What is overstocked? Aqadvisor accurate?

[hoppingtetra30]

I have been trying to read up more on stocking levels, and there just seems to be a lot of conflicting information. I resorted to using Aqadvisor but then I've read that it is VERY conservative in its estimations...

There doesn't seem to be a concrete answer...how many fish can be in my tank?

My stock on Aqadvisor is sitting at 87%...I am WELL over the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule.

How do experiences fish keepers know how many fish they can keep?

Confused....

 

[gemach7]

This is a fish by fish basis.

Foot print many times will matter more than gallons for some fast moving fish. Bala Sharks need a larger tank than a fire eel even though they are smaller because they are more active swimmers.

Large goldfish on the other hand need large tanks not only because of size but because they produce so much waste, that need the extra gallons so not doing PWC everyday.

I don't think anyone outside the is an expert on all fish but on those they have kept successfully and rely on the expertise of others for the rest and estimations based on experience.

 

[Mebbid]

Aqadvisor is a good rule of thumb for stocking fish.

The 1" / gallon rule is outdated and useless nowadays. It refuses to die and was originally created back before filters had been invented which severely reduced stocking limits on tanks.

 

[hoppingtetra30]

Does the amount of decor and plants have any effect on the stocking levels?

 

[hoppingtetra30]

BTW, here is my tank now...I ask because there is quite a lot in there.

 

[Mebbid]

Does the amount of decor and plants have any effect on the stocking levels?

Not enough that I would change stocking based off of it. There are a lot of things to consider when overstocking such as increased chance of disease outbreak due to too many fish being in close quarters. I would say that about 130% is the highest I would go on stocking my tanks from AqAdvisor.

 

[gemach7]

This would depend on how much water is displaced. IE you add 20 lbs of rock work in a tank is going to displace a lot of water reducing total gallons.

 

[PleaseHelp]

Beautiful tank! Nice job!

 

[Deminox]

Depends on the type of fish too. Goldfish make a lot of waste. Tiny little neon tetras not so much.

This post brought to you by.. ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD

 

[MissGurnus]

I would say 87% from aqadvisor is perfectly fine the percentages reflect how many water changes you'll have to do. So in theory you could go higher but you would need to commit to doing more changes.


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[gemach7]

Second the beautiful tank!

 

[Mebbid]

I would say 87% from aqadvisor is perfectly fine the percentages reflect how many water changes you'll have to do. So in theory you could go higher but you would need to commit to doing more changes.


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There is too much going on in a tank for Aqadvisor to estimate needed water changes. You should always change based on your nitrates rather than what a website is guessing for you.

 

[MissGurnus]

I didnt mean aqadvisor tells you about water changes and when to do them, only if the percentage is higher you will most likely end up having to do more of them vs. a lower percentage.


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[candymancan]

1 inch per gallon as stated is wayyy outdated, if that were the case then discus for example a good sized one, I could only have 1 in my 92g tank..

Aqua advisor is neat to play with and get a general idea, but honestly ive had overstocked tanks my entire life and it all comes down to maintenance and common sense. The more maintenance and water changes you do and more filtration you have the more fish you can keep.


Also water changes need to be based on your nitrate levels, measure the nitrates after 1-2-3 days and so forth and once they get to 20-40ppm do a water change to lower them.. eventually you will get the cycle of when the nitrates go up and you don't need to bother with measuring anymore.. You just do water changes after x amount of days and call it a day

 

[hoppingtetra30]

Thanks for the compliments! This is my 3rd tank, but my first serious one and also my first planted...Im very happy with how it has turned out.

As for the rocks displacing water, there is 100 pounds of sand in there, and 70 pounds of basalt I used to make caves. That has to count against my available space I'd think.

I never realized the 1" rule is so outdated...its funny that fish stores still tell people this (though I've never heard the girls at mine tell that to anyone, they seem to know their stuff).

Plants also have to play a role I'd think in stocking as they general lower the toxins in the water?

