Under stocked vs over stocked...

[RD.]

The main thing that most will learn from a thread such as this is that everyone has their own idea as to what is acceptable in this hobby.


Having said that, a couple of things that I will comment on .......

For example I have yet to see an reasonable sized under stocked petrochromis or tropheus tanks.

I can't say that I have with petros, but I certainly have with tropheus - including a single breeding pair of trophs kept in a relatively understocked tank full of Malawis. Never say never.

Also, how does one even begin to compare thirty 4-5" fish in a 48x18" or 72x18" tank, with some of the massive beasts of fish that we often see in some of the "overstocked" monster tanks? I have seen tanks on this site where many of the fish were 2+ ft , and stacked like firewood, and members were cheering this on as though it was something to be proud of. Jesse probably knows exactly who I am referring to. IMO, that fishkeeper (cough-cough) shouldn't be allowed to keep a pet gerbil, let alone a tank full of monster fish.

The argument of catastrophic failure is also used against overstocking...I myself, in 17 years of fish keeping, had one such event. It was a heater problem, and overstocked or not, the fish would have died.

With big tanks & monster fish the most common catastrophic failure comes in the way of filter/pump failure, which in overstocked tanks with massive bio loads means 02 levels start to drop rapidly. 8-12 hours can equate to loss of life. A weekend can mean loss of everything. I've read about this many times, and seen it in person. (not my tanks)



In fact, the person mentioned above with regards to stacking his fish like firewood, had that exact scenario play out while he was away for work for a few days.

Seemed like no big deal to him, I guess there's plenty more fish where those came from.

 

[ska_kid]

i would rather have one big fish than overstock

 

[ecoli73]

With big tanks & monster fish the most common catastrophic failure comes in the way of filter/pump failure, which in overstocked tanks with massive bio loads means 02 levels start to drop rapidly. 8-12 hours can equate to loss of life. A weekend can mean loss of everything. I've read about this many times, and seen it in person. (not my tanks)

The gravest danger is from extended loss of power. I have always tried to setup my tanks in such a way that a single component failure would not lead to mass death...I failed this test once, and it was a heater. Currently, short of a main tank leak, the most damage that could happen is a O ring leak on a canister that will result in leaking about 1/5th of the tank volume...and thankfully those leaks most happen after a canister service and as a policy, I do not service canisters at least a couple of weeks prior to any out of town trips.

 

[RD.]

The gravest danger is from extended loss of power.

Correct, which in the case of filter/pump failure doesn't necessarily mean a loss of power to the entire household. Equipment failures take place all the time. The bottom line is the more heavily stocked ones tank is, the quicker 02 levels became dangerously low. If one isn't present to correct the issue, or have an emergency back up in place, fish can begin dieing within hours.

 

[petspoiler]

Who determines a tank is overstocked?

Do you mean "What determines that a tank is overstocked?"
ie; specific things which define a tank as being overstocked vs understocked. or are you equally asking about PPL personally favoring one way or the other?

 

[aldiaz33]

IMO, that's one of the biggest issues...with a heavily overstocked tank, there is little to no margin for error. Those JDM tanks are always on the brink of catastrophe (constantly battling high nitrates, PH crashes, ammonia spikes etc). The JDM mentality seems to be, "who cares, I'll just buy more fish."

I wonder if they would change if their ways if they were told they were not able buy another fish for 2 years...they would probably tone it down and provide a more suitable environment if they knew they couldn't just buy more fish to replace those that they have killed.

I think the fishkeeping hobby is unique in regards to the species that most of us have access to. It's one of the few realms of the animal kingdom where (without permits) you can purchase creatures that should really be left either in the wild or in multi-million dollar enclosures (ie- public aquaria). Imagine if some 15 year old kid could order an African Lion or an Elephant and a week later a little lion cub or a baby elephant is delivered to their doorstep? That's not that much different than people ordering these baby Goliath African Tigerfish or Arapaima.

It is left to our individual judgment to determine whether or not buying one is wise and unfortunately, most people fail epicly when it comes to understanding their own shortcomings/limitations.

 

[petspoiler]

It is imperative, for any venture in "over" stocking, that you have extra tanks on hand to move fish when needed. OR you must live where large LFSs are willing to take fish off your hands when you walk through the door. &/OR live in an MFK populated area, having friends to trade with.
Not having any of that^ totally stifles my ability to gamble with stocking. Nothing says "You better think twice a hundred x before acquiring that (or those) fish, quite like "I have NO ONE and NOWHERE to move them around, &/or to get rid of fish that don't work out".

 

[majorhavok]

Most of these are subjective so I have to say of course they are not all absolute.

My take is that a tank is overstocked when:

• Fish unable to swim freely without constantly bumping into another fish.
• They are clearly not "thriving" i.e. bad color, movement, eating etc ..
• If you were to remove all your fish your water level would drop 15% or more
• If the owner cannot maintain the tank with adequate filtration and reasonable water changes i.e. the tank(s) rule their lives and they can't take a day or two off without someone doing upkeep for you.

 

[probassfisher010]

Also, how does one even begin to compare thirty 4-5" fish in a 48x18" or 72x18" tank, with some of the massive beasts of fish that we often see in some of the "overstocked" monster tanks? I have seen tanks on this site where many of the fish were 2+ ft , and stacked like firewood, and members were cheering this on as though it was something to be proud of. Jesse probably knows exactly who I am referring to. IMO, that fishkeeper (cough-cough) shouldn't be allowed to keep a pet gerbil, let alone a tank full of monster fish.

Exactly, I can't believe you guys even use the African cichlids as an example, 100+ 2-6" fish in a 180 gallon is much different than 4 fish the length of my arm in a 180 gallon. Both may be "overstocked" and even have the same bio-load, but the space thing is huge. Monsters don't belong in small boxes. (especially active ones)

And of course I do, I really don't get some people.



Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[ecoli73]

What? African Cichlid tanks can't be overstock?

There are different types of overstocking; but Africans are used because in these particular cases, over stocking works...of course, provided that one supplies sufficient filtering, etc.