Stocking guides
Four short reads that sit behind the planner.
- Why one inch per gallon fails. The rule says one inch of fish for every gallon of water. It is tidy, and it gets a surprising number of tanks wrong in both directions.
- Cycling a new tank. A new tank has water and no bacteria. Fish make ammonia, and ammonia is poison. Cycling is the weeks it takes for the right bacteria to settle and clean it up.
- How the stocking sums work. Each verdict answers one question, and none is averaged into another. Here is what each one measures.
- When a fish has outgrown its tank. Some fish are sold small and grow far beyond the tank they were bought for. Spotting it early gives you choices.