1 Inch Per Us Gallon Rule

[2excitedkids]

There is a lot of reference to this on the forum .Some say it is 1 inch per us gallon for the first 6 months then 2 inch per gallon. Is this correct or should you stick to 1 inch per gall. ...or go midway to 1.5 inch per gallon.

Just wondered what the general consensus was??

I know it depends a bit on what fish as well - but as a rough guide ??

 

[Miss Wiggle]

what you should remember is it's not a rule, it's a guideline.

and it really does depend on a number of factors weather you can push past that level or not.

if you have a whopping great big filter, do loads of maintenance and none of your fish are remotley territorial/aggressive then you can go up to 2" per gal. However realistically that's the exception not the rule.

What 1" per gal gives you is a sensible level of stocking that's not gonna overstretch a filter, that's gonna be relativley forgiving of newbie mistakes. We all bugger a few things up when we first set up tanks, 1" per gallon gives a margin for error.

I've generally stocked community tanks up towards the 1.5 mark, for non-community set up's or those with large fish the rule goes out of the window. You have to assess each fish's needs and work it from that.

 

[LosC519]

Sufficient filtration plays a part too. I'd say with a double the rated filter for your tank you could push this rule to a couple more inches after you've met the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule in your established aquarium. But theres a difference when it comes to inches in small fish and inches in bigger fish, for example a 5 inch pleco produces alot more waste than 5 inches of tetras so I'd recommend pushing this rule with only smaller fish.

 

[2excitedkids]

Thanks Miss Wiggle. I don't want to stock to 2 inches but just doing a bit of planning . We only plan on having peaceful fishies..have enough bickering from the 2 excited kids!

Have discovered that fish are very therapeutic as they all look so happy wandering around the tank so wouldn't want to spoil their party with a 'neighbour from hell' !

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol

 

[doresy]

The 1" to a gallon "Rule of thumb" was invented to give us an excuse to have more than one tank!


Seriously though, keeping to that guideline is a bit like speeding slightly in the car.....it's ok till it isn't

 

[kribensis12]

It is an okay rule for some fish like guppies, but i dont use it. It really dosent work for cichlids or aggressive fish, as they need more room for a territory, or there will be fighting.

 

[Tolak]

This guideline is for beginning aquarists, basically to give them a chance to become familiar with fish behavior, which, with experience, leads to being able to sense a problem through observation. Like learning anything new, aquatics takes some time, hands on, to become experienced with.

The guideline is "one inch of slim bodied fish that grow to no larger than 3 inches, per gallon of water". This is an easy guideline for the beginner, who must remember a whole bunch of other info, and may feel overwhelmed.

Imagine having no experience at all with dogs, other than seeing them on occasion in a shop. Suddenly you are a dog owner. Steep learning curve. No body in their right mind would suggest you get a second dog a couple weeks later, and perhaps a third a couple weeks after that. Doesn't matter that your house could hold a dozen dogs, maybe more.

After a month you are lucky to have some understanding of the first dog if you have no experience with dogs. With two on top of that you are going to have a real hard time enjoying dog ownership. It is no different with the "inch per gallon" guideline. It keeps you out of trouble at the beginning, enjoying fish ownership.

 

[ALEXF]

'neighbour from hell' !



how did you meet my neighbors???

lol

 

[kribensis12]

? I think Tolak gave some very sound good advice.

 

[2excitedkids]

Thank you all for you replies.