Tank Capacity

[Jazz_UK]

Hi,

I have seen people here and other placed quote the 1" of fish per gallon, however on visiting the calculations website of a well-known UK magazine it give the following results

Dimensions: 122cm L x 30cm W x 30cm H/48" L x 12" W x 12" H
Surface area: 0.37 sq m/4.00 sq ft/576 sq inches
Volume: 113 l./25 gal.
Volume after displacement: 102 l./22 gal.
System type: Tropical freshwater aquarium
Total stocking density: 45"/114cm of fish (built up gradually)

That is over 2" of fish per gallon!

What calculation do you use?

Jazz_UK

 

[Graeme]

One inch is just a safe and genral rule most people follow.








Graeme.

 

[Josh Q]

I know that if you have fish with big bodies, like angels, ect. you have to give more water per inch. Like with platies, mollies, ect. 1" is a pretty good jugde.
-Josh

 

[DizzyDezzy]

It depends a lot on your filtration and the surface area and surface movement of your water. In a tank with a lot of filtration (the entire volume of the tank going through the filter about 5-7 times an hour), you can easyly put as many as 2" per gallon of small fish or 1" per gallon of larger deep bodied fish.
You also have to keep in mind that inches of fish is not an exact measure. a 3" long khuli loach doesn't have nearly as large a bioload as a 3" gourami... You can keep 3 or 4 khulis in a 5 gallon tank without a problem given that there is an adequate filter, and if you look at it from the 'inch per gallon' view, it's 9 to 12 inches of fish in 5 gallons...

 

[gadazobe]

Surface area is just as important, if not more important, as volume. You can keep more fish in a long 25 gal tank than you can in a high 25 gal tank.

 

[cichlidmaster]

Please remember also...............

This DOES NOT mean you can keep a 10" fish in a ten gallon tank!!!

Believe it or not this can not go unsaid as there are some who would misunderstand the 1-2" of fish per gallon rule!!!

CM

 

[Jamnog]

someone i would trust told me 1 and a half inches per square foot tho like you say its different in different places the wellbeing of the fish is something thats hard to measure scientifically probably best to take a happy medium on what is "needed for the fish" i personally think that there is allot of science in fish keeping. people consider a viable tank one in wich a fish will breed allot of people have different limmits.

edit : ive just read the post made by cm and it kinda made me laugh at first i would not consider keeping a 6 inch fish in a 20 gallon tank its a difficult thing defining what size fish is suitable for wich size tank and im not shure fish should be defined by volums as ive thaught up untill now as there has been a sort of vision of my mind of the sort of average midrange fish like betas firemouths and thats sort of thing.