Stocking Question!

[Wingman-Goose]

Was interested what people's opinions / rules were on stocking limits for their tanks!

When I first bought my 40 gallon tank I was told as varying advice as up to 100 small fish ( Neons were used as the example at the time ) to 1 inch of fish per 2 gallons which did not work out as much!

How does everyone stock theirs?

 

[Fishkeeper26]

There are a lot of factors that go into stocking a tank.

Activity level, aggression, size, bioload, etc.

Different tanks can be stocked differently depending on individual set up.

 

[Fishie]

You probably can't even 40 fish IMO in 40G but i stock mine by total length and give more gallo s to swim in. Can't really explain I just ask AA

 

[Fishie]

There are a lot of factors that go into stocking a tank.

Activity level, aggression, size, bioload, etc.

Different tanks can be stocked differently depending on individual set up.

1+ I agree 500th post!

 

[BBradbury]

Stocking Question

Was interested what people's opinions / rules were on stocking limits for their tanks!

When I first bought my 40 gallon tank I was told as varying advice as up to 100 small fish ( Neons were used as the example at the time ) to 1 inch of fish per 2 gallons which did not work out as much!

How does everyone stock theirs?

Hello Wing...

If you're willing to do large, weekly water changes, then your 40 G can easily support 100 adult fish in a "species tank", if they're all no more than an inch. That's pretty small though. Not many adult tropicals will fall into that size catagory.

I use the one inch of fish for every gallon of tank volume rule. But, I base it on the adult fish only. So, I research the fish I want and find out first how big they'll get and then match the adult fish size to my tank's volume. I do this before I even think about purchasing.

Pretty simple really. But, I'm a water change fanatic and do 60 to 70 percent of the tank volume every 6 to 7 days. Sometimes more often. If you can stick to a routine like this, then your tank can safely support a few more fish than the same tank owned by a water change "slacker".

Just a thought.

B

 

[adadkins1]

Was interested what people's opinions / rules were on stocking limits for their tanks!

When I first bought my 40 gallon tank I was told as varying advice as up to 100 small fish ( Neons were used as the example at the time ) to 1 inch of fish per 2 gallons which did not work out as much!

How does everyone stock theirs?

I would say you are best off to get a stocking list in mind, then post it on here and see what everyone has to say. Everybody has a different opinion about stocking and many factors effect stocking, as stated above.

 

[Wingman-Goose]

Interesting answers! Should of said really that I have already stocked my tank and am quite strict with water changes and maintenance so do overstock!

Was just interested to see if anyone stuck by any particular rules / guidelines!

 

[Gboy66]

Interesting answers! Should of said really that I have already stocked my tank and am quite strict with water changes and maintenance so do overstock!

Was just interested to see if anyone stuck by any particular rules / guidelines!

Well, for my 40 gallon i have
10 glowlight tetras
5 silver hatchetfish
2 angelfish
1 peacock eel
1 featherfin catfish (might rehome for a german blue ram)
1 guppy

The tank is densly planted, and with weekly 15-25% water changes the perimiters stay at 0,0,<20

For filtration i have a biowheel 350 and an AC50. Hope this helps, with proper maintanence, you can slightly overstock

 

[Mumma.of.two]

There are MANY factors to take into consideration when stocking a tank IMO. Bioload, maximum fish size, aggression, swimming space, activity of different fish species, compatibility, if a school is needed and weekly routine. The inch per gallon rule is very outdated IMO.

 

[richardh]

There are MANY factors to take into consideration when stocking a tank IMO. Bioload, maximum fish size, aggression, swimming space, activity of different fish species, compatibility, if a school is needed and weekly routine. The inch per gallon rule is very outdated IMO.

+1 can you imagine how many neon tetras you could fit into the same volume of a common pleco! A 12" pleco should mean 12 neons...yeah right!

 

[maxwellag]

Hello Wing...

If you're willing to do large, weekly water changes, then your 40 G can easily support 100 adult fish in a "species tank", if they're all no more than an inch. That's pretty small though. Not many adult tropicals will fall into that size catagory.

I use the one inch of fish for every gallon of tank volume rule. But, I base it on the adult fish only. So, I research the fish I want and find out first how big they'll get and then match the adult fish size to my tank's volume. I do this before I even think about purchasing.

Pretty simple really. But, I'm a water change fanatic and do 60 to 70 percent of the tank volume every 6 to 7 days. Sometimes more often. If you can stick to a routine like this, then your tank can safely support a few more fish than the same tank owned by a water change "slacker".

Just a thought.

B

That would be extremely overstocking. Unless they are nano or very small fish, there would be serious problems. And the inch of fish per gallon rule is never reliable. You have to consider size, aggression, swimming level, bio load, special needs and a lot of other things.