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Ive heard that a planted tank can hold more fish comfortably than a non-planted tank can. Of course plants cant save an overstocked tank, but do they allow the bioload to handle extra fish? Example: A tank that normally houses 4 or 5 Guppys** can house 6 when planted. This was talked about on a thread at another board sometime ago.


**Or some other small, thin bodied fish.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Yeah, the tank might be able to handle a little more with live plants than w/o them. I wouldn't think that they could handle too many more fish, it depends on the tank size. Also, there is no substitute for a good water change!

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Well of course, cant forget them water changes:88) I do about 20% once a week, but my tank isnt planted. After it is planted i might go once every 2 weeks. My only major waste producer is an oto i saved form a careless friend, and hes in a 5 gal with a guppy ( i know, i know wayaaay too small, but i have no where else to put him and my LFS is a petco)

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Also in a bigger heavily planted tank you could get more fish than in a 10gallon planted

Hi,
PLEASE FOLKS...Don't think that adding plants to a tank
will allow you to add more fish. The rule is to
understock with fish and let the plants grow into it.

Keep in mind that plants take up swimming room. If you
have schooling or shoaling fish, they need room to move
about in. If you have fish that normally hide or swim
within heavily planted areas, then you can "over plant"
however, soon they (the plants) will grow as far as
they can with what is available, and then they will
need ferts, or will wither and die.

It is always far better to have a lush green jungle
with a few flashes of color (fish) than have a tank
full of fish and a token few plants.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

plants take oxygen away at nihgt. if the tnak is heavily stocked with plants and heavily stocked with fish, there might be problems.

Or a lush green and red jungle!

I'm with Frank - if it's a fish tank with plants, you can't overstock it. If it's a plant tank with fish, you don't want to - they distract from the plants!

Froo - while plants do take in oxygen at night, a heavily planted, CO2-injected tank usually gives off so much oxygen during the day the plants couldn't possibly use it all up at night - the "pearling" commonly seen in serious plant tanks is due to the supersaturation of oxygen in the water. Some tanks pearl before they even hit noon - by the time night swings around, they have so much O2 I'm amazed there's water left!

[span class="edited"][Edited by LittleMousling 2004-08-03 17:09][/span]

-Molly
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