Overcrowding

[[-=Sovereign=-]]

There are two basic warnings that even most beginning hobbyists have
heard: don't overfeed, and don't overcrowd. And yet many aquarists, of all
levels of experience, have a natural tendency to try to squeeze "just a
couple more" fish into their already heavily stocked tanks.

Overcrowding means more maintenance. Common sense dictates that more fish
equals more waste equals more filter cleaning and water changing for the
aquarist.

Overcrowding leads to declining water quality. Crowded tanks often have low
dissolved oxygen levels, declining pH values, high nitrates, and ammonia
and/or nitrate levels that rise daily after feedings.

Overcrowding helps parasites. In addition to lowering the fishes' resistance
by poor water conditions, crowding also increases the odds that each
disease-causing organism finds a host to live on.

Overcrowding flirts with disaster. No matter what the problem, crowding
makes it worse. A power outage that wouldn't affect a healthy tank's
population can wipe out a crowded tank in an hour. Minor cases of common
diseases rapidly become epidemic in the crowded aquarium. An accidental
overfeeding can put a crowded tank over the edge.

How many fish is too many? A pretty good rule of thumb is a maximum of a two
inch fish for every three (3) gallons of water in freshwater, and perhaps
half that many in sal****er. Larger fish should also be kept at one inch or
less per gallon of water, since waste output and oxygen intake are related
to weight, rather than length. Don't forget to plan ahead, some of those one
inch cuties you just bought may someday become 10 inch hulksters.

An alternate method for determining whether or not a tank is crowded is to
check water chemistry regularly. If your current tank maintenance routine
results in low nitrate levels, zero ammonia and nitrite, high dissolved
oxygen and stable pH, then you have a acceptable load of fish.



Submitted by: Jim Kostich
"Tip of the week" appeared regularly in 1999 and 2000.

Copyright © 1998 Aquatics Unlimited
All rights reserved



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

[Texas Yankee]

Overfiltering is the solution - for example, in my 105 gallon tank, I have
two Fluval 405s - EACH is capable of filtering the tank on it's own, but
with two, my tank can handle a lot more fish than the guidelines say should
have - water quality is always great. I also have two powerheads with
sponge filters that inject air into the tank for additional surface
agitation. I have the tank pretty much filled up with holey rock. The
overcrowded fish don't fight as much either - and they breed like rabbits.


"[-=Sovereign=-]" > wrote in message
.. .
> There are two basic warnings that even most beginning hobbyists have
> heard: don't overfeed, and don't overcrowd. And yet many aquarists, of all
> levels of experience, have a natural tendency to try to squeeze "just a
> couple more" fish into their already heavily stocked tanks.
>
> Overcrowding means more maintenance. Common sense dictates that more fish
> equals more waste equals more filter cleaning and water changing for the
> aquarist.
>
> Overcrowding leads to declining water quality. Crowded tanks often have
> low
> dissolved oxygen levels, declining pH values, high nitrates, and ammonia
> and/or nitrate levels that rise daily after feedings.
>
> Overcrowding helps parasites. In addition to lowering the fishes'
> resistance
> by poor water conditions, crowding also increases the odds that each
> disease-causing organism finds a host to live on.
>
> Overcrowding flirts with disaster. No matter what the problem, crowding
> makes it worse. A power outage that wouldn't affect a healthy tank's
> population can wipe out a crowded tank in an hour. Minor cases of common
> diseases rapidly become epidemic in the crowded aquarium. An accidental
> overfeeding can put a crowded tank over the edge.
>
> How many fish is too many? A pretty good rule of thumb is a maximum of a
> two
> inch fish for every three (3) gallons of water in freshwater, and perhaps
> half that many in sal****er. Larger fish should also be kept at one inch
> or
> less per gallon of water, since waste output and oxygen intake are related
> to weight, rather than length. Don't forget to plan ahead, some of those
> one
> inch cuties you just bought may someday become 10 inch hulksters.
>
> An alternate method for determining whether or not a tank is crowded is to
> check water chemistry regularly. If your current tank maintenance routine
> results in low nitrate levels, zero ammonia and nitrite, high dissolved
> oxygen and stable pH, then you have a acceptable load of fish.
>
>
>
> Submitted by: Jim Kostich
> "Tip of the week" appeared regularly in 1999 and 2000.
>
> Copyright © 1998 Aquatics Unlimited
> All rights reserved
>
>
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>

[Gail Futoran]

"Texas Yankee" > wrote in message
news:10pCg.11445$rd1.9917@trnddc01...
> Overfiltering is the solution - for example, in my 105 gallon tank, I have
> two Fluval 405s - EACH is capable of filtering the tank on it's own, but
> with two, my tank can handle a lot more fish than the guidelines say
> should have - water quality is always great. I also have two powerheads
> with sponge filters that inject air into the tank for additional surface
> agitation. I have the tank pretty much filled up with holey rock. The
> overcrowded fish don't fight as much either - and they breed like rabbits.

It's a risk, though. If power goes out - unless
you have an independent power source - with
overcrowding your tank is going to go down
the tubes rapidly. I'm not saying you shouldn't
do what you're doing - that's your choice - but
others who are contemplating doing the same
should seriously consider possible consequences
of power outages or equipment failure.

Gail

[swarvegorilla]

"Gail Futoran" > wrote in message
...
> "Texas Yankee" > wrote in message
> news:10pCg.11445$rd1.9917@trnddc01...
>> Overfiltering is the solution - for example, in my 105 gallon tank, I
>> have two Fluval 405s - EACH is capable of filtering the tank on it's own,
>> but with two, my tank can handle a lot more fish than the guidelines say
>> should have - water quality is always great. I also have two powerheads
>> with sponge filters that inject air into the tank for additional surface
>> agitation. I have the tank pretty much filled up with holey rock. The
>> overcrowded fish don't fight as much either - and they breed like
>> rabbits.
>
> It's a risk, though. If power goes out - unless
> you have an independent power source - with
> overcrowding your tank is going to go down
> the tubes rapidly. I'm not saying you shouldn't
> do what you're doing - that's your choice - but
> others who are contemplating doing the same
> should seriously consider possible consequences
> of power outages or equipment failure.
>
> Gail
>
>

I run most tanks on air, so in a blackout I can rig up a generator or
inverter and the tanks have air and filtration.
Still working on heat...... but only a prob a few months a year.
Bit different with shop tanks.
But yea I overcrowd to crazy levels some times.
Not thru choice as I like tiny fish in huge empty tanks
But when you have experience and take care it is quite crazy how many fish
can be crammed into a tank
but it is constant work to keep everything ok and yes if you mess up, a
disease can spread VERY quickly.
Has to be done in the lfs/wholesale/collector trade sometimes....
difference is hobbyists have the choice.
If it ain't a rift lake tank, the fish will look better understocked.
And really thats what it's all about.
happy fishys
:-)
Swarvegorilla