stocking rules

So here is the first of my many questions

I have googled stocking level rules on the Internet, but nearly each link/page will give another answer Getting pretty confusing in this stage.
So what rules do you follow ? What is your way of checking that you are not overstocking by buying that "must have" fish you just spotted ?
Thank you

I thought the thread title was seeking some fashion advice

I've seen many stocking level calculators on the web and in books over the years. It is very difficult to compile a really useful 'stocking guide' as many are based upon fish size....yet the reality is not just depending on fish size but on fish metabolism (fast vs slow), oxygen demand of different fish, the need for visual barriers and territory, and lots more.

Having said that, many of the commonly kept community fish would tend to fall into a nice general category.

There are some fish that maybe 3 inches long and you could safely one in a 30 litre tank, but would need a 1000 litres for 2 of them.
Hence, it is not easy.

What I would say is that when you have a general stocking level given for a tank using full filtration then you only keep the number of fish in such a tank pretending that you have no filtration. ie vastly understock is the best (as if everyone, including myself, follow that).

ian

sorry about the confusion

Hmmm, so I gather your advice is to understock

Always under stock, I fly my Kite too close to the Sun by over Filtering and thereby over stocking, if I get a Filter failure it's certain death to the Fish.

Kev.

I know myself that having powerful filtration systems and heavy water changes are the only things keeping some of my tanks alive as they are overstocked.
It is walking on a tight-rope.

@Katie....I would be happy to give advice on fashion as well. I also know which tights are the best for making filter-bags for fish tanks ('cause I'm a cheap-skate and won't pay for special filter bags).

Maybe that is the only reason I visited this thread.

On a more serious topic....
I generally try not to comment on specifics on how much to stock as there are so many variables unless a tank is clearly overstocked and can't cope with the conditions.

Most calculators also work on fish length, but if you take a disc shaped fish (silver dollars or discus) then for every inch they grow lenghtwise they also increase dramatically in total body size. That is not always taken into account in many calculators I see.

On stocking...having determined your maximum number of fish (allowing for growth) then you should always start with only a few fish and gradually build up the collection over time.
You will start to notice when you have reached the safe capacity of your tank....if done gradually then you are less likely to have a disaster.

Do you have particular fish in mind?
What size tank are we talking about?

ian

Thanks for the reply Kev
I do understand were you are both coming from.

igmillichip wrote:

Do you have particular fish in mind?
What size tank are we talking about?

ian

Thanks for replying again Ian
I am talking small community fish like Cardinal tetra, Black Tetra, Penguin Tetra, Harlequin Rasbora and later on some Otto's. All going into a 180 liter planted tank.
How many of each could I safely add over time ?

igmillichip wrote:

@Katie....I would be happy to give advice on fashion as well. I also know which tights are the best for making filter-bags for fish tanks ('cause I'm a cheap-skate and won't pay for special filter bags).

Maybe that is the only reason I visited this thread.


ian

A 180 is a big enough Tank to have a few shoals of beautiful fish , if you went with 10 Cardinals, 8 Rummy noses, 6 Corydoras catfish 4 Ottos( after the tank's been up and running a while ) you will have nice natural movement and colour, this will look great and leave room to enjoy Plants and watch for disease etc, this isn't the limit but would work well

As things are, my commentary on the fashion side of life would be on another fish forum.

The fish you have are generally straighforward and don't present too many problems with stocking levels as they are all pretty much compatible and inch-per-inch would require roughly the same volume.

Also, as none of them grow to a big size then you would be looking at volume of a standard tank rather than needing to look at actual length dimensions (ie if you had very long fish then the volume in litres is of little use).

As a rule of thumb for these small fish, 1 cm of fish body would require 1 litre of water for an under-filtered tank, or 1 inch requires about 2 litres of water.
Now cardinals grow to 2 to 3 inches body length, so one cardinal would require 4 to 6 litres of water (as a guide).
Hence, 30 3-inch cardinals would be very very safe in a 180 litres of water (but a 180 litre tank does not contain 180 litres of water).

Now you could safely increase that number by having some good filtration, and it is unlikely that you'll get the cardinals to 3 inches....unless you put a few in a 180 litre tank
so allowing for filtration and the smaller size of fish then you could probably safely put 100 cardinals eventually in such a tank when it is matured(but with care, and with experience).


It would be easier to look at an overstocked tank and say 'that is overstocked' than it is to work out a stocking level.

