I have had my first ever tank for nearly a month now, a juwel vision 180.

I'm planning to stock with barbs/tetra's and nothing over 3" really, I just wondered what sort of numbers of fish I could reasonably expect to ultimately stock?

My LFS says at up to 3" approximately 40, but that does seem a little high.

any pointers?


Thanks


Mark

__________________
30G planted aquarium with Aquaclear 50 and two Aquaclear 20s. 7 Cherry Barbs, 12 Cardinal Tetras, 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Golden Honey Gourami, and a handful of Ghost Shrimp.

A general rule of thumb is 1" of fish (full grown size) per gallon of water. REMEMBER that this is only a rule of thumb and an actual number of fish will depend on the type of fish, how many plants (fake and/or real), how many decorations (plants could be considered in this too), if a tank is circular or more square (sting rays do better in a circular aquarium for an example), top, mid, of bottom feeding fish, and many many more factors.

I would suggest start with making a list of fish using the 1" of fish (full grown size), and getting a base amount of theoretical fish and then take about 20% out of your list. That may help to prevent overstocking. Also Rohkey posted a great link that will definitely help.

__________________

The tank is 47 Gal US, by the time you add substrate, deco, plants or what have you it will bring it down to about 40 gal.

With 3 inch fish I wouldn't do more than 25 to give yourself room and not over stock. But most tanks aren't filled with one size fish. You have to take into account of the fish full grown, is it going to be a full bodied fish or a slender one.

Under stocking makes for a healthier tank.

__________________
SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html