Tank size standards. What do you think?

[Belly up]

Let me start by saying I will never (that means NEVER!) support any governmental standards in regards to fish keeping, though it has been proposed by some big names in the hobby. Rather, I would like to discuss how we arrived to the point we are now at. When I started keeping cichlids in the 1970`s a 55 gallon was considered a large tank and a 125 huge. That is not the case any longer. I keep seeing people asking how big a fish they can keep in this tank or what species they can keep in that. That`s what brought the question to mind.

In the past no one would have ever said a fifty-five was too small for a pair of Oscars, as an example. In fact I used to house my best producing pair in just that. Now I would put them in a 125 min. or just forget about it. Dempsies, FM, jewels and Mayans were kept in 29 gallons most of their lives. Now most of us would consider that cramped.

So what do you think has brought us to where we are?

 

[DIDYSIS]

I don't know of any governmental standards that had been setup in the fish keeping world as rules and regulations to tank size. Species and where they are allowed yes but not tank size.

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[decoy50]

Easy answer - the internet. Its easy for folks doing it the right way to post pics of their healthy, non-stunted, full potential fish and share information about how they grew it out. Its also easy to get in touch with vendors selling selling healthy stock online & have them delivered. Back in the day, you were restricted to what your LFS had in stock & if they got in something you had never seen before, you had to rely on LFS employee knowledge - we all know how reliable that is! With more info at our fingertips, its easier to be successful in the hobby & to know what true success is.

 

[Belly up]

Tank size has been proposed by some, particularly by some in Europe. Alternately they would prohibit hobbyists from keeping some of the larger species.

What I was really trying to get to is how and why we as hobbyists have set our own better standards as far as tank size goes.

The internet has been a big shot in the arm for sure but we had the ACA with the trading post, so I could and did get fish from guys like Tommy dePiro, Don Danko and others that were pioneers in finding and introducing new CA cichlids.

 

[duanes]

Although I doubt that any governmental regulations are feasible, I have a personal rule I keep of a minimum of 10 gallons per inch.
Not how many 1" fish would go in a 10 gallon tank, but for me, that a 40 gallon tank is only adequate for a 4" fish, and could be a few individuals, but nothing larger.
Fir me snorkeling with, and seeing cichlids in nature, and realizing they are quite social in a large setting, with little conflict, as long as there is space to flee.
And I realized from many territorial deaths in small tanks, my tanks in the past (some now), were and are just too small compared to the area cichlids and many other fish occupy in the wild.
Spawning changes the entire space relationship dynamic even more. I've watched a spawning pair of relatively small JDs defend a 4ft X 4ft X 4ft (over 250 gallons) area from any cichlid that approached.
These observations, and seeing so many hole in the head filled, deformed oscars and/or other large cichlids turned in at LFSs, is very telling.

 

[cichlidfish]

I always say the bigger the better. Always go bigger than the min. The reason is that fish will reach their full potential because they will be happier and healthier. Isn't that what everyone wants anyway? Regulations shouldn't be needed.


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[ragin_cajun]

There's been progress in aquaria. Aquarists want to have better fish, healthier fish, healthier looking fish, and bigger fish. As time goes on, more and more people want to have bigger fish in a community setting. So, they look for bigger tanks. Once there's a demand for bigger tanks, a few guys start to fill that demand by building them and selling them. Once you've seen an Oscar in a 300 Gallon tank with several other fish, you don't want to go back to an Oscar in an 55 Gallon. So more aquarists start to expect more from themselves and the aquarium industy -- bigger tanks, more reliable equipment. Once you've seen a planted tank by Takashi Amano, you're not satisfied with a 10 gallon MetaFrame with some Anachris, Hornwort, and multi-color gravel. You want a big rimless acrylic with 10-20 plant species and a deeply thought out design.

Just like skateboarding. Skateboarding in the 70s was nothing like it is now. Once you've seen somebody do an Ollie, you're not real impressed when somebody wearing bell bottoms is tic-tac'ing. Cars are like that--once you've had cruise control, satellite radio, A/C and a quiet ride, you don't want a hot, loud, 65 Pontiac that rattles when you hit a bump.

Progress happens. (I use that word in the completely NON-political, NON-ideological sense of the word, with no allusion intended to the social movement/ideology/worldview)

As for the government angle, I'm not biting. I come to this forum, and love keeping fish, BECAUSE there's no disucssion of politics, no government, and no ideological conversation. I'd hate for it to follow me here like it has in every other facet of my life. Fish keeping, and this site, bring me peace, and I intend to keep it that way.

 

[spiff44]

Easy answer - the internet. Its easy for folks doing it the right way to post pics of their healthy, non-stunted, full potential fish and share information about how they grew it out. Its also easy to get in touch with vendors selling selling healthy stock online & have them delivered. Back in the day, you were restricted to what your LFS had in stock & if they got in something you had never seen before, you had to rely on LFS employee knowledge - we all know how reliable that is! With more info at our fingertips, its easier to be successful in the hobby & to know what true success is.

+1 this is pretty much right on the money- basic dissemination of knowledge