Stocking density opinion

[aakaakaak]

I've been keeping fish for about 9-10 months now. I've done lots of research on what should and should not work. I always ask and make sure of my stocking plans and 99 times out of 100 people seem to wonder why I'm even asking. Time wise, I'm comparitively a fish noob. I've done my fair share of dumb things, but much of that is in the past. I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes in the future as well though, but never the same mistake twice.

The point being, I know I'm not experienced enough to get crazy with things. I know I'm not one of those people who can get away with overstocking. I know what I just can't do yet. I'm right at the level of "even" stocking.

 

[nanu156]

Well, nanu. Fyi, (even though it's not directly toward me- I just have a feeling that from earlier coversations that you're including me. No offense, please) I have none of those problems. The 1 (and only 1!!) fish death was from my Oto not eating!! My other Oto is still fine!! Oh, I also found some zucchini at walmart. He's really scary when he smells zucchini. He just attacks it and eats it for over a day. He loves it. I didn't blanch it this time, and after he was finished, there was barely anything left for my other fish!! I'm going to feed him that 3-4 times a week. I have about 10 1" slices of zucchini. I also got some algae waffers that he likes. Oh yeah, he's staying. He's healthy and happy. He stopped pacing all over the tank and he is actually following my Neons like how they did him. He's got new buddies!! Yay!!

i wasnt talking about you specifically but your newness to the hobby means that you are included with "noobies" the group

i think the idea that a newbie could handle a heavily stocked tank is crazy at best small tanks are also harder to manage you happen to be a noob with a little tank btw most of the noobs we see on mft have ten to twenty gallon tanks so while you fit the generalization it wasn't specifically about you im sure over the next year you will have other fish worries just like any new fish keeper we were all new once

you have been in the hobby for about six weeks right? i promise in a year you will understand exactly what i mean and why seeing a post like this is upsetting because other noobs will read it and then think its ok to keep unsuitable stock in a ten gallon tank

 

[Kiara1125]

Well, sorry nanu that I didn't get a larger tank. My dad decided to be cheap and buy my step-mom a $500 flat screen tv, but get me a $35 tank and have ME buy everything (except for the filter and lights) for it. He's so cheap!! I had to buy every single thing for that tank except for the tank, lights, and filter. He only got that tank cuz I was trying to find a hood that would fit my tank. Don't forget that I don't have a lot of money cuz I have to buy supplies for my Bearded Dragon, dog, and my 2 cats. I but the toys and chew stuff. I think that I should start to get a share of my dad's tax dollars with the way this is going on. If I can save up enough money, I'm getting a job over the summer, then I'll buy a bigger tank. But for now, I'm just chillaxing with my 2 10 gallons.

 

[Kiara1125]

*sigh* I have to stop the retaliating. Sorry everyone, especially you nanu. I don't mean to be cocky. I'll stop. I'm just upset about my situation and I'm taking it out on other people. *holds up right hand in pledge* I shall, from now on, hold thy tongue!!

 

[nanu156]

yeah there is really nothing wrong with the small tank or being new

mostly my post was against the suggestion for heavy stocking orders for folks who have small tanks and are new

we were all new once i started with a ten gal and a bunch of betta cubes back in the early nineties it was about ten years before i ever bought anything over thirty gallons

my concern was not about you specifically but more over that noobies almost always have ten gallon tanks and are almost always looking for someone on this forum to say yeah your stocking plan is great (when they are like crazy over stocked) honestly for noobies it is a live and learn kind of thing in a year you will probably understand more about what i mean

if it makes you feel any better i had a thing for fantail goldfish (regular ones moors and lion heads) i used to keep anywhere from two to four of them in that ten gallon tank YIKES

there is no tone to forum posts honestly im actually pretty nice i send about two hundred short and to the point business emails a day sometimes i forget that i need to add smiley faces and such to personal emails face-book posts and this forum messages so that people know that i don't have a nasty tone to my post

btw as recently as the last two years i have forgotten important lessons in fish keeping: quarantining new fish buying something that i don't know enough about buying cheap food etc so nearly twenty years later i still have plenty to learn

 

[Kiara1125]

Thanks nanu, I'm sorry I snapped. You're very helpful!! And Goldfish?? lol!! I wanted to put a few Koi in my 10 gallon because my God-Father has a Koi pond in his yard. He has about 50 of them in there and he just gives them away. I think the pond that he has is well over 1,400 gallons and he built it himself. When I got to feed the Kois for 2 weeks is when I first got inspired to keep fish. For a whole summer I looked up information about different types of fish. btw, my friend has 1 Black Moore in a 50 gallon tank alone. Is that suitable for it??