You'd still need to do regular partial water changes.

ian

I was typing as Stretnik posted.....so I'm bumping his post again.
This roughly the very safe allowance for the mix of fish (ie equivalent to 30 full sized cardinals)

Soz for taking too long to watch Bones whilst I should have been typing.

See.....

stretnik wrote:

A 180 is a big enough Tank to have a few shoals of beautiful fish , if you went with 10 Cardinals, 8 Rummy noses, 6 Corydoras catfish 4 Ottos( after the tank's been up and running a while ) you will have nice natural movement and colour, this will look great and leave room to enjoy Plants and watch for disease etc, this isn't the limit but would work well

stretnik wrote:

A 180 is a big enough Tank to have a few shoals of beautiful fish , if you went with 10 Cardinals, 8 Rummy noses, 6 Corydoras catfish 4 Ottos( after the tank's been up and running a while ) you will have nice natural movement and colour, this will look great and leave room to enjoy Plants and watch for disease etc, this isn't the limit but would work well

thank you
I dont think I can have Corys as I got horticultural grit in my tank dont think they would appreciate it.
Love the look of the Rummy Noses But I dont think I can have those either
You see, I got 4 Cardinals, 2 Black Neons and 2 Penguins left from my original community tank. I think they deserve to be in proper schools again. And I just love Harlequins
But I want to leave enough room for some Ottos for later on too.
So how many could I add of each ... over time of course. Would 6 each be okay ?

igmillichip wrote:

As things are, my commentary on the fashion side of life would be on another fish forum.

The fish you have are generally straighforward and don't present too many problems with stocking levels as they are all pretty much compatible and inch-per-inch would require roughly the same volume.

Also, as none of them grow to a big size then you would be looking at volume of a standard tank rather than needing to look at actual length dimensions (ie if you had very long fish then the volume in litres is of little use).

As a rule of thumb for these small fish, 1 cm of fish body would require 1 litre of water for an under-filtered tank, or 1 inch requires about 2 litres of water.
Now cardinals grow to 2 to 3 inches body length, so one cardinal would require 4 to 6 litres of water (as a guide).
Hence, 30 3-inch cardinals would be very very safe in a 180 litres of water (but a 180 litre tank does not contain 180 litres of water).

Now you could safely increase that number by having some good filtration, and it is unlikely that you'll get the cardinals to 3 inches....unless you put a few in a 180 litre tank
so allowing for filtration and the smaller size of fish then you could probably safely put 100 cardinals eventually in such a tank when it is matured(but with care, and with experience).


It would be easier to look at an overstocked tank and say 'that is overstocked' than it is to work out a stocking level.

You'd still need to do regular partial water changes.

ian

I really dont want to overstock, but I'd like to see some fish in my tank alright
But 100 Cardinals ......... now that would be some sight Nah, not gonna do that
Buy the way, I have the 205 Fluval external filter. How good or bad is that one ?

igmillichip wrote:

Soz for taking too long to watch Bones whilst I should have been typing.

love watching Bones your forgiven

Katie,
I think for a community tank, the 1 cm of adult fish per litre is good.

As an example, in a 180l tank, I normally have 6 angels, 10 silver tetras, 6 ancistrus, and 4 clown loaches + some plants. The filtration on this tank is the normal standard juwel one. It seems to work well.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

PS - Welcome to the forum

Valerie wrote:

Katie,
I think for a community tank, the 1 cm of adult fish per litre is good.

As an example, in a 180l tank, I normally have 6 angels, 10 silver tetras, 6 ancistrus, and 4 clown loaches + some plants. The filtration on this tank is the normal standard juwel one. It seems to work well.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

PS - Welcome to the forum

thank you Valerie Yes, that helps a lot.
.... and thank you for the welcome too, so glad to be here

There's a good bunch of people on here Katie alright.

On the stockings....
The other advantage of understocking is that fish such as cardinals or rummeynoses get to be a nice size: and a smallish group of full grown cardinals is something to really behold....ie 30 good sized and fully coloured-up cardinals would beat 100 half-grown dull coloured ones anyday.

ian

igmillichip wrote:

There's a good bunch of people on here Katie alright.

On the stockings....
The other advantage of understocking is that fish such as cardinals or rummeynoses get to be a nice size: and a smallish group of full grown cardinals is something to really behold....ie 30 good sized and fully coloured-up cardinals would beat 100 half-grown dull coloured ones anyday.

ian

Makes complete sense Ian.
Thank you once again for your help