stocking levels

[golfboy444]

fish lengh how many gallons
per fish this size?


1inch 1
2inches 1
3inches 1
4inches 2
5inches 4
6inches 8*
7inches 10*
8 inches 15*
9inches 18*
10inches 20*
11inches 20*
12inches 25*
24inches 125*




*these numbers assume that you will make a weekly partial water change other wise waste will build up to fast.DONT FORGET TO REMEMBER THEIR ADULT SIZE!!!!!!

hope this helps some newbie fish keepers

this table provided by The Complete Idiots Guide rights reserverd (dont know how to do the little r in the circle thing lol) to freshwater aquariums

 

[aernympha]

this method is better !!!!! than that!!!


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!!!

 

[AquaNut]

Golfboy, your list is misleading. I'm sure you dont' mean to say it would be a good idea to put a 7" fish in a 10 gallon aquarium, but rather than you could have, say, five of them in a fifty gallon aquarium, no?

At any rate, I don't think that you can decide what a tank can hold that way. Too many other things come into play even more than the actual volume of the tank does.

 

[golfboy444]

Golfboy, your list is misleading. I'm sure you dont' mean to say it would be a good idea to put a 7" fish in a 10 gallon aquarium, but rather than you could have, say, five of them in a fifty gallon aquarium, no?

At any rate, I don't think that you can decide what a tank can hold that way. Too many other things come into play even more than the actual volume of the tank does.

i dont no my friend told me to post it so..

 

[cichlidmaster]

Man....only 24" of fish in 125 gallons of water!! BOY are MY tanks OVERSTOCKED!!!

heck...I have a wild pair of H. bocourti that together measure almost 24" and thought for sure I could put more than just the one pair in the 6' x 18" x 20" tank their in!!

Hey....hows bout having your friend register and post his own suggestions?? Would like to get some of his/hers other views on proper aquarium husbandry!!

CM

 

[William]

Small tanks, especially the rectangular ones are very regular in size and so to keep it simple 1" fish per 1 gallon of water is a good basic rule of thumb. Of course when you start talking of tanks over 20 gallons the rule breaks down but its a rough guide anyway and should not be adhered to that closely.

 

[Alien Anna]

It does get very complicated with non-rectangular tanks. I have a corner tank that is effectively a square with a right-angle cut off. At its widest point it is much wider than a standard 25 US gal tank, which does allow more swimming space, and it is much deeper than most equivalent tanks (20"), but calculating it's surface area was a bit of a nightmare. I did it in the end, but I had to use graph paper. It's 416.5 sq in, which is just a little smaller than a standard 3 ft tank.

In other words, it has a higher surface area: volume ratio and can theoretically support far more fish than a standard, rectangular tank (35 inches of fish). It currently has 28" of fish, with the potential for this to rise to 32" but I think it looks over-stocked. When fish are bumping into each other, I personally think it's time to stop!

My other large tank can theoretically support 38 inches of fish and currently houses 22 inches. However, it looks well-stocked and given that it contains mollies of both sexes, I think I'll leave things as they are! The only change will be if I can find out if SAEs can tolerate a little salt - if they can, my SAE might find himself in there one day.

 

[baseballfan111]

well golfboy better than 1'' a gallon

 

[golfboy444]

well golfboy better than 1'' a gallon

well who cares