Bettachris
07-18-2006, 05:47 PM
When stocking an aquarium it is important to never overstock a tank. OverStocking is straight foward when you fill the tank with more fishes than it can hold. Bio-load for short.
After your tank has gone though cycling, and the water parameters are stable you can now start stocking your fish tank. As a general rule you never want to stock to much to fast. A problem with this is, if you get a sick fish it can kill your entire tank, so it is important to know what you add and a small amount of them so you can study each fish and make sure their is no sign of illness. Many fishkeepers who have established tank with alot of fishes that are worth something, use a seperate tank of about 10-20 gallons as a quaritine tank. These tanks are important because if any new fish that you get die in quaritine, in a way it is better than having it die in your fish tank. For a quaritine tank, set the tank up bare and a filter and alow the new fishes to sit in there for about a week before adding them into the main tank.
If stocking a new tank, it is important to understand fish zones. With most fish by just looking at their mouth and swimming levels at the store you can guess where these fishes will spend most of their time.
It is important to understand different types of tank as well:
-Regular or standard tanks are balanced tanks.
-High tanks are alittle different. These tanks are very high and stocking high tanks is alittle difficult b/c the surface area isn't that great.
-Long tanks are like standard tanks that are long. These tanks are better because it has more surface area and you can stock more fish.
-Round tanks are good for fishes that like alot of movement or currents. Allowing them to swim the same way without getting stuck in the corner.
Upper: Fishes like danios, hatchet fish, white clouds, etcc.. fishes that have upward faceing mouths. These fishes will most likely inhabit the top part of the tank. It is a good idea to add some floating plants to create a more natural setting.
Mid water fishes: Barbs, Tetras, Gourami's are common mid water fishes.
Bottom: Catfish, plecos etcc fishes with downward mouths and dics shaped mouths are usually bottom fishes.
It is important to not stock a tank with only one group and overstocking that group.
---General 10 gallon community stocking----
4 danios(no gaint danios)
5 neon tetras
5 cory catfish.
(While this tank maybe considered overstocked, it is well blanced in the stocking zones. No one zone has too many fish)
Conclusion: Overstocking can lead to many problems with the water quality. As all fishes will poo and there are no fishes that eat that, But filters can only do so much. Just remember to blance your stocking. Dont forget that with schooling fishes like barbs and tetras, they like to be in numbers. which is often a problem b/c tanks may become overstocked. a good number for a school is about 5 fishes. Schools are important because it is a natural defence that small fishes will use to protect themselves from larger predators.
Again if you have any questions just leave a post or contact anyone here.
Thanks,
By: BettaChris
Special thanks to contributers:
After your tank has gone though cycling, and the water parameters are stable you can now start stocking your fish tank. As a general rule you never want to stock to much to fast. A problem with this is, if you get a sick fish it can kill your entire tank, so it is important to know what you add and a small amount of them so you can study each fish and make sure their is no sign of illness. Many fishkeepers who have established tank with alot of fishes that are worth something, use a seperate tank of about 10-20 gallons as a quaritine tank. These tanks are important because if any new fish that you get die in quaritine, in a way it is better than having it die in your fish tank. For a quaritine tank, set the tank up bare and a filter and alow the new fishes to sit in there for about a week before adding them into the main tank.
If stocking a new tank, it is important to understand fish zones. With most fish by just looking at their mouth and swimming levels at the store you can guess where these fishes will spend most of their time.
It is important to understand different types of tank as well:
-Regular or standard tanks are balanced tanks.
-High tanks are alittle different. These tanks are very high and stocking high tanks is alittle difficult b/c the surface area isn't that great.
-Long tanks are like standard tanks that are long. These tanks are better because it has more surface area and you can stock more fish.
-Round tanks are good for fishes that like alot of movement or currents. Allowing them to swim the same way without getting stuck in the corner.
Upper: Fishes like danios, hatchet fish, white clouds, etcc.. fishes that have upward faceing mouths. These fishes will most likely inhabit the top part of the tank. It is a good idea to add some floating plants to create a more natural setting.
Mid water fishes: Barbs, Tetras, Gourami's are common mid water fishes.
Bottom: Catfish, plecos etcc fishes with downward mouths and dics shaped mouths are usually bottom fishes.
It is important to not stock a tank with only one group and overstocking that group.
---General 10 gallon community stocking----
4 danios(no gaint danios)
5 neon tetras
5 cory catfish.
(While this tank maybe considered overstocked, it is well blanced in the stocking zones. No one zone has too many fish)
Conclusion: Overstocking can lead to many problems with the water quality. As all fishes will poo and there are no fishes that eat that, But filters can only do so much. Just remember to blance your stocking. Dont forget that with schooling fishes like barbs and tetras, they like to be in numbers. which is often a problem b/c tanks may become overstocked. a good number for a school is about 5 fishes. Schools are important because it is a natural defence that small fishes will use to protect themselves from larger predators.
Again if you have any questions just leave a post or contact anyone here.
Thanks,
By: BettaChris
Special thanks to contributers: