Lets talk about a hot topic "Appropriate tank size for ____"

[skjl47]

Hello; As expected when I began following this thread there are a wide range of opinions and a fair number so set in their opinions that there is no chance of them getting on the same page.
This brings me back to perhaps the real issue behind tank capacity and fish size. Who gets to decide? Some on one side of the issue would have many of us out of the hobby because we can not meet their inflated standards. Some are also so very vocal about it that my guess is they would be willing to enforce such standards if given the authority.
I know folks go far in the other direction. I seen overcrowded tanks too many times. What if those folks got to set standards?

So far we each get to run our tanks any way we wish. That leaves the door open for both good and bad practices. My best take is that we each do the best we can with our own setups and maybe just bite our tongue if we notice someone else doing something different.

The good thing about those who overstock tanks is that they lose so many fish that many just give up and quit the hobby after a while. The bad thing about those who overstock tanks is that they lose so many fish before they give up.

 

[philipraposo1982]

I just thought of something that I wanted to add.

Often times we talk about a certain fish in what would be considered a non ideal tank size. This fish is often times kept solo because the owner realizes the tank is on the small side and whats to be able to maintain healthy water conditions. Sure the fish doesn't have much diversity in his/her tank to explore but the fish can move around and swim laps and get exercise.

Now when I think of that same fish in a much larger tank your immediate though is things would improve for that fish. more space to swim, more options for decor to interact with and a better chance of nitrates not rising as quickly making maintaining good parameters generally easier.

All good right? Bigger tank is the answer.

There is cases when the fish keeper moves the fish out of the less than ideal tank size to a big upgrade only to find that the tank looks bare and boring. ALL that space... "maybe i should add some fish" he thinks.

Fast forward 8 months and the tank now overstocked and potential agression issues ect. maybe best to keep solo in this case in the smaller tank

 

[Fish on Fire]

If you want something cool but have limited space/budget, 40 breeders are the way to go. Just overkill on filtration and water changes if you're going to be keeping something

Hello; As expected when I began following this thread there are a wide range of opinions and a fair number so set in their opinions that there is no chance of them getting on the same page.
This brings me back to perhaps the real issue behind tank capacity and fish size. Who gets to decide? Some on one side of the issue would have many of us out of the hobby because we can not meet their inflated standards. Some are also so very vocal about it that my guess is they would be willing to enforce such standards if given the authority.
I know folks go far in the other direction. I seen overcrowded tanks too many times. What if those folks got to set standards?

So far we each get to run our tanks any way we wish. That leaves the door open for both good and bad practices. My best take is that we each do the best we can with our own setups and maybe just bite our tongue if we notice someone else doing something different.

The good thing about those who overstock tanks is that they lose so many fish that many just give up and quit the hobby after a while. The bad thing about those who overstock tanks is that they lose so many fish before they give up.

It isn't always the case that they lose fish though. I've seen incredibly overstocked tanks that are completely fine with fish that look healthy.

Other than a ton of massive fish in a tank that looks to small for all of them, what issue do you see here?

Or here?

It isn't always the case that things will fail in an overstocked tank.

Are there much higher risks? Certainly. And I wouldn't take those risks with expensive or rare fish (like that asian aro pictured above), but people do it successfully anyways.

Yes, it is recommended to go as big as you possibly can for pretty much any fish. But if you're talking bare minimums, a simple 40 breeder would work for a lot of fish that people claim can only be housed in a 75+ gallon tank. It will just end up being a lot more work for the owner but it's still possible to do.

 

[esoxlucius]

If only fish could communicate with us. If they could the occupants of those two tanks would be able to give us the definitive answer and put this whole argument to bed, forever. Until then, none of us can say whether it's right to have 100 monsters in a tank or just a solitary fish. This argument will go on forever but that's good i guess because it gets us all talking about our fantastic hobby.

 

[Fish on Fire]

If only fish could communicate with us. If they could the occupants of those two tanks would be able to give us the definitive answer and put this whole argument to bed, forever. Until then, none of us can say whether it's right to have 100 monsters in a tank or just a solitary fish. This argument will go on forever but that's good i guess because it gets us all talking about our fantastic hobby.

But they do communicate. They communicate when they kill a tankmate they don't like. They communicate when they start losing coloration or acting listless. They communicate when they freak out and dash around the tank. They communicate when they stop eating.

If your fish are doing that, you're doing something wrong and should figure it out before it's too late for the fish in question. If the fish isn't active, eating, and healthy, then something is wrong (unless it's a fish that's an ambush/nocturnal predator and rarely moves around regardless).

They might not use words but you can tell a lot from a fish's body language.

 

[pacu mom]

If you want something cool but have limited space/budget, 40 breeders are the way to go. Just overkill on filtration and water changes if you're going to be keeping something

It isn't always the case that they lose fish though. I've seen incredibly overstocked tanks that are completely fine with fish that look healthy.

Other than a ton of massive fish in a tank that looks to small for all of them, what issue do you see here?

Or here?

It isn't always the case that things will fail in an overstocked tank.

Are there much higher risks? Certainly. And I wouldn't take those risks with expensive or rare fish (like that asian aro pictured above), but people do it successfully anyways.

Yes, it is recommended to go as big as you possibly can for pretty much any fish. But if you're talking bare minimums, a simple 40 breeder would work for a lot of fish that people claim can only be housed in a 75+ gallon tank. It will just end up being a lot more work for the owner but it's still possible to do.

Top tank was one of Ted's tanks. It was a 180 gallon tank. The fish are all crowded on that side for an impressive photo op. He had many other tanks, did fish rescues, accepting fish that people could no longer keep. He had an 8,000 gallon tank full of rescues. He used to be a contributor on MFK. His thread on building a large temporary tank is a great thread. Many kudos to the people who do fish rescues, taking fish from fishkeepers who should have never had certain fish to begin with.