Over Stocking - Rule of Thumb???

Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of fish in a tank?
i.e.Total length of fish per volume of tank - cm/lt or in/gal

--
Guy Smith
Great Missenden, Bucks, England.
Web Pages: http://www.smith.dsl.pipex.com

Always used to be 1 inch of fish, excluding tail, to 24sq in or surface.
Probably reduce that for aerated water.

Have things changed?



David


"Guy Smith" wrote in message
...
Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of fish in a tank?
i.e.Total length of fish per volume of tank - cm/lt or in/gal

--
Guy Smith
Great Missenden, Bucks, England.
Web Pages: http://www.smith.dsl.pipex.com

Depnding on what type of fish.. My Af Cic's I go about an inch to every US
gallon.. My GF and Koi I try to stick with 1 inch to every 2 US gallon..
Unfortunantly since my fish have growen quite a bit I find myself about 80
inch of fish in both 55 USG tanks.. The GF and Koi are signifigantly over
filtered ( I believe I am closeing into enough filtration for a 250 G on the
55g for the koi and gf...)

Timmer...



"david" wrote in message
...
Always used to be 1 inch of fish, excluding tail, to 24sq in or surface.
Probably reduce that for aerated water.

Have things changed?



David


"Guy Smith" wrote in message
...
Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of fish in a tank?
i.e.Total length of fish per volume of tank - cm/lt or in/gal

--
Guy Smith
Great Missenden, Bucks, England.
Web Pages: http://www.smith.dsl.pipex.com

Timmer,

Rule of thumb for goldfish, 10 gallons per every fish!

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:

Timmer,

Rule of thumb for goldfish, 10 gallons per every fish!

Or 3 gallon per inch, depending on which is higher.
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

Subject: Over Stocking - Rule of Thumb???
From: Geezer From The Freezer
Date: 11/3/2003 8:48 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:


Timmer,

Rule of thumb for goldfish, 10 gallons per every fish!

Yes, this I agree on...even a little more than 10g depending on the type.
A commet can reach about 16 inches in legnth. A 10g is how many inches wide?
It's been so long since I've had a 10g....

"TYNK 7" wrote in message
...
Subject: Over Stocking - Rule of Thumb???
From: Geezer From The Freezer
Date: 11/3/2003 8:48 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:


Timmer,

Rule of thumb for goldfish, 10 gallons per every fish!

Yes, this I agree on...even a little more than 10g depending on the
type.
A commet can reach about 16 inches in legnth. A 10g is how many inches
wide?
It's been so long since I've had a 10g....

So, what you're saying is that I can keep a 10" Comet in a 10g tank?
Wow..
(snicker) ;~)

I think 10g tanks are about 22"x10"x11". Probably safe to say 3g per
inch or 10g per fish (whatever is the higher number). I'll admit that
once I'm over about 40g, I use the 3g/inch rule for the filtration and
give the GF less than 3g/inch. They are not a species which suffers from
a bit of crowding, but they do need strong filtration. These guidelines
are more for fantails than for Comets or *gulp* Koi. Comets really
should have long tanks, and Koi don't really belong in your typical
aquarium. JMO

NetMax

in article , Guy Smith at
wrote on 11/3/03 3:11 AM:

Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of fish in a tank?
1" of fish per gallon of water. 10 gal tank = 10" fish.

Subject: Over Stocking - Rule of Thumb???
From: Barry McKnight
Date: 11/3/2003 12:09 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

in article , Guy Smith at
wrote on 11/3/03 3:11 AM:

Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of fish in a tank?
1" of fish per gallon of water. 10 gal tank = 10" fish.


So, what you're saying is that I can keep a 10" Oscar in a 10g tank?
Wow..
(snicker)

The hobby has established some "rules" and guidelines over the
years---many, many of them geared to helping fish stores sell fish.
And, then, by default, they have become standards accepted by the
casual hobbyist. When, in reality, they are guidlines that create
problems for you and your fish if followed.

Don't look for "rules" that work, since there are few if any that are
constants. the number and size of the fish you keep in your tank
should be based on several factors. it should not be based solely on
the chemistry of your water nor on the magic of the inch per gallon
myth. it's more than simply a matter of successfully keeping the
ammonia and nitrites at zero or the fact that you may have "great
filtration". certainly these are important issues, but one of the most
important factors is almost always overlooked. the number and size of
fish that one maintains in a tank should be predicated on the
"biology" and behaviour of those fish.

this means that the interraction of a mixed community tank and/or the
behaviour of a single species is the single most important factor to
consider. you want the fish you're keeping to have the ability to
exhibit "normal" and functional behaviour. normal behaviour is
important. abnormal behaviour results in stress. stress leads to
disease. disease can lead to death. for example:

1. if species (A) does not get along with species (B), then these fish
don't belong in the same tank no matter how few fish you have or how
large the tank. "getting along" is based on the visual and behavioural
Q's that each fish species is genetically programmed with. this is why
African cichlids don't belong in the same tank with Central American
cichlids for example. Africans don't "understand" Central American
fish speak and this leads to behavioural problems and stress.

2. if species (A) has specific food or water chemistry requirements
which are completely different from species (B), then these fish don't
belong in the same tank no matter how large it is.

3. if species (A) is aggressive and defends a territory of 2 square
feet, then you cannot expect to successfully keep more than one of
these fish in a tank which is smaller than 2 square feet. convict
cichlids are an excellent example of this ... this little fish
aggressively defends territories of about two square feet give or
take. if you have a tank which allows only that much room and no more,
the convict will defend the entire tank to the detriment of any other
fish (no matter how large it is) in that tank.

4. if species (A) aggressively defends a territory of one square
meter, then you've got to give species (B) room enough to escape
beyond one square meter if you're going to keep two different species
in that tank. your tank thus needs to be at least two square meters.

fish need room to swim without having the rest of the tanks
inhabitants "in their face" continuously. when crowded, fish exhibit
stress syndromes that result in poor color, improper fin form,
insufficient metabolic development, do not exhibit proper musculature,
do not develop properly functioning organ systems and most importantly
slowly lose their inherant resistance to disease. this results in a
significantly shortened lifespan and along the way, lots of diseases
for which the poorly conditioned fish is a good target..

think about your local lake or river --- the fish are free to inhabit
whatever space suits them biologically. if it gets crowded by their
standards, some will disperse and move to other areas where they again
have the space they need to exhibit functional behaviour.

it's difficult to allow for that "space" in your tank -- the fish have
no escape within the confines of your tank so it's up to you to insure
that the fish have that space in the first place. if your tank "looks
bare" .. it's probably just right.