A thought about stocking-

[jetajockey]

This is your public service announcement of the day:

There is no rule that says you have to stock your fish tank to capacity. Your fish will appreciate understocking, as it keeps better water quality and also allows room for future additions. That is all, thank you.

 

[mfdrookie516]

This is something I've never figured out... why people post 'I need more fish, I have lots of room'. So? I'm sure they aren't too upset about it, so long as they aren't by themelves and prefer groups.

 

[steez]

Well I don't have even close to as many tanks as you do jeta! haha

I admit that I am one who likes to "fully" stock their tank. I enjoy the different array of fish and behavior between each other.

"Understocking" is a good thing usually.

 

[eco23]

Totally agree. That's why in my 10 gallon I only keep 2 fish (an Oscar and a Common Pleco). *Joking

Seriously though, this is especially important with hobbyists who have less time / commitment to maintain their tanks. Water quality can deteriorate quickly with a stocked to capacity / overstocked tank if even remotely neglected.

 

[Matteyecus]

. Is the issue as bad if the tank is over stocked with easy going fish and water changes etc doubled?

 

[BillD]

The reality is that a tank is overstocked if the water is of poor quality due to the number of fish, number/size of water changes, and/or filter maintenance. it could be a lot of fish jammed in, or one fish. So, tanks that are seemingly overstocked may not be if the water quality is kept up. For example

Would you say this tank was overstocked?

 

[mfdrookie516]

While I see your point, Bill, I don't think that's the intention of this thread. It's more of a thing where people insist on stocking to capacity (however you want to define that.. I would agree with you on what the capacity is though). I would almost bet that you didn't go out and buy all those fish so that your tank would be at capacity.

 

[eco23]

Much respect for Bill, so there must be something I don't know. Can someone explain to me if there's something about that species / setup where it's not overstocked? If someone posted that pic on the forum, the fire alarm in my house might go off.

 

[BillD]

That isn't my tank. It is in the fish lab at the zoo. Those are an Oreochromis species that may be extinct in the wild. It is part of a species maintenance program the zoo is involved in. My first thought was the tank was seriously overcrowded, but as you can see in the photo, the tank is immaculate, as are the rest of the tanks in the facility. I guess my point is that stocked to the limit is not easy to define, and some tanks such as Malawi tanks, are best stocked to the limit to maintain peace. Of course, doing that means more maintenance, but that is part of the deal. My ideas of what a tank can hold were radically altered when guppy master Stan Shubel spoke at our CAOAC convention a few years ago, and related how he uses 10 gallon tanks for growout and puts 80 males in there. These tanks used a simple box filter and had one weekly water change of around 50%. Depending on which of his strains they were, the value of those fish could be $4,000.00. Clearly, you don't raise quality fish by overcrowding them.

Clearly the Oreochromis are crowded, but the tank is not overstocked, in the sense that the fish are healthy, and the water quality is high, due to the strict maintenance regimen.

 

[adeebm]

I love how all these philosophical topics have been coming out recently. There's certainly no reason to stock your tank to its capacity. I think most people do so for the same reason they got fish in the first place. Variety. A lot of people who are new to the hobby avoid singe species tanks as well. We all want color and lots of it. I think it's only later on that you begin to appreciate the fish as individuals. I started out with a 10gal and guppies, platys and the likes as so many do. Now I have a 30g tank with 5 crabs that I never see, and I see no need to fill it any further.

Also, I think overstocking depends not only on water quality, but the species involved as well. While schooling species might not mind high densities, more solitary fish would do better in understocked tanks. Stress and territory is certainly a factor in stocking.

@Bill Personally, I would call that tank overstocked. I understand why it might be necessary, being a zoo and a species conservation program. But as far as I'm concerned as a hobbyist, it does seem overstocked. Water quality might be perfect, but there is simply no room for the fish. In that barren tank, they have little room to swim, explore, or anything a fish might do naturally.

--Adeeb

 

[steez]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-Malawi.jpg/800px-Cichlids-of-Lake-Malawi.jpg

 

[NYgiantsRP]

This is like arguing about religion. Completely pointless. Some people like under stocking, some people like overstocking. Everyone breaks "the rules" its all personal preference. I would love to have a biotope aquarium, but it wouldn't be very enjoyable for me. I want to look at my tank and be interested and captivated. So I mix fish that might not be recommened and break "the rules" but every time I walk by my tank I stop and look and that's all that matters. My favorite fish are clown loaches, but I have a 65g tall tank. Not a great place for them to be, but I bought 2 tiny ones about a year ago, now they are three inches and seem to love there life, it what I enjoy.

I have an overstocked tank but I keep up with water changes check my water and watch them closely. If there is a problem I remove it and my LFS takes them and re-homes them

 

[Morgie]

I don't think it's really an argument. They're just saying that it shouldn't always be a goal to stock the tank to capacity. Sometimes less is more, both for the fish and visually for the owner.

 

[jetajockey]

I love how this thread evolved into a philosophical topic. I was just making a simple observation. When you look at stocking threads, the person almost always plans to stock to capacity, whatever they consider that to be (it's obviously different depending on species, behaviors, setup, etc).

I don't have a ton of experience with african cichlid stocking, but I know people generally intentionally overstock them to reduce aggression. It's funny though because you can do the same thing with lots of different non-african species, just look at how densely packed the pet stores keep their tanks. It actually works pretty good when growing out a spawn as well, it seems like if the fish are stocked heavily enough they don't tend to stake out territories and show a lot of the aggressive behaviors they would otherwise. But that's another topic in itself.

 

[librarygirl]

Totally agree. That's why in my 10 gallon I only keep 2 fish (an Oscar and a Common Pleco). *Joking

Seriously though, this is especially important with hobbyists who have less time / commitment to maintain their tanks. Water quality can deteriorate quickly with a stocked to capacity / overstocked tank if even remotely neglected.

My face fell when I read that first sentence (before I got to the joking part)!!

 

[...joey...]

Everyone that sees my tank says if over stocked but I say if the fish are happy water conditions are right and there are no noticeable things going wrong then whatever your doing your doing it right!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Ooh another one of those thinker threads again. Lately AA has been seeing a lot of these

IMO I guess it's up to the person. Some people just NEED to have the tank filled. Some fish like being with lots of fish, like schoolers for example, but some fish, like angels for example, prefer the life of solitude.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with having a tank stocked to full capacity with pristine water conditions and happy fish, but my thoughts for fish that need more room are "Bigger is better." So yes, they're happy, but could be a lot happier in a bigger tank.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Nice thread. While I applaud those to have the time and dedication to keep overstocked tanks pristine, I have to say the risk is far too high for me. Even if you have the time and dedication to keep the water quality spot on and check daily to make sure your fish are healthy, what do you do when the power goes out and stays out? One year we went and visited the local college which at the time had an aquaculture program going on. Those tanks of course were stocked to capacity (many would say overstocked). The instructor was kind enough to share a number of horror stories in which he lost entire tubs of talapia because of the high stocking rate and lack of dissolved oxygen, when the power shut down for some reason, sometimes for less than two hours.

Personally, I always understock my tanks, including my African tanks ~ I just make sure I have more than one male. But then, I'm one of those who thinks that an aquarium can be aesthetically pleasing if its properly set-up without a single fish in.

 

[BillD]

At the risk of splitting hairs, perhaps we need to differentiate, at least for the purpose of discussion, between "overcrowding" and "overstocking". When i first saw that tank I thought it was overstocked. However, after a lengthy chat over dinner with the guy who looked after the tanks in the lab, I came to the conclusion that while the fish were definitely crowded, it would not be fair to call the tank overstocked. I would never intentionally keep that high a concentration of fish, other than during growout, even if I could maintain the water quality. My first experience growing out angels was in a 48" 30, where I grew out 269 fry to nickel/quarter size. I can only surmise that my daily 60% water changes maintained water quality as the fish grew quickly and with no fin damage. The situation may not have been ideal but it worked.

 

[jetajockey]

For clarification, I think that most of us who give stocking advice do so with the long term in mind. That's what complicates things when someone says 'oh well i'll move/swap out X fish when it gets too big'. Growout tanks are temporary, so I don't really factor stocking plans with them, I have around 40 or 50 angels in a 20g right now, and another 40 or 50 in a 10g.


Just thought it was interesting that most people feel the need to stock their tanks to capacity, they always ask if there is more room, how much room, etc, like stocking it to the brim is mandatory.