African Cichlids inches or fish per gallon (pls respond)

[JEFFREY STREET]

What is considered the standard and (I know this may sound dumb, but I got
this thought from another post), where do I measure and what do I consider
actually numbers. (BTW: I love the newsgroups and it is a lot easier for
me here than it is on an internet group on the web, and I know you guys are
info the science of fish)...

Example... say my dwarf rusty is to be 3 inches at adult size... is he 3
inches from from mouth to end of tail, or 3 inches from mouth to begining of
tail?

I have been told before that I should divide the number of gallons in half
and that is the number of Cichids I can have, so 55 / 2 is 27.5... so is
that 27.5 3 inch rustys, or is that 27.5 5 inch aceis or kennyis, or is that
27.5 7 inch venustus, and if the 5 inch fish is the norm, 27.5 at 5 inches
would mean I could have 45 rustys... and if the rusty is measured from mouth
to end of tail instead of from mouth to start of tail, then the rusty is 2
inches long, and if that is true, I could have over 55, each with there own
gallon of water... :)

see, I am overthinking this, but I really want to learn (and I am not a kid,
I am a 40 year starting fish later than most of you).

--Thanks in advance, Jeffrey

[The Madd Hatter]

Bob,

Are those two 55's permanently stocked like that or is that your fry growing
out? I've had a couple of 35's hold over 150 fish each for about a month,
but they were all in the 3/4" to 1.5" range, and I had them running w/ a
UGF, Sponge AND aquaclear 300 on each.. I still did 50% WC weekly... It was
a temp situation while i waited for my pond to warm up enough to take them

"Bob K." > wrote in message
...
> > have been told before that I should divide the number of gallons in half
> >and that is the number of Cichids I can have, so 55 / 2 is 27.5... so is
> >that 27.5 3 inch rustys, or is that 27.5 5 inch aceis or kennyis, or is
that
> >27.5 7 inch venustus, and if the 5 inch fish is the norm, 27.5 at 5
inches
> >would mean I could have 45 rustys... and if the rusty is measured from
mouth
> >to end of tail instead of from mouth to start of tail, then the rusty is
2
> >inches long, and if that is true, I could have over 55, each with there
own
> >gallon of water... :)
>
> Geeze.. lose the ruler! ;-) But that old statement probably
> was "one inch of fish per gallon" .. so it would mean 5 rustys..
> Which is so wrong...
>
> African cichlids do better when crowded. Males that might
> kill other males, or be much too agressive courting females
> would have too many distractions to cause the havoc that
> a lightly stocked tank would cause.
>
> Now the question is, how many should I crowd into a 55 gal
> tank? It depends very much on the amount of waterchanging
> and filtering you'll be putting into it.
>
> I.E. my own examples
> about 50+ P. lombardi in one 55, no substrate. Aquaclear 300,
> and 50% water change every week. (most half grown, rest full
size)
> About 60+ P.sp acei another 55, same conditions. (same sizes
above)
>
> 40 Gal High with 5 M. auratus & 4 L. permuts, crushed coral,
same
> filter, 20% water change every week. (lightly stocked)
>
> Bob
>
>
>

[NetMax]

"JEFFREY STREET" > wrote in message
...
> What is considered the standard and (I know this may sound dumb, but I
got
> this thought from another post), where do I measure and what do I
consider
> actually numbers. (BTW: I love the newsgroups and it is a lot easier
for
> me here than it is on an internet group on the web, and I know you guys
are
> info the science of fish)...
>
> Example... say my dwarf rusty is to be 3 inches at adult size... is he
3
> inches from from mouth to end of tail, or 3 inches from mouth to
begining of
> tail?
>
> I have been told before that I should divide the number of gallons in
half
> and that is the number of Cichids I can have, so 55 / 2 is 27.5... so
is
> that 27.5 3 inch rustys, or is that 27.5 5 inch aceis or kennyis, or is
that
> 27.5 7 inch venustus, and if the 5 inch fish is the norm, 27.5 at 5
inches
> would mean I could have 45 rustys... and if the rusty is measured from
mouth
> to end of tail instead of from mouth to start of tail, then the rusty
is 2
> inches long, and if that is true, I could have over 55, each with there
own
> gallon of water... :)
>
> see, I am overthinking this, but I really want to learn (and I am not a
kid,
> I am a 40 year starting fish later than most of you).
>
> --Thanks in advance, Jeffrey

