Whats overstocked to you?

[PhaneSoul]

Whens a tank become fully stocked or overstocked to you givin the fish you have are not impractical for your size tank.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

It's overstocked in my opinion when nitrates become impossible to handle with weekly WC's of 20%

 

[JammyBirch]

It's overstocked in my opinion when nitrates become impossible to handle with weekly WC's of 20%

+1

The only thing i would add is if you have aggression in your tank from the live stock, things are getting cramped.

 

[ca1ore]

It's about four things, right. Swimming space, sleeping spots, O2 and nutrient buildup. All are correlated to tank size, but not rigidly so. For example, an open aquascape provides more swimming space, as long as there are enough sleeping spots. Nutrient export mechanisms can be scaled to the fish population. Modern circulating pumps meet O2 requirements.

Personally, I think the views around fish stocking are 'old' thinking based on long standing rules-of-thumb that have not been adjusted with progress made in the hobby. When I tell people I have almost 50 fish in my 265, they are aghast, yet it works.