Question on fish stocking

[BluelineAngel]

Hello everyone, I would like to ask the following questions on fish stocking:

1. The minimum tank size for each fish- Does this only apply to the display tank or the entire tank system? (excluding the AIO tank)

2. How many inch per gallon of fishes should a tank have? I have done some research on this, but many websites have different answers (e.g. 1inch/2 gallons, 1inch/5 gallons)

Much help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[davidcalgary29]

Both of your questions seem simple, but are actually quite difficult to answer in a meaningful (or helpful) way without knowing the size of your tank(s) and proposed stocking list.

Generally, "minimum tank size" does not include sump space, as most behavioural issues arise from a lack of swimming room, and your fish should not be doing deep dives into the sump for that sweet, sweet extra space. Predators often need special consideration (and may benefit from a sump) because of messy eating habits, but that's a separate issue. Protein skimmers and filtration usually solve those problems.

I think that many people will tell you that the "inches of fish" equation is flat-out wrong and can lead to disastrous outcomes. One inch per five gallons might lead to a perfectly reasonable stocking of eight small fish in a 40g cube, but it would be madness to put an eight inch fish into that same space by itself. And I'm not even talking about tangs.

You'd be better off diving your tank into specific zones, and see what will fit into them: a five gallon bottom third with live rock will provide less swimming room but more hiding spaces -- what would do best there? And an upper layer with a wide swimming area and no obstacles would be ideal for a surface swimmer or diver: perhaps a Naoko's wrasse would be the ideal fish for that zone! You really should plan your tank to meet the specific needs of each fish. If you can't meet that, then move on to the next candidate. And it's far better to understock than cram your tank full of fish -- you can always add another fish at a later point, but overstocking will probably just lead to aggression and disease.

 

[blaxsun]

1. Display tank only.
2. It varies. At least 75 gallons for small tangs. Depending on the type of fish you can sometimes stock more, ie: bottom dwellers, cave dwellers, surface dwellers (etc.) will all occupy different areas of the tank. If you have awesome filtration (skimmers, reactors, media, etc.) this makes a huge difference.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Hello everyone, I would like to ask the following questions on fish stocking:

1. The minimum tank size for each fish- Does this only apply to the display tank or the entire tank system? (excluding the AIO tank)

2. How many inch per gallon of fishes should a tank have? I have done some research on this, but many websites have different answers (e.g. 1inch/2 gallons, 1inch/5 gallons)

Much help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Display and really depends on what fish. For example 3 xlownfish in 10 gallons is a no go but 1 or 2 is good. 1 clown goby is good for 100g but 200 clown gobies will fight