The guidelines don't work so well with a tank of African mbuna. Filter
the tank as if it's twice it's size (or bigger), and stuff it with about
4 species, with about 6 of each if small (4-5"), or 4 of each if medium
sized (5-6") and none of the larger types (tank is too small). This is a
very broad description, subject to the amount of rockwork, and your
research on exactly which types of fish (I wouldn't put 6 Melanachromis
Auratus in any 55g, or even many of the Pseudotropheus, but 6 Labs as one
species would be fine). That's only what I would try to do when making
my recipe. hth

NetMax

[Jim Brown]

JEFFREY STREET > wrote in message
...
> What is considered the standard and (I know this may sound dumb, but I got
> this thought from another post), where do I measure and what do I consider
> actually numbers. (BTW: I love the newsgroups and it is a lot easier for
> me here than it is on an internet group on the web, and I know you guys
are
> info the science of fish)...
>
> Example... say my dwarf rusty is to be 3 inches at adult size... is he 3
> inches from from mouth to end of tail, or 3 inches from mouth to begining
of
> tail?
>
> I have been told before that I should divide the number of gallons in half
> and that is the number of Cichids I can have, so 55 / 2 is 27.5... so is
> that 27.5 3 inch rustys, or is that 27.5 5 inch aceis or kennyis, or is
that
> 27.5 7 inch venustus, and if the 5 inch fish is the norm, 27.5 at 5 inches
> would mean I could have 45 rustys... and if the rusty is measured from
mouth
> to end of tail instead of from mouth to start of tail, then the rusty is 2
> inches long, and if that is true, I could have over 55, each with there
own
> gallon of water... :)
>
> see, I am overthinking this, but I really want to learn (and I am not a
kid,
> I am a 40 year starting fish later than most of you).
>
> --Thanks in advance, Jeffrey
>
>

I am sure the advice of the Rift Lake cichlid devotees will sort out your
question based on their experiences.
The measure of a fish is not their size today, but their adult size. Fish
sizes in reference material can be stated as TL (Total Length) which is from
nose tip to tail tip, or SL (Standard Length) which is nose tip to end of
body. For a newcomer to the hobby, I would recommend stocking based on TL
which will give a bit more room for error. Then again, there are proponents
of overstocking these cichlids, or those that choose males only.
Maintenance will also have a bearing.

Jim

[Bob K.]

>Are those two 55's permanently stocked like that or is that your fry growing
>out? I've had a couple of 35's hold over 150 fish each for about a month,
>but they were all in the 3/4" to 1.5" range, and I had them running w/ a
>UGF, Sponge AND aquaclear 300 on each.. I still did 50% WC weekly... It was
>a temp situation while i waited for my pond to warm up enough to take them

As permanent as anything in my fish room. I've sold over 100 2+ inch
fish out of each, and added 40 or so small fry (~1") to the kennyi tank.
These mbuna get weeds, lettuce, whatever they'll eat & trout chow..

New fry get 5's for a week or two, then into 10's & 15' till they reach
~ 1" then into the 55. I wish I had more room, but that's all those
get. L. caerelus also go the same route, but about 18 breeders
share a 30gal. Angels have errupted in my fish room lately and
I had about 300+ in a 55gal that I was hitting with 20-30% daily
until I got them down to about 100+. It's still a bit too many, but
I've got more coming.

Ideally, I'd like fewer fish and more tank space.. but it's summer,
and I can't set the temperature down a degree or three to slow 'em
down.. But, that'll happen soon enough.

Main point is, keep whatever number of fish in whatever you have if
it works. Dirty tanks, cloudy water, or dying fish are a sign that it
doesn't work.

Rules work for new hobbyists. Experience works for old timers.

Bob