 

[nanu156]

yeah they say ten gallons for each fish, but big moors need more like 30g each that tank would be nice for a pair.

they are actually really neat they are smart, like treats, like petting etc etc etc. just not a great plan for a 15/16yr old and a 10g tank (which is what i was) honestly if you read a post by me and it doesn't use angry words like "seriously you are in idiot" im just being brief and informational

I didn't feel like you snapped and honestly hang around at mft for a while and you will see what i mean about noobs and their 10g tanks that are almost always a hot mess

i would say once a month we have a post from someone who fits the profile perfectly if not more frequently then that

oscars and bala sharks are my personal pet peeve along with common plecos... bleh...

 

[Kiara1125]

lol!! Yeah, when I had to take care of the Kois for 2 weeks, I stuck my hand in there and the all started rubbing on my hand (like how cats do to you're legs). They seemed to really like the attention. They were funny little things- er, well, BIG things I should say. Haha!! But, yes, after I looked up fish keeping information over the summer, I quickly dropped the idea. If I ever get a big tank (more like 100+ gallons) then I might think about getting a pair of Koi offspring. Maybe 3 Kois?? Back then, I didn't know how big they could get, even though my God-Father had over 5 1'-2' Koi and 1 Koi that was 3 1/2' long. He said that the Koi was 27 years old. The Koi keep spawning and it's almost impossible to prevent new fry from popping up in that pond. lol!!

 

[IThinkTherefore]

3 and a half feet??!!!

That's AWESOME!

 

[Kiara1125]

Yep!! The oldest Koi fish, Hanako, was 16.53 pounds and was 3 feet long and it was 226 years old. Look it up!! It's very interesting!! She was such a lovely fish!!

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Thanks to all those with constructive comments. Thus far a few points seem to be common. 1) Folks new to the hobby should stock lightly. 2) As a person gains experience it is possible to stock tanks at higher densities, but the trade off is increasing risk for problems. 3) Stocking at high densities requires much more diligence, labor, equipment, attention to detail and experience. 4) Some types and species of fish get much too big for "ordinary" sized aquariums and will need very large tanks over time no matter how cute they are when little. 5) Some species require specific water conditions or types of food that add greatly to the expense and effort necessary to keep them. 6) Buy the biggest tank you can afford, bigger is better when it comes to tank size. 7) ( not on subject) Bigger tanks are easier to maintain and require less work than smaller tanks. I'll wager that almost all of us started out with small tanks. I did.
Feel free to add more points and suggest different phrasing. One additional challenge. I see posts about aquadvisor. I briefly looked at it. I hope someone can shed some light about the site. It appears to be used by many on this forum.

 

[nanu156]

I can't stress enough how much easier it is to keep a 55g+ tank.

I see people on this forum regularly say they went with a ten gallon because it would be lower maintenance. Ummm what? smaller tanks are harder to keep balanced any way you slice it, plus its hard to convince yourself to keep low stocking orders to keep them balanced.

While I agree that overstocking is fine for some species in some setups that is really something reserved for advanced fish keepers.

by overstocking we mean numbers not fish size, if you have a blood parrot in a 10g, or a bala shark, or a knife fish, or anything that gets to be even 5" you are A not an advanced fish keeper most likely and B you are in for a heap of trouble with your tank and this forum lol don't worry we can only beat you up with our words

 

[skjl47]

Hello; As I am the OP, I am going to switch sides in this post and present an argument for low stocking densities. During the recent batch of storms across the US, a number of forum members had the power interrupted. Some perhaps for a number of days. A highly stocked tank is much more dependent on the filter and/or air bubble setup. Power outages will put these tanks into various types of stress much sooner than a tank with low density stocking.

In fact I seem to recall in the dim past tanks being set up without any power filtration at all. There was a guide for the amount of surface area necessary for exchange of gasses. Just a thought.

 

[Tooj]

I can't stress enough how much easier it is to keep a 55g+ tank.

I see people on this forum regularly say they went with a ten gallon because it would be lower maintenance. Ummm what? smaller tanks are harder to keep balanced any way you slice it, plus its hard to convince yourself to keep low stocking orders to keep them balanced.

i agree that its easier to keep a larger tank. its less maintenance and has more room for stuff to go wrong. However, i beleive when ppl say "less work with a smaller tank" they mean water changes. I used to be like that too. At the moment i do water changes with plastic gallon ice cream buckets....so.....when i had a 3 or 10 gallon tank, water changes would be between 1 and 3 buckets, depending on what i was doing. but with a 29 gallon tank, doing a 50% water change (on occation) is a pain...gotta have buckets and buckets layed out, getting the water to room temp, or running back and forth from the sink to the tank. That sorta thing.
but im 100% with you now. bigger tanks are less work and sooo much nicer =)