stipulations where being overstocked is ok

[rreekers]

are there cases where being overstocked is OK?

 

[BHead707]

ive only seen people suggest this in african tanks to try and control aggression

 

[rreekers]

because I can acknowledge I know my tanks are overstocked but I have overkill/extra filtration and do at least 50-60% water changes at least every 7 days and their is no aggression issues..

so do people agree that its not the end of the world to be overstocked in some cases?

if you know what your doing, fish aren't being harmed and water parameters never get out of hand (0-0-<20)

what's your thoughts and opinions?

 

[DragonFish71]

Some people tried to tell me that having 180 neons, 10 black neons, 10 harlequin rasboras, 12 albino corys, 4 gold dojos, 4 angelfish, 4 zebra botias, 6 GBR, 2 dozen ghost shrimp, apple snails and a partridge in a pear tree in a 115g was overstocked.

Considering the bio-load, the heavy planting, the different levels the fish swim at, weekly 50% or more water changes,2 Fluval 405s, 2 HOBs, I highly doubt I was over-stocked. I had no aggression issues with the angels vs the neons. Still have no problems.

Sadly, most of the smaller stock was lost to the dreaded camallanus worm brought in by new stock. Which is why I QT for 2 months now.

 

[BHead707]

IMO there is a fine line between a manageable overstock, and a tank that clearly had no justification in being stocked a certain way(because of stupidity or lack of knowledge).

 

[mfdrookie516]

Overstocking indicates an inability to maintain proper parameters given your maintenance schedule. So no... there are no situations where overstocking is ok. Overcrowding, yes. Overstocking, no.

 

[rreekers]

IMO there is a fine line between a manageable overstock, and a tank that clearly had no justification in being stocked a certain way(because of stupidity or lack of knowledge).

I agree with the knowledge factor being the majority of the issue

 

[rreekers]

Overstocking indicates an inability to maintain proper parameters given your maintenance schedule. So no... there are no situations where overstocking is ok. Overcrowding, yes. Overstocking, no.

very good way to put that.. thank you for using clarification words

 

[rreekers]

Some people tried to tell me that having 180 neons, 10 black neons, 10 harlequin rasboras, 12 albino corys, 4 gold dojos, 4 angelfish, 4 zebra botias, 6 GBR, 2 dozen ghost shrimp, apple snails and a partridge in a pear tree in a 115g was overstocked.

Considering the bio-load, the heavy planting, the different levels the fish swim at, weekly 50% or more water changes,2 Fluval 405s, 2 HOBs, I highly doubt I was over-stocked. I had no aggression issues with the angels vs the neons. Still have no problems.

Sadly, most of the smaller stock was lost to the dreaded camallanus worm brought in by new stock. Which is why I QT for 2 months now.

I feel like if you can make it work, what's the problem.. you have plenty of filtration, a good pwc schedule, different level fish, a good understand, minimal aggression, and I bet great parameters!

but I'm not going to lie, those numbers are overwhelming, I'm not saying g I think your overstocked but the numbers are the "wow" factor

sounds like a beautiful array of fish, I bet you have a beautiful tank

 

[BHead707]

Overstocking indicates an inability to maintain proper parameters given your maintenance schedule. So no... there are no situations where overstocking is ok. Overcrowding, yes. Overstocking, no.

language=good

 

[joyaust]

Some people tried to tell me that having 180 neons, 10 black neons, 10 harlequin rasboras, 12 albino corys, 4 gold dojos, 4 angelfish, 4 zebra botias, 6 GBR, 2 dozen ghost shrimp, apple snails and a partridge in a pear tree in a 115g was overstocked.

Considering the bio-load, the heavy planting, the different levels the fish swim at, weekly 50% or more water changes,2 Fluval 405s, 2 HOBs, I highly doubt I was over-stocked. I had no aggression issues with the angels vs the neons. Still have no problems.

Sadly, most of the smaller stock was lost to the dreaded camallanus worm brought in by new stock. Which is why I QT for 2 months now.

Any chance of a pic of what sounds like an amazing tank

 

[alia258]

I heard from another online thing that someone had a 10-15g tank (I forget the exact size) with a little over 50 glo fish in it, and they were kept happy and healthy with back to back 50% water changes on the bi-weekly water changing days, and they had kept them that way for a year and a half now, with only two old age deaths and a break out of ich (from a plant I think?)

So overcrowding isn't a problem if you can keep up with the bio load

But there are species that are bigger that might not be compatible with smaller tanks! (I have to warn you guys, I don't want to be mis leading ^^)

 

[darkmatter_3500]

There is really no set rule about being overstocked, for the most part it is just people opinions but please use common sense when stocking. It all depends on fish size , species, aggression , stress levels, water parameters ect. I am finding that I like understocked tanks a little more these days, I keep New World cichlids and they are very aggressive but also very intelligent and owner oriented. Understocking brings out the best in them.

 

[Monkey Magic]

I saw a six inch firemouth cichilid in a 10 gal in a hairdresser at a market. overstocked just a little bit..

 

[rreekers]

I saw a six inch firemouth cichilid in a 10 gal in a hairdresser at a market. overstocked just a little bit..

see thats just sad and definitively not under control

 

[Andy Sager]

My 2 cents....

Overstocked VS crowded

Overstocked:
I come from a time when fish keeping was more trial and error than science. I've been at it long enough to have an educated opinion.
The fact that you can keep so many fish in a tank and maintain a non agressive atmosphere as well as having good water quality is commendable. BUT...

If you think of your tank as an ecosystem (which it is) there should be a natural balance of Pluses and Minuses. What I mean is that you should be able to maintain a collection of living organisms with very little interference or involvement on your part.
If you are keeping that many fish in a tank but have to due high volume water changes, your tank is unbalanced. If you NEED to do more than a 10% water change once a week, you system is unbalanced. If your water parameters don't change much in a 7-10+ day period, your system is balanced. If you feed the fish on a regular schedule and the ammonia level doesn't rise noticably, your system is balanced. If your fish grow to a mature size and don't get stunted, your system is correct for that fish.

So, can you keep that many fish in a tank? Yes you can. Should you keep that many fish in a tank of the wrong size? I don't believe you should.
I don't know about you but I would rather sit and watch my tank(s) all the time than have to maintain my tank(s) all the time.

Crowded:
There are instances when crowding fish is acceptable but these are few and far between. It's mostly been done with African cichlids so that they don't "claim" an entire tank as there's. This is a territorial situation and not a "I like the way it looks" kind of thing. Some people don't want 1 pair of fish to dominate an entire 50 gal tank (for example.) It's situational and doesn't apply to all fish. If you try to crowd certain S. American Cichlids, you wind up with a lot of battered and dead Cichlids.

Just one man's opinion

 

[Monkey Magic]

I doubt anyone couldve said it better. What really annoys me is people saying you cant put this many fish in a tank that size and getting really patronising or narky about it. sometimes people overstock their tanks without any knowledge but alot of people make time and put in alot of effort to keep their fish happy and healthy
Aquariums wouldnt be as advanced a they are if their was no trial and error previously

 

[alia258]

MM hit the nail on the head! I agree