rmWhat does the score mean?
A mark out of a hundred, split across 4 things, which are company, room, water and shoal size. The overall figure is a summary. The useful part is which of the four is losing points, because that tells you what to change.
Questions
What the score means, where the numbers come from, why planting the tank matters, and where the advice stops.
Is there a pass mark?
No. A tank in the eighties with one bad pairing needs more attention than one in the seventies that is only a little tight on space. Read the findings, not just the number.
How many fish can my tank hold?
Fewer than the shop will sell you. Finform works it out from the adult size of every fish, not the size in the bag, and tells you in four words. Room to spare and comfortably stocked leave a margin for the things that go wrong in real tanks. Nearly full means nothing is wrong and nothing more should go in. Overstocked is fixed with fewer fish or a bigger tank, and it is worth fixing before buying anything.
Why do you keep saying to plant the tank?
Because a planted tank is a living one, not a box of water with fish in it. Leaves and stems host the same bacteria a filter does, so the tank matures with its cleaning crew spread all through it. Plants eat the waste the fish make, ammonia first and nitrate after, and a fast-growing bunch will noticeably slow how quickly nitrate climbs between water changes, which still happen. They add oxygen in the light and use some back at night, so a heavily planted tank still wants a filter moving the surface. Growing plants crowd out algae for the same light and food. And the fish behave like fish. With cover to retreat to, a shoal spreads out and colours up instead of hiding in a corner. A well-planted tank can carry a little more, and Finform gives planting a credit for exactly that reason, but plants are a margin, not a licence. Start with the easy ones on the plant pages.
Where do the numbers come from?
Published care sheets and compatibility charts, copied into a catalogue of 109 species. Every page that uses a figure lists its sources at the bottom, folded away, so you can read what Finform read. The stocking rule is Finform's own calibration, and the page says it is an estimate. A figure that could not be found is left out rather than guessed.
My water is “tight”. What does that mean?
Every species has a range it is happy in, and Finform looks at what is left once all of them overlap. Comfortable is a wide shared band. Tight is an overlap with almost no margin, or two ranges that miss each other by a hair, which real tanks drift out of. A clash means no water suits them all, and no amount of care fixes that.
Does it check my tap water?
Not yet. The water check compares your species against each other, not against your supply. Test your tap water, then compare it with the band Finform reports. If your water is hard and the band is soft, believe the water.
How does it decide two species get along?
From what is known about the pair, and failing that, about their families. Where nothing covers a pairing, Finform falls back on size and habits, such as who is big enough to eat whom and who nips fins. A verdict tells you the reason in plain words. What it cannot see is the one fish in the shop with a temper.
How are the suggestions chosen?
Each candidate is scored as if it were already in your tank. Anything that would be a risk to something you keep is held back rather than offered with a warning. You can also start from a fish you love and build outward from it.
Is it fine to just copy a preset tank?
Yes, that is what they are for. Each one is a stocking Finform passes clean as it stands, unplanted, and it is scored again every time the page is drawn, so the number on the card is the number you land on. Load one, then change one thing at a time.
Why isn’t my fish here?
The catalogue covers species that are common in the trade and that solid figures could be found for. A fish is left out rather than added with invented numbers. If yours is missing, that is why.
What about plants?
The plant pages give light, carbon dioxide, placement and water for each plant. Matching plants to your tank's water is not built yet, so for now pick by light and by how much work you want.
Are the written care notes as solid as the tables?
No, and each one says so above the text. The tables are traceable; the notes are general aquarium knowledge, written to be read. If the two ever seem to disagree, trust the table.
My fish looks ill. Can this help?
No. Nothing here diagnoses anything. For medication follow the product's own instructions, or ask a vet who treats fish, and never improvise a smaller dose on the theory that a fish is delicate.
What is still missing?
Checking a stocking against your own water, matching plants to it, a disease section, and telling you what size tank to buy. The About page says what this is and why it exists.