The "One Inch Per Gallon" rule ........

[Fuzz16]

there are a lot of things to take into consideration when stocking a tank. like when i started researching the toadfish. some said 20g would be fine because they dont move around, others said 55g so they have space. who knows.
the only thing you can base it off of is a lot of research and, IMO, other peoples experiances are a great way to learn about the fish.

and nobody likes to be told thier tank is overstocked...multiple times ive been told my 10g is but i know this and WCs are done often and its temporary for the kuhllis, just waiting for them to get bigger is all. so i know what it feels like for someone to lecture me about it...hence why i dont do it so often.
telling someone the problem does nothing but aggrevate. if anybody has worked at a lfs then you would know/learn to not bother lecturing people on how the bala shark hes getting will outgrow the tank.

kinda blabbing but i just dont beleive the 1"/g rule, and dont think it should be told to any noob. thier not experianced enough with fish yet to understand when and when not to use it

 

[Seleya]

The thing is, the average new fishowner typicaly goes to their local Petwhatever and buys a 10 gallon kit and masses of tetras @ 10/$10. When things go south, they realise keeping fish isn't all about "just add water" and the good owners seek help.

While the rule isn't exact by any stretch of the imagination and really more of a ~suggestion~ which only applies to certain types and sizes of fish, it is a helpful starting point for further study and discussion. Most people who ~need~ to have the 1"/gal suggestion made to them, aren't aware of waterchanges, cycling, live plants and all the other niceties which may make exceptions to "The Rule".

Beyond the glaring exceptions for such fish as larger fish, territorial fish, cichlids and carp, citing exceptions really only muddies the water and confuses people -- not to mention, they themselves have exceptions -- what if you slack off on your waterchange schedule? what about the CO2 plants give off at night? what *is* "heavily planted"? what happens when they breed? what if upgrading when needed is simply not possible when the time comes? where's your wiggle room? For plenty of aquarists, many fish have paid the tuition for their education.

 

[Pure]

Pfft any and all stocking rules. Personally I never use any of them. I stock my tanks with the health of the fish in mind, as an experienced fish keepers we learn what can and can't be done.

 

[Purple]

as an experienced fish keepers we learn what can and can't be done.

I started out with a 55 - two oscars - 3 sailfin Pl*cs - 3 blua acara - 3 severums - 3 BP's - oh yeah - and a handfull of rams and a shovel nose cat.

Heck - they were all only 2 inches long at the time - what could go wrong ?

Not sure putting that Midas in there afterwards was a good idea - but hey - it sure thinned things out a bit.

But the tank was almost cycled by then - until the cannister broke down.

My point is - yes - we all make mistakes and learn from them - and i wonder how many mistakes misunderstanding that one inch rule is responsible for.

Errors (like my intro to fishkeeping) were born of ignorance - not bad advice.

"Let's be carefull out there"

 

[jessey]

just another point... a lot of times, the "one inch per gallon" rule works against you! for instance, my 29 gallon has more than 29" of adult fish in it.. and just looking at the 29 in bigredspecial's sig (not doing the math of course, just eyeballing it), it looks like that one does as well. point is, it's more important to make sure your fish are compatible with one another and comfortable in your tank.

edit: purple posted before me so now i'm referring to the one two posts up