Actually you saved me the trouble of writing the same story. It has been 8 weeks since I got my 20G and I've learned a ton, mostly from here, not the LFS. I've decided to get my daughter her own tank and we're doing a fishless cycle I wish I knew about it before I killed a bunch of fish in my 20G. As you know better you do better.
How many fish in a 20g?
- Thread starter Sye
- Start date
AllusiveLife
Fishaholic
What's a WCMM, and how do you breed danios?... How big must the tank be in order to breed them..William said:
Tanked
Fish Herder
as far as the LFS being very over stocked. they have very expensive complex filtration systems that can handle a higher load than a hobbiest tank and they feed them very, VERY little so there is NO waste from left over food. they also turn them over at a fast rate so the fish are niot usually in that environment very long.
hth
richard
hth
richard
aernympha
Fish Herder
yeah at my favourite lfs they have ahuge filtration thing that puts new water in all the atnks at once its was kinda scary when it came on!!! 
alos they never have anything in the tanks like gravel or plants!!! 
here is a stocking formula form another of my posts
before u guys so excited about this new formula, its nots new its in both of my fish books!!!!! but the one givern to me is more correct and better for newbies its it like the 1 inch of fish to a gallon but more accurate !!!!! as both books recomend it i think its better . the one on the net its stupid there is no way u one 2 inch fish can have a living spce of 6 sq.in.!!!!!!which is 15 sq. cm its tiny!!!!! i mean this rule on the net compared to the 1 inch for every gallon says can have double the fish i have now in my 30 galllon tank, which is rubbish!!!
there is a better metthod found in these books
Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills (famous guy been doing fishing keeping 30 years!!)
Aquarium an owners manual by Gina Sandford
the method!!!!
this is quoted guys!!
when stocking a tank,the most critical factor is surface area,rather than the total volume of water.the aqurium deth is irrelevent, its the water/airinterfaceat the surface that determines the amount of dissolved oxygen needed to support life.a 160 litre (35 gallon) tank, if 100 cm long x 40 cm deep x 40 cm wide(39 x 16 x 16 in.),will have the surface area of 4000 sq. cm (625 sq in.); alternatively, it mabe be 75 cm long x 52 cm deep x 40 cm wide (30 x 20 x 16 in.) , with a surface area of 3000 sq. cm (480 sq. in.) . although both tanks hold the same amount of water, the one with the larger surface area will suport more fish. to find the correct stocking level,first calculate the surface area by multiplying the tank length by its width.then establish the adult body length of the fish you plan to keep in the tank; for each 2.5 cm (1in.), you will require 75 sq. cm (12 sq. in.) of tank space for tropical freshwater species,180 sq cm (28 sq in.) for coldwater freshwater fish ,and 300 sq cm (47 sq in.) for tropical marine species.
in certain cases, fish may require more or less space than average.for example the discus, which gorws to 15 cm (6 in.),is best kept in pairs with little else in the tank.only in this way are you likly to grow these fish to maturity and have them breed.with good water turnover and effient filtraion,stocking levels may be slightly incresed.however , do not rely on equipment to support a heavily stocked aquarium;mechanical failure could prove disastrous.remember also that fewer fish often look far more impresive than a tank crammed with bodies.
so the basic rule is "for every inch (2.5 cm) of fish you will requies 75 sq. cm"
so i did this to my tank so i did 36 cm x 81 cm =2916 sq.cm
i sthen figured out howmnay inches of fish i could keep by
2916 divided by 75 = 38.88 inches of fish!!!
i then added alll the inches of fish i had 3.75 + 6+6+4.5+4+4+4=32.25
which menas i am not over stocked!!! an di have enuf space to put babies in my tank to grow yup a little so i can sell them to the lsf !!!!
this method is used by dick mills!!!!!!!!!! DICK MILLS!!! i mena if hes been using it for the majority of 30 years its must work so i have my faith in this formula!!! no that stupid unrealistic formula !!!! whoever made it up was stupid and is mean to his fishes!!!
alos they never have anything in the tanks like gravel or plants!!! here is a stocking formula form another of my posts
before u guys so excited about this new formula, its nots new its in both of my fish books!!!!! but the one givern to me is more correct and better for newbies its it like the 1 inch of fish to a gallon but more accurate !!!!! as both books recomend it i think its better . the one on the net its stupid there is no way u one 2 inch fish can have a living spce of 6 sq.in.!!!!!!which is 15 sq. cm its tiny!!!!! i mean this rule on the net compared to the 1 inch for every gallon says can have double the fish i have now in my 30 galllon tank, which is rubbish!!!
there is a better metthod found in these books
Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills (famous guy been doing fishing keeping 30 years!!)
