How Many Fish Do I get?

Almost every wall aquarium owner has stared at their aquarium and questioned, “how many fish can I put in there”? The customer may have seen aquariums setup at a pet store or at a show that were loaded with fish. Consequently, many wall aquarium owners inadvertently overstock their aquarium. What the customer doesn't see is all the extra required maintenance and fish fatalities caused from over stocking an aquarium. So how does a wall aquarium owner know how many fish they can care for? The most commonly used rule for stocking a wall aquarium is “one inch of fish per gallon of water”. This rule works as a rough estimate, but leaves room for error. Consider the following:

•  Fish are not all the same size

•  Some fish are thick and others are slender

•  Big fish eat more food - - they produce more waste

•  The fish in your wall aquarium may not be full grown

•  The one inch rule applies to adult sized fish

•  Any 20 gallon aquarium doesn't actually hold 20 gallons of water because the components, gravel and decorations all take up space which reduces the water capacity. In actuality the water volume is often 10 to 15% less

Examples:

Our 4 ft wall aquarium is rated at 20 gallons but after it's setup and decorated it could be between 17 to 18 gallons. For this example, let's say it's 18 gallons and the fish are 2 inches. 18 divided by 2 = 9

A fully stocked freshwater wall aquarium is 9 fish.

Our 7 ft wall aquarium is rated at 30 gallons but after it's setup and decorated it could be between 25 to 27 gallons. For this example, let's say it's 27 gallons and the fish are 3 inches. 27 divided by 3 = 9

A fully stocked freshwater wall aquarium is 9 fish.