Cories Don't Count In Stocking?
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. Is this true?
Truck
UKAPS
cories dont add much so i half there total size towards stocking.
as for plecos they produce lots of waste.
most plecs do not keep tanks clean, they make a hell of a mess
so yes they should DEFINATELY be taken into account when working out total fish lengthcorys dont make too much waste but they do not clear fish waste from the tank, they eat food like most fish do so yes they need to be taken into account as well.
stocking is totally dependant on your setup. tank size ..... filteration ....... feeding ....... water changes etc etc etc, every one of my tanks is heavily over stocked and set up purely for breeding
There are some fish which are not true "space invaders" as we've classified it.... and different formulae can be applied...
In my opinion, Gouramies and some other air breathing fish fit into this catagory, but the subject also falls into a sensitive desputable grouping, so I'll stress that is "in my opinion".
In my opinion, Gouramies and some other air breathing fish fit into this catagory, but the subject also falls into a sensitive desputable grouping, so I'll stress that is "in my opinion".
fishman3
Fish Fanatic
ludwig please enlighten me as i have been researching this issue and would love your opinion i have 2 honey gourami and 4 corys and used there full adult length when calculating my stock levels however it appears to be a far more complex method of calculating then the 1 inch per gallon or 1cm per litre......
How much of the adult size would you consider the gourami's to take up and the cory's
sorry for the hijack....but genuinely interested in this subject....anyone???
Truck
UKAPS
well this is what i think ludwig means
seeing as gouramis are labyrinth fish they breath atmospheric air, where as other fish use there gills to respire and ammonia is a by product so im guessing seeing as they breath from the surface they dont produce as much ammonia as a bi product
fishman3
Fish Fanatic
in this case then truck would you say that taking their adult length as 50% actual to be a pragmatic approach to stocking density or 0?
also why do the cory's fit into a similar category?
thanks for your help
Phil
OohFeeshy
It's only forever; not long at all...
Which makes no difference- ammonia is a waste product of various metabolic pathways. We get rid of it as urea in urine, for fish it's more convenient to pass ammonia directly into the water. Whether the fish breathes atmospheric air makes little, if any, difference.
vinylman
Essentially Humanoid
IMHO, if it dumps - it counts.
This is why the 1 inch per gall on rule is very crude, and only really suitable for beginners so they don't put 50 guppies in a goldfish bowl. Certain animals may not contribute as much to the overall waste in a tank, I would say Shrimp in an example that can be almost discounted or certainly not their full size taken into account. But cory's and plecs are certainly worthy of including in the rule, The waste that they 'clean' is only redistributed as their own waste later. In any case, the amount of waste a fish produces is not the only concern. You have territory and agression to manage in some fish, many cichlid tanks are intentionally overstocked according to the inch rule to help reduce agression between the fish in the tank. Also, try and balance the tank so you have fish swimming at all levels. Consider what fish will inhabit the top middle and bottom of the tank, while not normally agressive towards each other you can have too many cory's inhabiting the bottom of the tank.
Ok, ramble over!
Ok, ramble over!
Of course corys should be considered when stocking a tank. What goes in one end must come out the other. If corys are well fed, they will naturally produce a lot of waste as a result. They are also fish that should have a fair amount of meaty food in their diet and this will result in a smaller, more dense, feces than fish fed on a lighter diet. Plecos, which consume mostly vegetable matter that is full of fiber, will pass this through their systems with different results. It's like comparing cow manure with doggy do.
Corys will produce little black turds which are sometimes seen floating at the top of the water. They break up and are removed by the filter. Of course they urinate too. While a cory tank might look very clean, the same decomposition is going on in the aquarium system that is happening in a tank with any other fish who eat the same diet.
Corys will produce little black turds which are sometimes seen floating at the top of the water. They break up and are removed by the filter. Of course they urinate too. While a cory tank might look very clean, the same decomposition is going on in the aquarium system that is happening in a tank with any other fish who eat the same diet.
It is sort of gross, isn't it? 
Let me explain more about the point I was trying to make and maybe some of our more scientifically oriented members will comment on how this works out in the closed environment of an aquarium.
I remember learning that on land, predators and other meat eaters will tend to travel away from the immediate vicinity of their dens to leave their waste, or will bury it. Vegetarian animals will just let it fall where it may and continue to graze. The thought behind this was that meat in the waste products would breed more harmful bacteria than vegetation would. At some level the meat eaters had evolved their habits as a way to keep this from harming them or their young.
Since corys are from moving water, and can simply swim away from what they produce, this would not be a problem in nature, but might be in a tank.
Also, let me point out that corys are not air breathing fish, although they have a means of absorbing small amounts of oxygen from air they swallow when necessary. This is just a means of survival when their streams become muddy and agitated.
Let me explain more about the point I was trying to make and maybe some of our more scientifically oriented members will comment on how this works out in the closed environment of an aquarium.
I remember learning that on land, predators and other meat eaters will tend to travel away from the immediate vicinity of their dens to leave their waste, or will bury it. Vegetarian animals will just let it fall where it may and continue to graze. The thought behind this was that meat in the waste products would breed more harmful bacteria than vegetation would. At some level the meat eaters had evolved their habits as a way to keep this from harming them or their young.
Since corys are from moving water, and can simply swim away from what they produce, this would not be a problem in nature, but might be in a tank.
Also, let me point out that corys are not air breathing fish, although they have a means of absorbing small amounts of oxygen from air they swallow when necessary. This is just a means of survival when their streams become muddy and agitated.
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