Stocking Capacity

[Smoothy]

My cycle is well on it's way now so I'm hoping I'll be able to get fish in a few weeks

I've been reading on here and a few other places about stocking levels and most people say 1 inch of fish per US gallon ...

However I've come across this site that is telling me I could have a maximum of 59 inches of fish in my 125 litre/33 US gallon with a Internal filter (providing they are small fish)

http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/calculators.php?calc=stocking

Just wondering if the 1 inch rule is to be followed strictly

I will be mostly keeping fish of 1-3 inches in size ... no biggies

 

[jnms]

1" rule if you want to play it safe - and don't want too much work (like water changes)

But you can certainly put more in the tank. I work on surface area - allowing 16cm squared per 1cm of fish.

Many people don't like the thinkfish calculations. Personally I think they are fine. You would most likely be ok going halfway between the 59" and whatever thinkfish recommend.

So long as you got enough filtration and you keep your water clean, then things should be fine.

 

[Smoothy]

Thanks for the reply

It's thinkfish that are saying 59inches ... think I'll go maybe to 40" worth ... I'll be doing regular water changes like you say anyway

Any reason why people don't like the thinkfish calculations?

 

[jnms]

Any reason why people don't like the thinkfish calculations?

Simply because they recommend high stocking levels. This is fine if you maintain the tank - but some new to fish keeping don't always do that, so the high stocking levels can quickly cause a problem.

 

[waterdrop]

We hate the thinkfish thing, very misleading to beginners. Its much, much better if you stay under or at the 1" guideline the first year or two while you get used to mainenance and get a feel for everything. You'll be a much better fishkeeper after that point and can consider overstocking and all that it entails. Don't forget that when you lose power to an overstocked tank you've got an emergency on your hands the likes of which you've probably never experienced before, whereas if you're understocked, you've got some time on your hands to figure things out.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[MT2009]

The 1" of fish rule is outdated and does NOT always apply to keeping fish.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, we've had dozens of extensive discussions threaded here discussing fish stocking. One thing we agreed upon was to try to never call it a rule, but just a guideline as something to give beginners a jumping-off point. One of the things we strive for is not to emerse the beginner in long and complicated threads on every small decision of the process of getting started in the hobby.

If you can uncover some of the stocking discussion threads via the search engine (and I know that's not always easy, can be tedious at times) I think you'd find every sort of angle discussed and many experienced fishkeepers on here with over-filtered tanks teeming with fish and way above any 1" guideline. Likewise, you'll find experienced aquarists with understocked tanks. Its a wide range.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

The 59 inches of fish in your tank would be a real challenge to most new fish keepers. I do have some tanks that are that heavily stocked but I try to avoid that heavy level even though I do have lots of fish experience. In my opinion, keeping a heavy tank stocking is a bad idea because it requires intense attention to keep everything healthy. It can also lead to a disaster if you lose power for any significant time at all. I find that I can relax and enjoy my fish more in tanks that are lightly stocked, around the inch per gallon level. By staying light, I ignore power outages because I know the tank won't go bad on me in a matter of a few hours but will take a day or more to really start suffering water quality issues. It also means that, if I have an especially busy week, the water won't degrade badly if I miss a water change.

 

[Smoothy]

Well ... when you put it like that I think I might try and stick to the 1" rule as close as I can

Just so hard with so many beautiful fish out there and then with the fact that some that I like need to be in groups of 5-6

 

[waterdrop]

If you think about some of the nicest looking big tanks you've seen in the big professional aquariums where you buy a ticket, you'll remember perhaps that often those tanks are single species or mainly single majority with one or two other species (disregarding the monster displays.) I think one of the hardest things about working on your stocking list is that one of the fascinations about the hobby that gets people into it is seeing all the different looks of different fish and liking that. There are so many species you think about and want. But its hard to visualize that when you put a lot of different types in one tank, you are creating a certain "look" that may not really be as attractive as what you really want. Of course, its hard to discuss because there are so many different looks...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup i agree with WD, without meaning to 'big myself up' too much I've been keeping fish for oh maybe 7/8 years now and I'm fairly confident in my abilities. I wouldn't feel uncomfortable stocking a 33 gal tank to 59" of small fish assuming I had set it up correctly, oversized filters, redundancy built into the system and the tank ahd been running over 6 months so was nice and mature. But what I would recommend to someone just starting out with their first tank is some way off that. It takes a little time to be able to 'read' your fish and your tank and to spot the early warning signs of problems and also to be confident that if something goes wrong you can fix it.

While obviously on occasions I come onto the forum asking for advice, generally if something goes wrong in the tank I know what to do straight away, if I knew I'd have to get onto the pc, put a post up and then wait maybe a couple of hours for a response before I could even get started then I'd be a touch more nervous about reducing my margin for error on the tank which is effectively what you do when you overstock.

What I'd suggest if you go around the 1" mark at first, after 6 months or so when the tank is mature and you've a little bit more experience you can come up towards 1.5" per gal and then maybe down the line if you feel really confident and the lok you want in the tank is quite a busy one then you can go up to 2".

Another thing to remember when stocking is that this may be your first tank, but it's undoubtedly not going to be your last one, don't try to cram in every species that you like right now, work out a nice plan with decent shoal numbers of fish that will go nicely together and put everything else that you want on your 'one for the future' list

 

[bitteraspects]

the first thing you need to remember, and is often misunderstood, is that the "RULE" is measured in suare inches. 1"sq - 1 USgal. in otherwords, you can not put a 12 inch (6-7" tall) cichlid in a 12" 10g tank.

the 1"sq/gal "RULE", like all the other "RULES" in fishkeeping, are only a guideline, and are generally suggested to novice and intermediate fish keepers. if you stay within these guidelines you are less likely to run into aggression and bioload problems. now, with that said, there are always exceptions. "OVERSTOCKING" is a common and successful practise in fish keeping, for some advanced keepers, but it requires A LOT of attention. dont think you can just stuff a bunch of fish into a tank, because "theres more room". without lots of additional filtration, a religious water change schedule, and close attention to the water parameters, it will surely end in disaster and most likely with all your fish dying.

 

[pammy172]

I was looking at the thinkfish site this weekend too - coincidentally. I was amazed at what it said we could keep.

I did some stocking ideas and the overall numbr of fish was ridiculous tbh. The overall asthetic effect would be badly affected if we went to the level they said. Just too many fish in the space. We're sticking with our original plan and may then in the longer term future add a little more to bolster a couple of shoals - but that'd be it tbh.