My sister had a ten gallon tank with a bunch of gigantic goldfish in it for like 3 years, yes id comment on the prison everytime I saw it but they never died...Their still horrendously over stocked with a 20 gallon but the fish is still alive? Id base stock on how many water changes your willing to do?
1 inch per gallon rule
- Thread starter ClearVision94
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huma-huma
Aquarium Advice Addict
i dont even bring up the 1inch per gallon rule when im talking to someone about stocking. (or any variation of that stupid rule) thats the same as trying to do the watts per gallon rule for lighting... leds completely threw that out. you really have to form a stocklist and go from there. not only do you need to consider the fishs adult size, but you need to consider feeding habits, tankmates. territory issues. etc. what ive found to be more effective is to spend time researching the fish, get a rough stock list together, come back to a trusted forum like AA or similar, then gather opinions on what to remove or add. this works alot better than applying a generally useless rule across the board.
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ClearVision94
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aquandrew
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Rivers2k
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Thats why I said in general. nobody is talking about a 1" fish in a 1" gallon tank. we are talking 10 and 20 gallon tank. And I can't think of a fish that maxes out at 1-2" that has a higher bioload than any other fish at that size.
You could easily add 20 guppy size fish to a 20 gallon.
" Also plants do allow you to have a higher bioload but reduces swimming spacem" -this is exactly what I was trying to say about the plants
What about 20 dwarf puffers in a 20 gallon? Not trying to be argumentive I just really hate this rule because it causes so many problems. I think 20 guppies in a 20 gallon would be a bad idea personally.
MJSerik
Aquarium Advice Freak
This rule is especially horrible when it comes to saltwater.
Can I ask why? Is it differing fish width or mass?
MJSerik
Aquarium Advice Freak
I think it has something to do with bioload or fish activity, not exactly sure. But in freshwater, you can keep like 5 tetras in 10 gallon I think. Salt, you're incredibly limited. Maybe 2 fish. I know nothing of freshwater stocking
Yes, but I don't find that specifically useful. I see this crop up as a counter-argument and just think well I've got no intention on doing that. I know what you mean but I'd like to see better examples. Pip had a really good one on goldfish weight in another thread.
What do you mean? That's actually a good example if you go tell a newbie oh the 1 inch per gallon rule is fine what do they do. They go see Oscar max size 10 inches, then their like I have a 10 gallon tank that's 10 inches of fish it will be fine.
MJSerik
Aquarium Advice Freak
Volitan Lionfish get up to 15" in each direction. You'd be out of your mind to keep it in a 15 gallon, even a 100 gallon won't cut it.
This is a terrible rule for both fresh and salt but I don't think anyone ever adheres to it in sw. There are so many variables like swimming room, bioload, temperament, feeding habits, etc. that must be taken into account. For example with saltwater there are tangs. The smallest of which get around 6-7", yet they require upwards of a 4 foot tank due to their constant swimming habits and grazing. Same with dwarf angels which stay around 4-5" yet need large tanks due to swimming requirements and to prevent aggression. Back to fw it is a bad rule because of the variables I mentioned above. A 2" Molly and 2" pencil fish have very different bioloads.
Because I have no intention of keeping a 10inch Oscar in a 10g tank. I look at it and think completely different fish with different mass and eating habits/filter requirements. What about if I'm looking at 1 to 3 inch fish in say a 40g?
Thanks - interested as would like to get into saltwater (as soon as I save more money). So saltwater is tank size more important would you say? I see nano tanks but was thinking (as I will be inexperienced) I should go for a 6ft tank? Having trouble as I'm told we need the lounge after all...
Edit- thanks for the info on lionfish.
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Good point - thanks.
I'm talking about how bad of a thing it is to tell someone brand new in the hobby I'm not talking about your intentions.
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