I have a 29 gallon planted tank. I have 8 Serpae Tetras, 5 Harlequin Rasbora and 4 Cory's. If I do the math 1" per gallon that is 2 much. I guess it dosen't look like that because they are not full grown yet so the tank dosent look overstocked. I would like to add 3 more Rasbora's. I have decided I really ike them never had them before.

So I'm guessing I need to get rid of a couple of Tetras? Anyone put anytrust into this article that says 1" of fish per 1/2 gallon? i dont want to push it that far just 3 more Rasbora's.
How many fish can you keep in your tank?

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29 gal planted,7 Harlequin Rasbora, 8 Neon Tetra,3 Bolivian Rams,3 Albino Cory,2 Emerald Green Cory
55 gal Lake Malawi
15 gal betta tank

Well, that is the general rule, but if you include how much space your substrate and deco. take, thats losing gallons. it will look better when they are full grown. and if your going to add more fish, you will have to bump up the water changes and possibly filtration

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Frontosa Fanatic

I figure I have 25 gal. You think 3 more Rasbora's wouldn't hurt it to bad with more water changes?

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29 gal planted,7 Harlequin Rasbora, 8 Neon Tetra,3 Bolivian Rams,3 Albino Cory,2 Emerald Green Cory
55 gal Lake Malawi
15 gal betta tank

Your good to go.. .any plants (live) in the tank?

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

3 amazon Swords and 4 assorted. possibly will add a couple more.

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29 gal planted,7 Harlequin Rasbora, 8 Neon Tetra,3 Bolivian Rams,3 Albino Cory,2 Emerald Green Cory
55 gal Lake Malawi
15 gal betta tank

sounds like you have just enough wiggle room to do it

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Frontosa Fanatic

I thought the rule of thumb was 1" of fish per gallon of water.

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yeah, that isnormally the rule of thumb, but it is a little inaccurate because once you fill your substrate in, you lost space that otherwise your fish could reside. I know I have about a 1 inch bed of sand in my 75 gal, thats at least 3-4 gallons worth(I would say)

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Frontosa Fanatic

I knew that, but I was reading Ron's post and I got slightly confused (super tired as I am doing way too many finals at once) when he posted the article about the 1" per 1/2 and I thought that was how he was currently stocked.

So just a bit of confusion on my part.

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I guess I can't understand where your getting the 1/2 from... I'm reading it he said 1 inch of fish per gallon

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Frontosa Fanatic

right there, like i said i misread his post.

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Are your fish healthy? Had any die in the last few months? Having problems with ich? I never will understand the need to fill a tank wall-to-wall and don't think you tank will look different with a mere 3 more fish. If your fish are healthy and not dying on you or getting things like ich, and you're a tad overstocked already....why push it? Add the fish and you risk throwing it all out of balance....if its working for you now that is.

Everything healthy I don't feel like its wal to wall but they arn't full grown yet. I bought the Harlequin Rasbora just as fill ins for the top. They actually gave me 2 black instead of Harlequin's and I didn't care. They look really small up top. Well I have grown to really like the Harlequin's (Imagine that) as to why I was wanting a couple more. Almost wish I had a couple less Tetras now.

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29 gal planted,7 Harlequin Rasbora, 8 Neon Tetra,3 Bolivian Rams,3 Albino Cory,2 Emerald Green Cory
55 gal Lake Malawi
15 gal betta tank

The one inch per gallon is a very ROUGH rule of thumb. The Tetra's your talking about have a very low bio-load on the tank.. Throw in some pleco's and now your talking a different story. It's my understanding that the more "full-bodied" the fish, the bigger the bio-load. Ich is caused by stress, temps and shipment generating the most stress. Healthy fish withstand that parasite which is present in a big percentage of tanks. Go ahead and add the three.. Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

Found something that substantiates the "full-bodied" observation:


This is something that comes up fairly often and is rather misunderstood therefore I will attempt to clarify the original meaning of the general guideline of "one inch of fish per gallon of water".

This is a suggested guideline for a well maintained and filtered tank.
It does not apply to all fish as some have differing requirements.

Here is the part that is being misunderstood.

The "rule" does NOT refer to the length of the fish!

The "rule" applies to the cubic inches of fish in the tank.

This means that a 5" gourami should be measured in this manner,
length overall (5"),
thickness, (1/2"),
height, (2 1/2"),
so for this fish you multiply the following, 5x 1/2x 2 1/2, this gives you a total of 6 1/4 gallons of water.

For small fish like glo-light tetras you will end up with something like this,
1 1/2"x 1/4"x1/2", this comes to 3/16 of a gallon (about 1/5), and that gives you 5 fish of this size per gallon (quite reasonable)

For larger fish you end up with something like this, my example here will be a silver arowana at 24" long, 24"x 4"x 1", which gives you 100 gallons of water.


Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

There lies the reason I mention it. Overcrowded tanks cause stress, which in turn causes MOST diseases, since it weakens a fish's immunity and ability to fight disease.

The one inch per gallon rule is just a starting point. I don't use it, but believe it is a good starting guideline for beginners. I always recommend an 80% stocking of tanks for beginners or people that don't really know how far they can push their limitations. Better to play it safe. Once the fish start dying it's too late. Your other method involves way too much math for my taste, but if it works for you.....

Actually.. it really doesn't involve any math but rather a common sense approach to stocking... Most tetras are slim, and small and create a very small bio-load. Put in a few Jack Dempsy's and get a shovel out to clean up their waste.
He was asking about adding some low bio fish. I gave him my common sense answer... Adhering to a "rule of thumb" that is, frankly, very dated doesn't help him with his question.
Bill in va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

I know a lot of people subtract gallons for decor but personally I don't. My theory is that substrate, driftwood etc can add to the balance of the tank by giving more surface area for good bacteria and micro fauna to inhabit so it makes up for the reduction in water volume. Only if I was using some VERY large chunky decor I would consider subtracting some water volume. As for swimming space, it's important to leave some open space for fish that like to swim but decor helps to break up the tank giving more interest and space for fish to create territories. Of course that is for stocking, it is important to calculate the real volume of water if you are going to use meds in the tank.

I never recommended to use the rule in this case. I just think that 17 fish in a 29g tank is getting pretty close to pushing it, so why get to the that point? For all we know, since it hasn't been asked, his 4 Cories are Emerald Greens which get pretty large. Outdated as it may be, in most cases it keeps tanks understocked if it is done like it is supposed to be with considering adult sized fish. For someone that may not have much experience, understocked is a good thing. Gives wiggle room for potential problem. And it doesn't work for things like Angels, Discus, Goldies, etc..

I wasn't trying to oppose anyone else's rec, just giving my opinion.

An inch per gallon is only a rough guide. For smaller fish like you have a better guide is one fish per gallon. Make sure there is plenty of filtration and aeriation and they should do fine. Lots of plants tends to reduce the impact of crowding.