keep more Rams in a tank than Discus. Both are considered South American Cichlids, but one is much bigger than the other. HTH

 

[mrV]

The fewer the better! Go to the nearest lake and take also some huge bucket with, drop it down into water and lift it up. What do you think? How many fishes are inside it? Do it same in a typical home tank. <- you prob. need a calculator.

So, key idea is to avoid overstocking. We never get same result as in nature. Tank is a piece of "nature", but very unstable still and need lots of work from its owner. If your tank is small, it's much better to keep only one shoal some small fishes than several kind of fishes and your tank looks like fishsoup after that.

How big is your tank?

Personally I don't like the ideas about calculators or any "thumb rules" because one fish is different kind than the other - although they are same size, but the other is a fish that keep most of its time in the same position but the other is like a rocket. So, of course this speedy one needs more space.

 

[akhtar]

Some people go for 1 inch(fish adult size) per gallon Hope this helps...

not a good idea if the tank is bigger then 10 gallons

 

[Tempestuousfury]

There are no set rules, I stand strong to the belief that that rule should not be followed, even if it's for estimating.

The best that we could probably do is recommend good beginner fish. You can't always tell if fish are compatible because of their temperaments. Of course, warnings should be (and are) pinned for fish that shouldn't be kept by amateurs.

Of course, reading books and reading professional websites on fish are always a good source of info and more reliable than the info given by amateur fish keepers. This isn't true for the people who know what they're doing, though. I wasn't insinuating this.

 

[Paradise_Gourami]

The 1 inch per gallon is a rule for beginners hope this helps http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/tanks-us.html

 

[crazie.eddie]

The 1 inch per gallon is a rule for beginners hope this helps http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/tanks-us.html

It's not just rule for beginners. It's a typical guide. For sure an experienced aquarist will not overstock his tank. Overstocking leads to fish stress, which leads to diseases/illnes, even deaths.

BTW, the link does not work.

This rule needs to be advised. It should be 1" of fish for each gallon of water, which applies for fish smaller than 3". Larger fish should be at 1" of gallon for each (at the most) 5 gallons of water. This is becuase larger fish require more swimming room, produce more waste, and is usually a bit more aggressive. Think of it as 10" of neon tetras in a 10 gallon tank and a 10" Oscar in a 10 gallon tank. A beginner would probably do that, but not an experienced person.

There are a bit more accurate stocking calculators, like what is posted above. One of which can be found here. Whether which rule you follow, the idea is DO NOT OVERSTOCK.

 

[modernhamlet]

Hey eddie, thanks for that link. Great food for thought. I've been trying to come up with a more comprehesive set of stocking rules than the standard 1"/gallon or 1"/x surface area and that link definitely gave me lots to think about.

 

[crazie.eddie]

No problem. The thing I hate is I belong to several forums and about 70% of my posts all concern about stocking.

BTW, you will LOVE the harlequins. They are my most active schooling fish in my 55 gallon tank. My cardinal tetras in my 37 gallon tank don't school much unless they get scared, which I know most fish only school when they are scared. But my harlequins having nothing to fear in the 55 gallon tank, since there are no bosses or terrors. Well, except for the 2 angels that just keep headbutting each other.

 

[modernhamlet]

Thanks again, man... I know the feeling about stocking questions. Funny, since I'm basically just a very well educated newbie! But I love thinking up stocking schemes and helping people out, so it doesn't bother me one bit.

I'm really looking forward to my Rasboras. In fact, I'm getting the first 5 of them after work! (The next five I'll get next week.) This is going to be the longest workday ever...