Curious of varying opinions and practices

[dwhit13]

I'm still very new to this and if anything I'm suffering from information over load. I currently have a 55 gallon up and running and over stocked
I also am purchasing another 55 on Thursday

My curiosity is what are the opinions and practices of the veterans here when it comes to how many fish to stock. I know the inch a gallon rule but also have read here some believe that to be an out dated concept.

How do you approach it. I. Def intend to be much more meticulous and better planned on the new one

 

[Andy Sager]

A lot depends on what fish you hope to keep in this tank. The 1 inch per gallon rule really only applies to smaller fish and the use of common sense. (You can't put a 10" oscar in a 10 gal tank, sort of thing.)
What I've done over the years is to gauge how many fish to keep in a tank based on their mature size. Again, a little Oscar may look okay in a 30 gal but a mature oscar would need a tank stretcher for him to be comfortable in there so I wouldn't get one if I didn't intend on getting a much larger tank. I know there are sites online that give recommendations however, by using the matured method, I have kept fish for many years, happy and healthy. What I was told years ago was " if your tank looks overcrowded, IT IS!" Some may think that's a ploy to get you to buy more tanks but in reality, it's best for the fish to be spread out, not over packed. Keep in mind that there are, in theory, 3 levels in a fish tank. The bottom, the middle and the top. If you purchase fish for all three levels, you can have a nice selection of fish without overcrowding any one level thereby reducing the stress levels in the tank. The tank will look full because there will be fish everywhere and they won't be overcrowded because you don't need many per level.
Water quality is a great guide to when you need to stop adding fish. I always did and still do just a 10%-15% weekly water change on my tanks. Since they are not over crowded, the nitrate level rises very slowly. If your nitrate level rises higher than the recommended 40 ppm in a week, you have too many fish in your tank. (IMO ) That's the time to rehome some. The need to do a 40% or 50% water change to maintain a level of good water quality is , to me, a sign of bad husbandry and a disaster looking for a place to happen. I know of more tanks having total wipe outs by doing this due to rapid chemistry changes on the fish. There are a lot of other things that can go wrong making such a large change as well. By changing the smaller amount, you can even do some things wrong that won't effect the fish as much. With today's tap water not being as good as it used to be, it's something to keep in mind.

Hope I didn't confuse you and this helps

 

[dwhit13]

Well of course you confused me lol. This whole experience has been confusing but in a weird way a very good kind of confusing lol. I think I totally grasp what you are saying there and it does make perfect sense to me. So a couple follow ups for you then. Doe having extra powerful filtration help alleviate the second part of your equation? And secondly if I have three levels of fish lets say two levels are schooling fish that hang together. How do you know if a big school is to big? wouldnt it technically look crowded when in fact that is what is supposed to make them the happiest?

 

[hennaartist]

www.aqadvisor.com is a great resource for how many fish you can put in your tank. It lets you input your tank and filter set up, then choose the fish you want and how many of each. It will then let you know if you are over stocked or if there are potential problems with the fish combination. It's not perfect, but it is VERY helpful.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[dwhit13]

oh that sounds perfect . I'll check that out now. Thank you

 

[Mebbid]

Andy's method works... But it's complicated ant not a realistic starting point for a newbie. Pretty much everyone starts out at AQAdvisor and that seems to be a great rule of thumb.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Why not just get a 75 instead of another 55? Usually I under stock and over filter like for a 55 I would probably put something like 2 HOB filters or a Fluval 406 on it and then cap my fish at 50 inches instead of going right to 55, better safe than sorry.

 

[Andy Sager]

Doe having extra powerful filtration help alleviate the second part of your equation? And secondly if I have three levels of fish lets say two levels are schooling fish that hang together. How do you know if a big school is to big? wouldnt it technically look crowded when in fact that is what is supposed to make them the happiest?

Extra filtration will only help the bacteria convert the ammonia faster if you have pads in there that you don't replace. If you have a product that absorbs ammonia, say ammosorb ( that was a product years ago. I don;t know if that still exists, just using as an example here) and it lowers the ammonia amount in the tank, the extra filtration is a help. If you are just using an extra filter to move more water, then NO, it doesn't really do all that much "above and beyond."

To answer the second part, we need to go back to the water quality issue. If having all those fish makes the water quality deteriorate too quickly, then there are too many fish. Maybe either have 1 school of 1 type of fish or 2 smaller schools of the same fish if they are co-mingling. The key is to add these fish slowly so you don;t overtax the bacteria bed. You will know you have done that successfully by testing the water before you add the fish and after you add the fish ( usually the next day). There should be no appreciative changes in your test results. BTW, If you have 2 layers of fish that school, they shouldn't be schooling together because they exist at different levels. For example, if you have a school of hatchet fish ( top swimmers) and a school of Rummynose tetras, they don;t swim together. The rummys will stay either in the middle or the bottom. So you need to learn about the fish you are adding before you add them. Understand their habits, likes and dislikes. Another point, you may find, in the proper tank setup, that "schooling" fish aren't schooling. That is actually a good thing. It's good because schooling is a protective measure fish use when in fear for their lives. If they are happy and content in your tank, they don;t need to school so the need to have a lot of them isn't there. Often times, a school of just 3 fish is good enough. A larger school may look nice but if space is an issue, then make the school bigger by slowly adding more members based on water quality.

Hope this answers your concerns

 

[Andy Sager]

Andy's method works... But it's complicated ant not a realistic starting point for a newbie. Pretty much everyone starts out at AQAdvisor and that seems to be a great rule of thumb.

I understand it's a little complicated for some but the intent is to make one learn about the fish they are getting BEFORE they get them. When I was in retail, I used to have to dissuade customers from impulse buys. More often than not, what they wanted was not a good fit for their tanks. Since good shops are getting harder to find, this is why educating yourself about the fish is so important. Everyone should have a library of fish books so that they can see what is available to the trade and can learn about them. The internet is fine but it only tells you what you ask it for. If you don't know WHAT to ask it for, you don't know what you are missing. Make sense?

As for Aqadvisor, I've read mixed reviews on it's accuracy. The water quality test is more concrete for the tank and system specifically. The key is not to rush to fill the tank with fish. That, it's been shown, makes for a better long term system.

Hope this helps

 

[dwhit13]

You guys have definitely helped here. It is alot to to try and take in but I am grasping it. Feeling kind of stupid about the way I rushed into this now. I think I will change the next one to a 75 gallon . Ill try and find a good one today. Accord to the aqua advis calculator I am at 107% stocked. I am considering taking a few of them back to the pet store so I can more properly stock it . I am also going to pick up that api master test kit today so that I can know precisely how my water is.