Hi guys just one question for now (will be plenty more soon).
When thinking about stocking your tank is it ok to base the stock level on young fish sizes assuming i will be getting a second/bigger tank further up the line, one online stock checker is saying im overstocked and another is saying im ok,
i am assuming this is because the ok one allowed me to use young fish sizes.

Thanks for your help

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how soon are you planning to upgrade? if it's going to be a few months or more, I would say you need to stock according to the full-grown size of the fish. I stocked with the intention of upgrading down the line too so now my tank is crowded. Even if they are small now, overstocking will cause a lot more stress(both for you and your fish) and just make things harder. and also is your tank fully cycled?

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Frontosa Fanatic

Hello Drew...

You always want to put the health of your fish first. So, you always base your stocking number on adult fish. If you want to add a few and you're an experienced "water keeper", then you may need to change how you maintain your tank or tanks. The first thing is to do large and frequent water changes. If you're not already, you need to work toward changing half the tank water every week and maintain good filtration.

If you're willing to do this religiously, then you can add a few more small fish. Those that stay small.

B

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Low Tech Water Building Keeper

ok thanks for the reply`s, I shall stick to the adult sizes then the last thing i want is unhappy fish.
I don`t have anything in the tank at the moment Manafel but yes the next step is to add the substrate and plants then carry out a full fishless cycle, so I am getting far ahead of myself asking about putting fish in the tank, but while in my LFS earlier i couldn`t resist pre-selecting a few fish in my mind

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its understandable lol but good luck with your cycle and i wish well for your tank!

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Frontosa Fanatic

There is really no magic rule for stocking, it depends on so many factors so different sources will give you slightly different results. For a new tank the most important thing is: Take it slow!! Add fish slowly and keep stocking low for the first few months at least. After that it depends on many things. If you keep your tank on the lightly stocked side you are going to have less work and quite possibly less problems but there is some wiggle room so if you are borderline it could be fine depending on your filter, water changes, plants, feeding etc. Just make sure you do your maths and don't get a bunch of fish that will WAY outgrow your tank, too many people are caught out thinking they will get a bigger tank later but the fish grow faster they thought and they can't get a bigger tank quick enough and all ends in disaster.

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