The 1" Rule

[snailhoc]

does the 1" rule refer to uk or us gallons

 

[Esfa]

US gallons, buts it's a load of rubbish

You wouldnt put a 30" fish in a 30gal tank, and you wouldnt put 500 neons in a 500gal tank.

 

[ktricky]

its just a rule of thumb


is their a more precise method ?

 

[OohFeeshy]

and you wouldnt put 500 neons in a 500gal tank.

And why not?

 

[dave_gray2077]

Cos you could put bigger things in there like Rays and stuff

 

[Davo86]

does the 1" rule refer to uk or us gallons

IMO the 1inch rule is ok for any fish under say 3 or 4 inches, but for larger fish it doesn't quite work out as well, and other factors such as dimensions of tank become more important

 

[SJ2K]

You certainly could have 500 neons in a 500g tank! The rule is ok as stated for smaller fish, there is a different rule for the larger fish though. Somthing like 3x Adult lengh long and 2x Adult lengh wide.

 

[Eyebiter]

I think you can bend that rule quite a bit depending on the fish and tank. I'm probably overstocked in my 125g but they're all schooling fish and fast paced. I have more then enough filtering. If you have good filtration, don't over-feed, and do water changes you can keep a lot of fish. BUT they need to be the right fish. You can't have shy fish with a ton of fast fish.

 

[Tolak]

That rule is not a rule it's a guideline for newer aquarists. One inch of slim bodied fish that grow no larger than 3" as adults per gallon of water is how it goes. It's a guideline designed to keep newbies out of trouble. Many experienced aquarists exceed that stocking rate. They also have the knowledge to forsee and deal with a problem, as well as a backup plan if things go south.

With aquatics there are few hard & fast rules, I've heard of some unimaginable things work out quite well for some folks.

 

[Esfa]

what i meant was that you wouldn't have 500 neons in a 500gal and say that it is fully stocked.

 

[andywg]

and you wouldnt put 500 neons in a 500gal tank.

And why not?

Because tanks that big are for growing out bumblebee groupers or keeping fully grown leopard morays and real bone-less sharks