Aquarium an owners manual by Gina Sandford
the method!!!!
this is quoted guys!!
when stocking a tank,the most critical factor is surface area,rather than the total volume of water.the aqurium deth is irrelevent, its the water/airinterfaceat the surface that determines the amount of dissolved oxygen needed to support life.a 160 litre (35 gallon) tank, if 100 cm long x 40 cm deep x 40 cm wide(39 x 16 x 16 in.),will have the surface area of 4000 sq. cm (625 sq in.); alternatively, it mabe be 75 cm long x 52 cm deep x 40 cm wide (30 x 20 x 16 in.) , with a surface area of 3000 sq. cm (480 sq. in.) . although both tanks hold the same amount of water, the one with the larger surface area will suport more fish. to find the correct stocking level,first calculate the surface area by multiplying the tank length by its width.then establish the adult body length of the fish you plan to keep in the tank; for each 2.5 cm (1in.), you will require 75 sq. cm (12 sq. in.) of tank space for tropical freshwater species,180 sq cm (28 sq in.) for coldwater freshwater fish ,and 300 sq cm (47 sq in.) for tropical marine species.
in certain cases, fish may require more or less space than average.for example the discus, which gorws to 15 cm (6 in.),is best kept in pairs with little else in the tank.only in this way are you likly to grow these fish to maturity and have them breed.with good water turnover and effient filtraion,stocking levels may be slightly incresed.however , do not rely on equipment to support a heavily stocked aquarium;mechanical failure could prove disastrous.remember also that fewer fish often look far more impresive than a tank crammed with bodies.
so the basic rule is "for every inch (2.5 cm) of fish you will requies 75 sq. cm"
so i did this to my tank so i did 36 cm x 81 cm =2916 sq.cm
i sthen figured out howmnay inches of fish i could keep by
2916 divided by 75 = 38.88 inches of fish!!!
i then added alll the inches of fish i had 3.75 + 6+6+4.5+4+4+4=32.25
which menas i am not over stocked!!! an di have enuf space to put babies in my tank to grow yup a little so i can sell them to the lsf !!!!
this method is used by dick mills!!!!!!!!!! DICK MILLS!!! i mena if hes been using it for the majority of 30 years its must work so i have my faith in this formula!!! no that stupid unrealistic formula !!!! whoever made it up was stupid and is mean to his fishes!!!
S
smb
Guest
You can't take all of any article and apply it to every aquarist as a golden rule. A General rule, yes, but nothing is ever set in stone no matter how many years experience someone has. There are too many factors and discrepancies among differing aquarists out there. I don't believe everything in any article is correct, nor do I believe everything in an article I find to be unproven or don't happen to agree with as fallacy. I try and pick out what applies to me when I read something and omit the rest.
This statement right here-
If he's talking about a 20g then I agree. If he's talking about raising big cichlids in big tanks then he's wrong. Depth is critical also. I don't care if I have an ocean size surface area in a tank. If I get a P. dovii, I can't have a tank depth of 16" and expect him to live to maturity in it.
What I'm trying to say is, take something from everything you read and apply it to yourself and use it to your advantage but don't necessarily use a whole article anywhere as "set in stone" rules as they are usually just generalizations.
This statement right here-
If he's talking about a 20g then I agree. If he's talking about raising big cichlids in big tanks then he's wrong. Depth is critical also. I don't care if I have an ocean size surface area in a tank. If I get a P. dovii, I can't have a tank depth of 16" and expect him to live to maturity in it.
What I'm trying to say is, take something from everything you read and apply it to yourself and use it to your advantage but don't necessarily use a whole article anywhere as "set in stone" rules as they are usually just generalizations.
aernympha
Fish Herder
i too thought that bit was odd but i think that what it means about varibles eg.s the big cichlids need a big dethed tank!! 
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