Any good stocking guide for begginers?

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One of the most useful tools around in my book, but doesn't take all things into account. So while extremely useful still no replacement for doing research.
 
Stocking seems to have become a science, you go into an aquatic store and they have hundreds of neon tetras in a smallish tank, they seem lively , the tank is sparse ( for ease of access and removal) ... so why is the " home tank " size such an issue?.. I have listened to advice from many uniform wearing pet store employees, but tend to go with the advice from the small family run fish outlet,... this is their livelihood, so fish health is paramount, not saying the big corporations don't give good advice, ..just that the small shop that has a vested interest in you the customer is likely to give you the best advice...I have a small 35ltr second tank with 3 bushy plants, and some large white pebbles, I have 10 neon tetras and 5 gold tetras, I will add another ten tetras plus 6 Amano shrimp, .... my two tanks are community tanks, and all my fish are healthy....I don't do water checks for ph levels, I just use decent filter media, and change the 25% water every fortnight, now I'm down to feeding them twice a week, so all is very good......
 
Stocking seems to have become a science, you go into an aquatic store and they have hundreds of neon tetras in a smallish tank, they seem lively , the tank is sparse ( for ease of access and removal) ... so why is the " home tank " size such an issue?

The pet stores near me either do water changes every day or have central distribution systems that are constantly adding clean sterilized water.

Thinking you will be successful stocking tanks to the same level that a store does is going to be challenging for most people.
 
Misunderstood

Hi,
What I was alluding to, is not to over stock the tank as per the shop, but to use a little common sense and watch the behaviour of the fish, and add accordingly, there seems to be too many differing opinions on how many fish should be kept in a tank....and enough equations to baffle , ...fish adapt to their environment and if fed a couple of times a week, and the water cleaned when needed,

I have:
2 weather loaches
4 Mollys
2 smallish goldfish
6 Danios
and 4 Amano shrimp in the same tank with a good amount of plants both real and synthetic, plus lava rocks, bog wood and white River sand

My tank is 88 Ltrs, and my fish are all crazy happy
 
Hi,

What I was alluding to, is not to over stock the tank as per the shop, but to use a little common sense and watch the behaviour of the fish, and add accordingly, there seems to be too many differing opinions on how many fish should be kept in a tank....and enough equations to baffle , ...fish adapt to their environment and if fed a couple of times a week, and the water cleaned when needed,



I have:

2 weather loaches

4 Mollys

2 smallish goldfish

6 Danios

and 4 Amano shrimp in the same tank with a good amount of plants both real and synthetic, plus lava rocks, bog wood and white River sand



My tank is 88 Ltrs, and my fish are all crazy happy


How do you know if YOUR tank is not over stocked? Because the fish are "crazy happy"? How do you measure that? I agree with your statement about observation. Yes, fish will adapt, to some degree, to their conditions even if the conditions are not ideal. But is this the best way to keep them long term? For instance, goldfish do grow large and the tank they are will eventually be suitable for one by itself.
As for "...the water cleaned when needed", how do you determine when this should take place? You don't test the water for anything so how do you know when it's time to clean/change it? Now one can forgo testing and change copious amounts of water frequently (e.g. - 50% 2-3 times a week) and there is nothing wrong with that. Unless a tank is severely over stocked or overfed then that should keep waste levels down. 25% every two weeks seems a bit on the low side. But I don't know the conditions of your tank, so I could be wrong.
You are correct in that there are many opinions on stocking.
 
Water changes

My water is very clear, probably due to the media I use and the filter, a JBL 700 with a good layering of Purigen, .. I allow the tank to settle and then assess what I feel needs doing, the fish seem to eat at three levels, so not much gets to settle and decay, and the shrimp do their bit too.....I feel the tank is lively enough, but haven't discounted adding another half dozen shrimp...
 
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