Fish Stocking and Managing the population in Aquariums

Keeping the fish population under control is a necessary part of having a good aquarium. While it may seem difficult to get fish to breed in initial stages of an aquarium. Once the right conditions are made available, it is difficult to stop fish from breeding.

Fish breed in large numbers. Live bearers such as guppies and platies give birth to about 15 to 30 young ones while egg-laying fish such as goldfish, bettas produced hundreds of young ones.In the wild, the population is kept in check by natural predators and the scarcity of food. 

However, in the aquarium food is plentiful and predators are absent. Thus, the population will start to increase in the aquariums. Thus, there is no way of keeping the population in check. This results in overcrowding and disease.

Hence, it is necessary to control the population of the aquarium.

Methods of controlling aquarium fish population

There are several methods of keeping the population in check

Selling fish

This is one of the best ways of regulating the number of fish. This also helps you make some money out of your hobby. While newborn fry cannot be sold. Fish that are a few weeks or months old can be sold. If you have space for a few more tanks you can use them to raise the fry.

Keeping the males and females separate

This can be done only if you have more than one tank. Some hobbyists stock their tank with fish belonging to only one gender. This, however, is unnatural and can stress the fish as it disturbs the natural routine.

Introducing one or two large predator fish

Large Predator fish can eat up the small fry. This ensures that only a few number of fish survive.

Decreasing plant cover

Small fish hide in the plants. Removing the plants in your aquarium will result in the small fish getting exposed to predators.

Stocking the Aquarium evenly

Stocking your aquarium evenly is important as it ensures optimum use of the aquarium space and a pleasant viewing experience. Fish live at different levels in the water. Hence, selecting fish which occupy the top, middle and lower level of the aquarium ensures that all the fish have more space. This prevents fights and injuries.

Fish such as hatchetfish, zebra fish are top dwelling fish. Their mouths are upturned as they feed from the surface. 

Fish such as guppies, swordtails, tetras are middle level fish. They swim in the lower levels. Gouramis are also another popular middle level fish. 

Bottom dwelling fish have mouths which are turned downwards. These fish scour the bottom of the tank for food. Examples include loaches, cory catfish and the pictus catfish.