1 inch per gallon, Piff......

[Jchillin]

Just grab the pertinent items and paste them in a PM. Use an outline format to improve clarity.

 

[virus]

Yeah! alright its one of my first few steps on becoming a active memebr of this forum!! alright so im gonna let anyone get ANYMORE things out there, thats not already covered (kinda like a last call) and ill make a intial sticky and then mabe a new category could be formed like the fish and plant profiles except its the general Speices profile and their tank needs/restrictions.ok *pant* lets get this show on the road please if anyone sees anything alse that needs to be add LET me KNOW please lol!

Edit: i cant make stickys! lol so i ment ill appeal them to ? ok let me know who i should talk to!

 

[Jchillin]

Take a look at the "What fish should you get" sticky prior to submitting. There are a few points already present (ie: Tank size, water parameters, etc.) to avoid having overlapping info.

 

[coolchinchilla]

I looked at the "what fish you should get" sticky and it was a bit jumbled... not easy to find the info that would be helpful to a newbie. I don't think there's a problem with overlap here. If things are repeated that's ok. There is some overlap already among various stickies.

JMO.

 

[StripesTheEel]

Interesting topic.. alot of noobs would love a clear/precise number.. although as stated many times already it has so many variables..

My morays are massive and easily is an exception to that rule..

eg. my zebra moray is 3 foot.. in a 100gal..

 

[virus]

ok one more question, should this be FW or SW fish, i was thinking freshwater because saltwater has MANY diffrent Verietys then saltwater, so its up to you guys, but tonight if noone else responds ill make it FW and take all of the info and present it for a sticky,

P.S. i wonder if it could be another category? lol so noobies can get some more info on the species and stuff, but wait whatabout the getting started and fish and plant profiles ?

 

[Jchillin]

I would limit it to FW, since the SW fish are a whole different ballgame. The Fish and plant profiles section is intended as a separate classification altogether...just the different species of fish/plants and their profiles.

 

[virus]

Ok everyone this is what im going to do, im going to ask certain people on different speices as such,


water parameters, pH, KH, GH?
DOCs?
Nitrates from tap water?
plants?
CO2?
substrate?
UGF vs. HOB vs. canister?
aireation with air stones?
footprint of the tank (tall, hex, long)?
Tank mates (lg fish will eat small fish)?
LFS? (LFS will encourage more fish because that's how they make money, not because they're right.)
Likelihood of getting diseases (fish more prone to illness should be lightly stocked)?
What fish do better with others? (A school of tetras will draw out a shy discus)


This is will be the intial “species profile”
Then more advanced




Things that figure into stocking:
1. The amount of work the aquarist wants to do. For example, I know someone who put two FW angel fish in a 90 gallon tank. He automated the lights with timers and filled an auto feeder once every two weeks. Not much work to do for that tank. Heavier stocking requires more work.

2. The experience of the aquarist. One with more experience will be able to recognize when things are going downhill in a tank faster than a newbie. Thus perhaps a newbie should stock more lightly to start off.

3. Filtration equipment. If someone has a lot of extra filtration on a tank then perhaps more fish can be happily housed in it. If someone has a canister on a 30 gallon would they be able to house more fish than for an HOB? .)

4. Plants. Do plants affect stocking plans?

5. The type of fish. Large bodied fish need more tank space than smaller ones.l (e.g., goldfish
need more tank space than a guppy). It would be good to give guidelines according to the kind of fish.

6. Some fish are schooling fish so there should be at least 6 of them (e.g., tetras). I didn't know that you really should count on having multiples of some kinds of fish. In a stocking guideline this would be good to mention.

7. Tank size. Some fish need more swimming room than what can be had in a particular tank. For example two african ciclids make up about a total of 10-inches of fish. But to put them in a 10 or 15 gallon tank would be cruel because they need something closer to 55 gallons to be able to swim around.

8. Aggression. If a fish is more aggressive/territorial, then it needs more space in the tank, not just more hiding places.


Credit to Cool chinchilla for all this cool info!!

This will all be put in a question forum, any that has any knowledge please by all means complete this with the Species of your expertise! I think ill be PM’ing Pufferpunk for Puffers , um and I don’t know who else can anyone please point me to some speices oriented people? Lol it would be a great help!

EDIT: KUDOS TO CCC !!!

 

[coolchinchilla]

<blush> Thanks virus.

I agree with jchillin about this being a FW guideline. My take is that SW beginners tend to do better research than FW beginners just because of the expense, but what do I know. Maybe a SW person can start their own guidelines?

I'd suggest putting the info you have already and put a post in the FW general discussion. Title it: "Creating a sticky for newbie stocking guidelines. Suggestions?" Then write your goals for the sticky as you've done here. Maybe you'll get more feedback there. A title for species specific info could be "a call for species' experts"

Just some thoughts. I'd be willing to help write it up or organize it if you'd like.

HTH
coolchinchilla

 

[Jchillin]

Looks good virus. In regard to species specific members, there are tons of them here at AA. Nearly every species has a member who not only keeps them but has also had success in breeding them as well.

I agree with CCC (coolchinchilla), a call to the species experts will garner some serious feedback.

One thing to keep in mind. Majority of the members here at AA found this great resource after their tank was set up and a problem occurred. In that light, the sticky (when and if it becomes one) will need to have some language in it that is not only informative, but doesn't appear too harsh or critical (closing the barn door after the horses have run away). For an example of what I'm talking about, check the "Sick/Unhealthy Fish" forum. There is a sticky there "Read this before posting about your sick fish".

New members who are having problems would be referred to the sticky.

 

[virus]

here is the link everybody!
i am so happy!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=485348#485348

 

[coolchinchilla]

Cool virus! I'll be watching the thread for sure.