1"/gallon

[Daniel]

Ive been reading and apparently i should be stocking my tanks so that it equalls to about 1 inch per gallon. I was planning in my 25 gallon to have; 6 x Rummynose Tetras 6 x Corydoras (some variant havn't decided) mediumish 2.5 inchish and maybe something else like a centre-piece fish or pair if i run by the 1"/Gallon rule i can only have 25 inches of fish, if i have 6 x 2inch rumynoses and 6 x 2.5 inches of corys i have 27 inches of fish! Theoretically this is true, however is that really overstocking the tank?? rummynoses wouldnt even be a cm thick? Is there another way i can work this out? or safely maintain this amount of fish. For my showy fish i was thinking a pair of bolivian rams which would add more inches, i have seen tanks that are way more over stocked than that and they seem to be able to regulate their water changes and parameters. Does anyone use this measurement? is is accurate or effective? can i please put more fish in my tank??? Please Help Me, Dan (oh, and this is based on the maximum size that the fish will reach) EDIT: Oh, and i'm sure you read this too, but this rule really only works for fish under 3-4"( most of the standard zippy colourful trops). If you go any higher it gets tricky. A 10" oscar in a 10 gallon for example, rather un-good :)

[Callatya]

First off, YAY for using the maximum size of the fish That is a rule of thumb, dangerous things in the wrong hands (the 10" of oscar in a 10 gal tank crowd), but a good guide when used correctly. #1, are you using UK gallons or US gallons? #2, filtration and planting and maintenance and substrate all have impact. Say you have a 25 gallon tank (tall 2'?) and you have no substrate, a few fake plants and a sponge filter. It gets a water change once a month and every 2 days you throw in a cube of bloodworms. That tank has less ability to cope with the bioload than a 2' tall tank with pea gravel, stem plants and a canister that gets a 20% water change weekly. So, the question then becomes "how is the tank going to be set up?" You could certainly go to 6 rummynoses and 6 pygmy cories (adorable and easy to find in Sydney now) but after that it does become a bit more dependant on what else is going on in the tank. If you are going for larger cories, then you may need to get a single centrepiece fish instead of a pair, or do more frequent water changes etc. The more heavily stocked a tank is, the less room there is for mistakes. Stress levels are higher because of the overlapping territories and so in order to avoid disease you have to make sure everything eles is spot on as any mistakes are amplified. I'm not saying you are going to make them, just to be aware that any wiggle-room you have gets less the more fish go in the tank So yes, good rule of thumb, I think it is doable, but the finer details (species of cory and centrepiece fish) are probably best decided once you have the tank and filter set up (or decided on) so you can better judge how it handles the load :lol:

[Daniel]

Thanks Calla,

ok i didn't know that there were two types of gallons, i grew up on metric but its 25 UK gallons and 30 US gallons, does that mean i get to stock more???

For the substrate I have filter sand, a 150w heater, a 500L/hour filter, a light, real live plants some val and elodea and other ones i dont know the names of...

Its been cycling for about a month now, ive just been scared to put fish in it.

I have caves and driftwood for the cats and hiding spots, all the main test kits, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph. The filter is internal and set so there is more surface agitation, the light is set to about 12 hours a day, however i move it around so i can focus on certain types of plants. i was doing a 10% water change every week however am capable of doing a 20% water changes.

i would love to get some dwarf cories, i haven't seen any do you know of any aquariums in sydney that sell them??

i was researching last night and found this being discussed on pleco fanatics, and it says that after about a year you can extend this to 2inches per gallon?? http://www.plecofanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16911 and it details another way to calculate stocking.

Anyway thanks for your help!!!

[Callatya]

Sounds good When most fishy people talk in gallons, it'll be US gallons, mainly because that is what a lot of books and medications are geared towards Put some fish in it You don't have to put your entire stock in at once, in fact it is much better if you spread it out over a few months to make sure the tank is stable and give you time to tweak setup and stocking. Sand substrate is less ideal for overstocking than gravel. In order to fit the maximum number of fish you possibly could in a tank, you need the maximum amount of beneficial bacteria. In order to get that you need surface area, and a lot of it. This means big filters with a lot of media space and a substrate with a lot of surface area. Sand seems like a good choice until you think about its structure. It is very fine and can end up locking together and not allowing water to pass easily past all the grains. Ideally, if you want to double stocking rates on a permanent basis, you'd need your substrate to be something like pea gravel with a RUGF to make sure the water flowed past all the pebbles, and a thumping great cannister filter, preferably a sump. You can push the stocking rates with what you have though, but I wouldn't suggest doing it soon, or before you feel ready. You have to know that tank and those fish like the back of your hand because when you heavily stock or overstock a tank, you are essentially halving its size, so it is like putting your entire 30" of fish in a 10gal tank. It means the water quality is much harder to balance, and if it does crash (which is more likely in that situation) it will crash hard and fast. In order to get a bit more capacity with what you have, I'd start by adding more plants. They'll suck up some of your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, taking the pressure off the bacterial colonies. You have to remove dead plant bits though, otherwise it defeats the purpose After that, I'd find some more decorations (if you think they'll fit), maybe rough rocks or wood, or something that has a lot of surface space and that can be used to designate a territory. When you overstock a tank, the territory issues have to come into it. A biological filter might be able to handle the overstocking, but the fish might have a hissy fit about the lack of space. The filter is a biggie. Ideally you want to run all of the water through the filter about 7 times an hour, and your current filter runs the tank through just over 4 times an hour. That is the main thing that will hold you back being able to increase your livestock. Another thing to look into is old tank syndrome. It isn't terribly common, with most fishkeepers, by the time it would be an issue they have stripped the tank and started again. If you increase stocking it puts things on a bit of a fast-track, so this is something to keep in mind I've made it sound really dire, and it isn't really that bad, just something that is a bit tricky and requires the right starting point to avoid disappointments You have a good platform to start from, however it does have some possible problems that probably should be addressed before you pop in more inhabitants. For now though, start stocking! A month of cycling, you should be done now if you went fishless, so its time you got some swimmers in there :(