I've had this running for a few months now and I've never had more than a brief trace of ammonia and nitrites, and my nitrates never go above 5-10ppm. Ive left it for as long as a month without a water change and my parameters stayed the same. I think the plants and the fish are pretty well balanced right now. Ive settled on doing bi-weekly 25% water changes just to pull out some gunk and rotate cleaning the filters with the tank water.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

1 inch per gallon as stated is wayyy outdated, if that were the case then discus for example a good sized one, I could only have 1 in my 92g tank..

Aqua advisor is neat to play with and get a general idea, but honestly ive had overstocked tanks my entire life and it all comes down to maintenance and common sense. The more maintenance and water changes you do and more filtration you have the more fish you can keep.


Also water changes need to be based on your nitrate levels, measure the nitrates after 1-2-3 days and so forth and once they get to 20-40ppm do a water change to lower them.. eventually you will get the cycle of when the nitrates go up and you don't need to bother with measuring anymore.. You just do water changes after x amount of days and call it a day

First paragraph, how does the inch per gallon mean you could only have one fish? Discus are not 92 inches.

I totally disagree with the idea of that rule I just wanted clarification on that first paragraph.

 

[emmaie892000]

Plus it completely depends on the type of fish you have in terms of activity, waste production, and behavior.
My black skirt tetras are fairly aggressive, so I'm keeping my stock low until they hopefully settle into a pecking order. Right now they need the space to get away.
Also, think about where in the water column your fish stay. Do they swim in the open space, hide, sit on the bottom, etc. Treat each area as a separate place to stock.

EDIT: Also, I'm glad that more people think the same as me about "overstocking". The PetSmart I go to to get most of my fish uses the inch per gallon rule, plus they look at how large the fish can POSSIBLY get. I've had Corydoras that supposedly will get three inches long stay about 1 and half inches for two years. It's irritating when they won't make it easy for me to get a new fish, and act like I'm an awful person and my fish are going to die.
I have a filter, I do water changes, and I check on Aquadvisor. Just let me get the fish.

 

[gemach7]

Plus it completely depends on the type of fish you have in terms of activity, waste production, and behavior.
My black skirt tetras are fairly aggressive, so I'm keeping my stock low until they hopefully settle into a pecking order. Right now they need the space to get away.
Also, think about where in the water column your fish stay. Do they swim in the open space, hide, sit on the bottom, etc. Treat each area as a separate place to stock.

EDIT: Also, I'm glad that more people think the same as me about "overstocking". The PetSmart I go to to get most of my fish uses the inch per gallon rule, plus they look at how large the fish can POSSIBLY get. I've had Corydoras that supposedly will get three inches long stay about 1 and half inches for two years. It's irritating when they won't make it easy for me to get a new fish, and act like I'm an awful person and my fish are going to die.
I have a filter, I do water changes, and I check on Aquadvisor. Just let me get the fish.

Some of those tags at petsmart though I don't know where they get the numbers from. Koi apparently need a 75 gallon tank. Cause a 3 foot fish can turn around in there.

 

[emmaie892000]

Some of those tags at petsmart though I don't know where they get the numbers from. Koi apparently need a 75 gallon tank. Cause a 3 foot fish can turn around in there.

I think they must assume that they're going to die before they get big. Not a good way to think about things. But it's crazy, with some of the big fish that actually need room, they recommend tanks that are too small, and with small ones they're way off with how big they're going to get!
It stresses me out when I go now because I know the lady at the tanks will ask for the exact number and sizes of the fish I have and treat me like a 5 year old trying to keep a goldfish in a one gallon or something ridiculous.

 

[PNWaquarist]

AqAdvisor takes a lot of grief here but, as mentioned earlier, it really is a good rule of thumb for stocking. Obviously, if you do multiple WCs per week, you can get away with overstocking. But a lot of people aren't into that.

One thing to keep in mind about AqAdvisor is that the default settings assume fully-grown fish. Obviously, you'll have more leeway with younger fish.


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