The SAIA FishSelector©

We are constantly encountering the topic of oversized fish being kept in tanks that are too small, whether in public aquaria, in discussions on web forums or amongst hobbyists. Such discussions are quite often emotional but rarely effective. Included in SAIA’s commitments is an undertaking to provide guidance on size-related organism selection and the encouragement of appropriate customer advice by retailers. The SAIA FishSelectors© aims to sensitise the aquarium hobbyist and retailer to an ethical and sustainable way of selecting organisms and stocking a tank, thus avoiding impulse buying. An alternative approach would be to ban unsuitable species from the trade, minimising the pressure on natural resources. Therefore SAIA plans to complement the SAIA FishSelector© with a list of unsuitable wild caught species. Criteria for unsuitability include: size (organisms growing too big for the average hobbyist tank), feeding (obligate feeders) or sensitivity to transport conditions. We believe that as part of our goal of an ethical and sustainable marine aquarium trade that we can reduce the demand for unsuitable species by making information available to both the trade and the hobby.

Please note that the SAIA FishSelector is under ongoing development- we welcome your comments and thoughts and hope for a lively discussion.

How does the SAIA FishSelector© work?

A minimum tank size is provided for each fish listed along with its space requirement. The minimum tank size is equal to the net water volume (Note: the volume of water available for swimming is not the tank capacity!). The need of space is the partial volume of water each fish requires to thrive. Both parameters take into account behaviour and the average maximum size (including caudal fin) of the fish. More swimming space is allocated to active swimmers than to more sessile fish, a larger tank size to territorial than to non-territorial species. The indicated values are based on the experience and research of hobbyists, retailers and livestock importers. The FishSelector© enables the calculation of the maximum stocking density for a given aquarium based on a particular selection of fishes. 

By making the SAIA FishSelector© freely available we hope to put an end to overstocked aquaria. 

Limitations of the SAIA FishSelector©

The SAIA FishSelector© is intended as a tool to help the aquarist stock his tank in a responsible manner, it does not release him/her from the full responsibility of seeking additional advice on fish compatibility and the behaviour of the selected organisms. A useful resource can be found at: http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm.

Furthermore, the aquarist should also research into each species nutritional requirements and into its preferred environment in terms of aquascaping. This information can be found on resources such as Meerwasser-Lexikon.de and Fishbase.org.

The SAIA FishSelector© is not exhaustive. We will continuously review and expand the database. If there is a species missing that you would like to see added or if you would like to contribute with additional information, please use the form provided and contact R. Furter or R. Koch. 

National regulations and laws on animal welfare override recommendations by the SAIA FishSelector© and need to be respected by the aquarist. 

Enjoy creating different stocking scenarios using the SAIA FishSelector©!

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