People Saying Overstocked

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Sorry but i am not trying to cause any arguments or upset any people so please please please dont take this the wrong way but lately i seem to read alot of threads and all people seem to say is oh you are well over stocked oh you are well over stocked. even tho the person that has wrote the thread saying at mo fish are small and will be rehomed when bigger. please people give good advice like alot of people do as that is interesting to read and does help alot of people from time to time, not just jump down there throat and say WELL OVER STOCKED.

like i say sorry but i am not trying to upset anyone i am just trying to get abit of a point across.

thx

 

[deceptacon]

Not to say you are wrong, but it is kind of pointless to buy a fish you know that in the end you will get too large for what you can accommodate. It is still good advise if it may apply to the near future instead of that very moment. It really isn't jumping down anyone's throat to be honest and say, in a few months, this tank will be far too small for the juveniles you have now.

 

[arobinson1984]

I agree with deceptacon

Its not fair buying fish that will outgrow the tank in which they are kept. Its stressful enough for the fish growing up in inadequate surroundings with minimal swimming space etc and then have to go through the stress of being re-homed.

People on here give advice, many of whom have years of experience and know what problems will occur down the line if stocking issues are not corrected early on.

The general rule of thumb that many newbies get advised of is 1" of ADULT fish per US gallon and this rule is a good rule to follow for beginners.

Your basically saying that its ok to stock oscars, common plecs, BGKF in a 30 gall tank because they start off small, all 3 of them would have outgrown a 30 gall tank in just 3-6 months so any advise given on this forum is given for a reason and as I mentioned the majority of advice is off the back of years of experience

I dont think anybody means to be deliberately rude of jump down anyones throat but there are members on here (not naming names) who have been told about their stocking levels, dont seem to listen and keep asing the same advice over and over again. If people aren't prepared to listen to advice from people more experienced than themselves then they shouldn't ask for it in the first place.

Andy

 

[tqfan]

i keep seeing this general rule of thumb for beginners is 1" per gallon, or whatever, but when do you become more than a beginner and learn what the real rule is??

you can't all keep saying it's just for beginners, but then say it shouldn't really be followed, and they're all over stocked...

so how do you work out the stocking element properly?

 

[JenCliBee]

i keep seeing this general rule of thumb for beginners is 1" per gallon, or whatever, but when do you become more than a beginner and learn what the real rule is??

you can't all keep saying it's just for beginners, but then say it shouldn't really be followed, and they're all over stocked...

so how do you work out the stocking element properly?

Has nothink to do with over stocked/under stocked the 1 inch rule is a guide pure and simple, given to beginners for the sake of them not or may not no what to do with problems due to overstocking, ie water quality etc etc, once youve kept fish for a while you get to know your own tank and relise instantly if somethinks wrong... beginners will probably not!!!


To the OP the people that buy fish dont intend to get rid of them untill US/WE the members ofthis forum tell them that it will outgrow the tank or not be compatible etc etc, so to say that someone has brought a particular fish to sell/rehome when bigger isnt actually correct ...in most cases they dont rlise untill we tell them making your post a little irelivent tbh.

As above said why buy a fish knowing you will have to rehome it?, pointless ...most experienced hobbist wont its usually beginners and they dont know they have done.

jen

 

[BBK1]

I agree with deceptacon

 

[tqfan]

i've just been wondering lately about our 2 tanks, we have like 20 fish in each tank, one of which is 4ft long.

recently, however, i saw someone with a 260 litre tank with 100 fish in it, although i didn't think there looked like there was 100 fish in there. i just thought, wow, that's a lot!

then she said to me, we could put another 150 in there, it'd be fine...

i found it strange, tbh. but then it got me thinking to how many i could possibly put in my tanks. i know it's not just fish size, but that their waste production comes into it, too.

when i've looked up fish online, i've never really seen any mention of how much waste they produce, apart from plec's. how would i find this out?? am i looking at the wrong sites, lol?!

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

please people give good advice like alot of people do

Saying your overstocked is good advice because it probably is true. Hate to break it to ya...

 

[SilverHatchet]

Overstocking is a relative term to the filtration you have. You can have a 55gal tank with a hang on filter but it will only handle 55in of fish max while on the other hand you can have the same 55gal but with a 33gal sump wet/dry filter which can probably handle total 200+in of fish.

The latter is of course for the more experienced.

 

[deceptacon]

Even if it could handle it, that still doesn't mean it's a good idea. I have a 55 gal and have far less than 55 inches of fish, but I would never add more, even with all the filtration in the world.

 

[Tolak]

Stocking is just as much art as science, if not more so.

 

[SilverHatchet]

Even if it could handle it, that still doesn't mean it's a good idea. I have a 55 gal and have far less than 55 inches of fish, but I would never add more, even with all the filtration in the world.

It's always better to have bigger tank than better filteration. But some people and in certain setting enjoy the overstocked look of schools and schools of fish.

 

[Bignose]

but when do you become more than a beginner and learn what the real rule is??

the "real rule" isn't a rule at all. And while I appreciate Tolak's "as much art as science" sentiment, there is plenty of science that goes into it.

To wit, some of the considerations besides just length of fish and volume of water they are in would be:
1) surface area available for gas exchange
2) the rate of the gas exchange through the surface (agitated versus calm)
3) the length of the fish is insufficient to be a good description of the waste the fish produces, a more complete list is:
3a) length, width, and height
3b) that particular species' metabolism
3c) how much that species eats and how much waste it generates
3d) the temperature of the water because in general fish in warmer water have a faster metabolism
3e) the kind of food being fed (high in protein, fat, etc.)
4) the temperature of the water will change how much gas can be dissolved in the water
5) the magnitude of the currents in the water
6) whether any of the chosen fish are going to be territorial (i.e. a territorial 5" fish may claim much much more than 5 gal as its personal area)
7) whether any of the chosen fish a shoaling and will be much more comfortable in large groups
8) whether the tank is to be planted or not, and if CO2 injection is to be used

I am sure that there are others I am forgetting, this is all I could think of quickly. Is it any wonder that 1" per gallon is only the coarsest of rules? That said, it is still an excellent excellent rule for beginners to follow. All too often people do come back from the store with 100" of fish in a 10 gallon tank -- and then none of the considerations above would matter -- that much overstocked has no chance of succeeding. Sticking to 1" per gallon at least keeps all the waste and space issues under most critical limits. It is nowhere near perfect. Even considering the above, you can take it to farcical counterexamples that obviously just wrong. 20 1" fish would probably be very happy in a 20 gallon tank (especially if they were all the same species shoaling together), but 1 20" fish has no place at all in a 20 gallon tank.

The art of all this comes from experience (either direct or learning from clubs and this forum) of combinations that have a high potential of working. The science points you in the right direction, the art is in choosing combinations that follow the "rules" and appeals to you as well!