I think the '1" of fish per 5 gals' rule is outdated just like the 'X watts per gallon' rule for light.
Inch is a linear 1 dimensional measurement and volume of water and size of fish are not 1 dimensional objects.
For example, let's assume a fish has a shape of a box. Let's say a fish of a certain species has a height of .5" and width of .5" and length of 1" inch. That fish would be .25 cubic inches.
Well, let's say another older fish of the same species is 2" long. Keeping the same proportions, its height would be 1", and its width would be 1". Then this fish would be 2 cubic inches. That means the fish is 8 times bigger.
So now, given that we have 2 fish of equal proportion, the rules states that the 2" long fish only needs twice the volume of water even though it is 8x bigger??? Expand that to a 3" or 4" of fish and you'll see how this rule lost me (IE. A 4" fish is 64 times bigger than a 1" fish but the rule says that the 4" fish only needs 4 times more water volume than the 1" fish).
Last edited by Samw; 03-17-2006 at 06:14 AM.
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