I disagree with the "a 10g with more than i goldfish is not overstocked"
theory sorry...

....A puppy could "look" comfortable in a cage...but its not really
comfortable...Nor is it HUMANE

Come on...more than 1 goldfish IS way too much for a 10g....They produce soo
much ammonia, its incredible... and may i add that if large frequent water
changes are a way to keep the levels down, you are adding to the stress of
the fish aswell as making life harder for yourself by doing the extra
work...

IT IS OVERSTOCKED....but wait...let me finish.....its isnt as bad as some
peoples tanks...

You can't tell if a fish is comfortable ....What do they do....pull out
their recliners, put their pectoral fins behind their heads and sip on
champagne?...Yeah right...you can find fish that looks fine and happy fine
one minute, and the next minute they go belly up....

In overstocking cases, the fishs' outsides may stop growing....but what
about the insides? They don't stop growing....this is where the trouble
starts.
The probability of fish getting diseases and sickness in an overstocked tank
is higher than a safely stocked tank.

Goldfish (such as comets, shubunkins, commons) can grow to at least 10
inches in a matter of 1 year....try fitting one of them in a 10G tank!
Fancies also need more room as they aren't fast swimmers and need room for
error correction.

If a fish fears something, they put out a "fear scent" throught the
tank....in an overstocked tank, this fear scent is concentrated causing them
to dart all over the place and finally getting so stressed that it can cause
them respiration problems.

A big point for the at least 10G per gf rule....disease and polution
prevention...

Like us, gf like the space....could you live in a bus with 3 other people
all day everyday,getting someone to give you food twice a day, having to go
to the toilet there and not be able to get out?? Sounds uncomfortable doesnt
it.......It is uncomfortable for us...so why out your pets through that....

Ive been keeping goldfish and koi in my pond for nearly 15 years, have
several tanks setup up for about 5 years and have worked in Aquaculture for
over 5 years....So please spare me and don't tell me that i don't know what
im talking about......

"dfreas" wrote in message
ups.com...
While I am as yet unconvinced this is actually even a valid concern I
would point out that hormones almost certainly build up slower than
nitrates if in fact they do build up. Therefore if your tank
maintenance schedule is keeping nitrates down it is almost certainly
also keeping hormones down.

-Daniel