clarification on the "1 inch of fish per gallon of water" theroy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by hawkfishman
http:///forum/post/3238070
ah i think i have read about the traps. u lure them in with food them catch em. ofc that is para-phrasing. lol
Draining all the water into a couple/few large containers makes them very easy to catch
 

hawkfishman

Member
lol. that usually makes both my firefish, the SB, the tiger wardi, and the LMB all hide in rocks. i did a 5 gallon water change yesterday and the "dartfish" earned their names. but the funny thing was, everytime i went to empty the 1 gallon jug that i use to drain the tank, the FF always came back out, then saw me with the jug, then darted back to their "house". im gonna take pictures here in a bit just to show them off a bit :p
 

hawkfishman

Member

the rock u see is where the firefish go when scared. and the dip in the sand in front is where the skunk made his bed.

oh and the water is cloudy because i just put purpleUP in.
 

chaseter

Member
I had a firefish and I hated it. I read that they do better in pairs or schools and they feel more safe. All mine did all day was hide and if you made any sudden movement, away it would go. I really didn't care that it disappeared one day (probably eaten).
 

hawkfishman

Member
yea i have ahd single firefish 2 times before, and they never made it more than a week. these guys are a week old in my tank today. they are eating good, which the others i had didnt eat much at all. probly too lonely lol.
and yea, if i go to do a water change, as i said before, away they go. but i like how they act in general. if my tiger goby is out of his burrow and they get close to him, he makes a move and they zip to their house. but i knew the tiger goby was a bit territorial when i got him.
 
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saxman

Guest
Originally Posted by Kraylen
http:///forum/post/3238716
Gallon/Inch rule does not exist. Makes no sense in this hobby.... your best bet is to forget it.
agreed... for example, a dozen 1" gobies do NOT present the same bioload as a 12" volitans.
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by hawkfishman
http:///forum/post/3237726
ok so generaly speaking, 10 to 12 fish of 3-4 inches per fish. thats not bad. i think i have roughly 20 inches of fish in there atm.
heres a list just in case anyone wants to do the math on how big they are/will get
2x misbar clownfish
1x orange skunk clownfish
2x firefish goby
1x tiger wardi goby
1x lawnmower blenny
1x scooter blenny (he is actually eating frozen brine shrimp. i thought i would have a hard time feeding him but he likes them lol)
oh and do inverts count towards the total # of inches?
That rule of thumb, sucks imo. I wouldn't try to forget you've ever heard it or any variation of it. Mainly because these fish needs vary sooo much.
I had 2 clowns that took over a 58 gallon tank, and wouldn't let anything live for more than a few days. They were mean, but when they were in a 180 gallon tank, they were ideal tank mates.
I've also had bad luck with Lawnmowers in small tanks. I had one who ate everything I fed, which was great. But then I had another one in a 58 gallon tank who starved. And this was an established tank.
But more importantly, I'd consider where you're getting information. I'd strongly recommend ignoring what your LFS says. Most of them don't have any experience with responsible fish keeping. They're good at keeping fish a live for whatever time it takes for selling fish, short term.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by saxman
http:///forum/post/3238917
agreed... for example, a dozen 1" gobies do NOT present the same bioload as a 12" volitans.
Bioload has nothing to do with it. It's space and territory. It's almost impossible to pack a saltwater aquarium with enough bioload to exceed it's capacity as long as you add the bioload over time.
Many saltwater fish require space and some claim territory. 12 1" fish that requires a square foot of realestate each are not going to get along peacefully in a 20 gallon tank even though the tank can could support the bioload of 50 1" fish.
The guideline (if that's what you want to call it) is meant to prevent new hobbiests from overstocking right off the bat and failing. I agree that an 11" fish is going to be a poor choice for a 55 gallon tank. Some degree of reasonableness needs to be applied just like you can't light a dixie cup with a nightlight and expect to have enough lumination for SPS even though it's 40 watts per gallon.
 
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saxman

Guest
i think we're basically all saying the same thing...there are many factors governing how many fish that a system can hold without problems.
i believe that the OP was asking how many fish his/her system can handle. to that end, i was merely citing that one must consider each fish on it's own since one of the chief reasons for novices' tanks failing is being unable to keep up with water quality in an overstocked tank with little experience, and/or adding too many/too much fish at once to a relatively new system and having it spike.
compatibility/territoriality is of course, a major concern.
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
In my opinion this rule is good for one group of fishkeepers, and one group only. That group is beginner freshwater keepers with small community tanks. Of course, even then there are several problems and limitations. Common sense is a big part of this as well. For example, a 9 inch oscar is not going to do well in a 10 gallon tank.
This isn't a theory, this is a rule of thumb. It is also useless.
In almost EVERY case you can disregard bioload altogether. If X amount of fish works in a Y gallon tank of Z swimming space and all fish are compatible, then it is likely that the community will not have an issue with bioload.
Lastly, regardless of the lack of potential health issues, we have to keep the fish's (fishes') best interest in mind. Despite the fact that they probably aren't thrilled to be in a glass tank, it is a good idea to ensure that they have enough swimming space to be content.
 
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