G
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jsoong said:Truth is, there is no hard & fast rule. If there were, this hobby would be rather more predictable & a lot LESS interesting.
Nicely worded!!!
Overcrowding - A discussion on dispelling the myth
- Thread starter BrianNY
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Nicely worded!!!
macman7010
Aquarium Advice FINatic
To me the 1 inch rule is pretty much of no real value, especially on the marine side. The sad truth is for some animals (comparing to where they live naturally) 1 inch of fish space to 1 gallon of water is way more than they get in nature. For other animals 1 inch of fish to 1 gallon of water is not even anywhere close to the huge volume they get in nature.
In my opionion the only way to gauge if you tank is over crowded is first to see if you inhabitants show any signs of "captive-distress." This common problem in aquarium fish and other captive animals often manifests as hyper-active behavior, listlessness, and swimming in place for long periods of time. Constant infection with parasites can also indicate serious captive distress. Next check your water's levels, nitrates, phosphates, etc etc ... If everything is in check or maintanable under a common water changing schedule (Once a week perhaps) than it is very likely your tank is not overcrowded.
Has anyone ever watched a nature film on the coral reef. Coral reef and small tidal areas are insanely overcrowded. Literally thousands and thousands of fish sometimes squished together and tons of invertabraes and other animals - yet these animals are thriving. The simple truth is the ocean can naturally stay much cleaner than our captive aquarium although a good maintanance routine works well.
One thing to think about when keeping captive fish is chemical communication or potentially unaudible communication. Anyone who has ever seen a shoal of silversides react to the presence of a small shark or large fish can quickly notice that some form of communication is taking place, and many marine biologists think it is a combo of chemical, coloration and audio. In this case our filter noises and potentially water changes can be short circuting our fish's ability to communicate. Its like putting a person in a small room with an insanely loud blower and wondering why they are freaking out.
In this scenario though over-crowding could easily short circut communication, and undercrowding could make it much easier to maintain the animals with less filtration and water changes holding that chemical communication in balance.
I feel in any instance it is better to under do it than over do it.
In my opionion the only way to gauge if you tank is over crowded is first to see if you inhabitants show any signs of "captive-distress." This common problem in aquarium fish and other captive animals often manifests as hyper-active behavior, listlessness, and swimming in place for long periods of time. Constant infection with parasites can also indicate serious captive distress. Next check your water's levels, nitrates, phosphates, etc etc ... If everything is in check or maintanable under a common water changing schedule (Once a week perhaps) than it is very likely your tank is not overcrowded.
Has anyone ever watched a nature film on the coral reef. Coral reef and small tidal areas are insanely overcrowded. Literally thousands and thousands of fish sometimes squished together and tons of invertabraes and other animals - yet these animals are thriving. The simple truth is the ocean can naturally stay much cleaner than our captive aquarium although a good maintanance routine works well.
One thing to think about when keeping captive fish is chemical communication or potentially unaudible communication. Anyone who has ever seen a shoal of silversides react to the presence of a small shark or large fish can quickly notice that some form of communication is taking place, and many marine biologists think it is a combo of chemical, coloration and audio. In this case our filter noises and potentially water changes can be short circuting our fish's ability to communicate. Its like putting a person in a small room with an insanely loud blower and wondering why they are freaking out.
In this scenario though over-crowding could easily short circut communication, and undercrowding could make it much easier to maintain the animals with less filtration and water changes holding that chemical communication in balance.
I feel in any instance it is better to under do it than over do it.
greenmaji
Aquarium Advice Addict
coolchinchilla said:greenmaji said:myths presented as facts coochinchilia and I didnt say afaid just didnt know how to word it for posting..
Oops.... sorry.
ohh nooo.. dont feel sorry.. just a misunderstanding (you could have easily took it that way, I didnt spesify why with my original post)
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