One inch of fish per gallon

[ONeill074]

I know that you're only supposed to add one inch of fish per gallon of water, but what if the fish are small like Barbs, Minnows, Danios and Tetras? Can you stretch the rule a bit?They are smaller in height and girth compared to other larger fish, so I was thinking that they would produce less waste and thus allow you to add a few more to the tank. What do you think?

 

[Shaunna]

Apparently the 1:1 was established for larger fish that are messier and more territorial, so yes as long as you do not overboard you can stretch it a little. It is more like a guideline than a rule. What kinda set up you got?

 

[wayne]

No it was established for small, typical beginners fish like danios et al. It's pretty hopeless for big fish , compare the waste from a 12 inch oscar to 12 neon tetras.
It's also pretty conservative, and with very small fish you can pretty much go up to double it, but you're pushing your luck. It's kind on based on a combo of filter power estimation and availability of oxygen in the water. It's conservative to allow newbies to overstock, yet still be out of trouble

 

[SeaMonkeyMiner]

Also you have to take in to consideration the surface area of the tank. Allowing for the mixture of air and water. a ten gallon hex can not hold the same number of fish as a regular ten gallon tank. You can kind of bypass this with the addition of a air pump.

A good filter(s) and regular weekly water changes and can greatly increase the number of fish you can keep.

 

[lordroad]

Surface area, good filtration, frequency of water changes, and live plants all play factors in what you can safely stock. If you want to stretch the rule, I recommend adding live plants to help with nitrate production. With small tetras, you could easily double the guideline.

The important thing is to monitor your water params and get a routine going.

One inch per gallon is a good rule of thumb to get your feet wet in the hobby, but I have personally found it's near useless once you get a hang of water parameters and appreciate the many variables in stocking.

Of course with larger fish, you couldn't keep a ten or eight inch fish in a ten gallon even if it was that fish, as it would be stunted during growth.

 

[Shaunna]

I just read that today that it was setup for bigger fish. That is why I said that. Basically though what I was getting at is yes, you can stretch it , but what kind of setup you have and what you are wanting to put in it would be better at knowing if it is ok or not.

 

[Fishchaser]

i have 25 gallon tank with fish in it that add up tp around 28 to 30 inches and they seem to be doin fine

 

[Shaunna]

That sounds fine. Are the fish you mentioned above the only things in there?

 

[ONeill074]

Apparently the 1:1 was established for larger fish that are messier and more territorial, so yes as long as you do not overboard you can stretch it a little. It is more like a guideline than a rule. What kinda set up you got?

I have a 20 gallon long tank with 5 Danios, 5 Neon Tetras, 5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 3 Black Neon Tetras, 3 Glow Light Tetras and 2 Cherry Barbs. I have a Whisper BIO-Filter and I use an airstone.
If doing weekly water changes will allow me to have a few more fish, that's fine. I prefer to do weekly changes anyway. So much gunk can accumulate on the bottom in a weeks time.

 

[Lotus]

Overstocking always works when things are going well in the tank. When disease strikes or fish are stressed by overcrowding, you'll have more problems than with a reasonably stocked tank. Should you have a power failure, be prepared for heavy losses. If you want to go on vacation, be prepared to pay for a pet sitter or train a friend. There's little room for error when you're overstocked.

 

[ONeill074]

Overstocking always works when things are going well in the tank. When disease strikes or fish are stressed by overcrowding, you'll have more problems than with a reasonably stocked tank. Should you have a power failure, be prepared for heavy losses. If you want to go on vacation, be prepared to pay for a pet sitter or train a friend. There's little room for error when you're overstocked.

Thanks . I'll take that into consideration.

 

[cybersymes]

Overstocking always works when things are going well in the tank. When disease strikes or fish are stressed by overcrowding, you'll have more problems than with a reasonably stocked tank. Should you have a power failure, be prepared for heavy losses. If you want to go on vacation, be prepared to pay for a pet sitter or train a friend. There's little room for error when you're overstocked.

good point...hadn't thought of that...

i'm flouting the 1:1 rule a little...
you can see my set-up below...
and i intend to add possibly 15 more small fishies...

i'm doing 10% water changes every other day...
[easy with small amounts and takes only 10 minutes]...
{better for the fish too imho}...
and i also plan to add some java ferns...

care not to over feed...
and watching parameters like a hawk are important...imho...

all previous replies are spot on...
wot a cool site this is...
give yo'selves a hugg guys...
you're all brill...