Too Many Fish???

[dieselcameron]

Hello I have a 65 gallon tank, with a 15 gallon sump, just wondering if what I Have in my tank is OK,

65 pounds live rock
1 yellow tank 2'
1 foxface 1.5'
1 coral beauty 2'
1 flame angel 1.5'
1 orange clown 1'
1 black/white clown 1'
1 Manderian Goby 1.5'
2 yellow belly damsels .5'
1 Royal Gramma 1'
1 spiny blue lobster
1 arrow crab
1 blood shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
8 hermits
8 turbo snails
1 bubble tip ana
and about 5 other corals

 

[BigAl07]

well it depends. That seems like a lot of fish for 65g.

Look at it like this. A reasonable (conservative) formula (not factoring in attitude, swim room requirements, interaction with inverts etc) would be 1" of ADULT sized fish per 5gal of tank capacity.

So roughly (very generous) 65g of water (more like 58 or less) would allow for approximately 13" of ADULT fish. You've got 12" and some of those are FAR from adult. You really might want to consider "de-stocking" the tank for better long-term success probability.

 

[Paragon]

First, BigAl who posted above is 100X the expert I am. I do think the larger fish you mention are pushing the limit. That said, I think the rule of thumb he mentions above is very much on the conservative side.

Each of the 3 larger fish you own are probably best as a 1 off in the tank. By that I mean, ideally you would only own 1 of any fish of that size in total with no other fish of similar size in the tank. This may become more of an issue as those fish mature with time, and you are required to feed more, which produces more waste, etc.

The fact that you post mentioning your concern is the first suggestion you may be pushing the upper limit.

In an ideal situation I'd sell back 1-2 of your 3 larger fish to improve the health for your remaining inhabitants.

Best Wishes,
Para

 

[smkndrgn142]

I have to agree with Al, you'll be fine for now, but as the fish grow you're probably going to run into problems.

 

[JandR]

You can always start now to get abigger tank for when they get bigger so that it can be bought gradually and set up right for when they need extra room. I dont know if thats an option because I know tanks take up alot of room but its better then having to sell your beloved fish. Just a thought. Thats what we ended up having to do. Started with a 37 and jst couldnt stop so then we got a 75 and a 55 and now about to geta 125 >.< its an addiction so if you plan on getting anything ele I would for sure start looing for an upgrade or find homes for your bigger more room demanding fish ={ Good luck!!

 

[Shayan]

and be careful of the blue spiny lobster, i had one and i had to take it back after i found him eating one of my clowns

 

[BigJay]

Re: too many fish?

The amount of fish you have requires a tank greater then 150 gallons. Your beyond way overstocked.

 

[BigJay]

I guess you have two identical threads running but as I posted in your other your current stock will require a tank of 150g or larger.

 

[BigJay]

That said, I think the rule of thumb he mentions above is very much on the conservative side.

Not to be argumentative but I completely disagree. I personally think the 1" in 5 rule is way to lenient. Tanks of sub 100g I would consider it almost mandatory. People fail to realize that its not just a bio load issue but an issue of fish stress. Even if perfect or above perfect maintenance is followed , the constant stress of being in too close of quarters will tax a fishes immune system.
There are times when experience will dictate certain relationships that will allow someone to disregard the rule. That however would require a very good understanding of each individual fish , how it lives in nature, how it responds to the tank, its diet, its need of swimming room, hierarchical relationships..etc..

 

[JulesVane]

I'm very surprised the Coral Beauty and Flame Angel are tolerating each other.

 

[Corailline]

IMO

That fish list is not going to work out. The angels will surely be a problem, and the mandarin as well.

You can not add all those things at one time either so I would reconsider the tang, just add one angel, skip the mandarin all together until the system has aged.

The order in which you add the fish is going to affect the over all harmony of the system as well.

 

[BigAl07]

****Threads Merged****

 

[BigAl07]

Some VERY good points have been made above. I want to add some more (just because I can LOL).

• A) I personally like to see a tang, ANY tang, in a much larger tank. They really need more lateral swim room and IMHO even if it were the only fish in the tank I like to see a tang in 90g MIN. Let's not start a tang/No-tang bashing here and keep it civil people and on-topic.
  
• B) You do have some fish in there that might not get along even in the short term. Stress will cause many things to go wrong all at once so you're well advised to minimize that yesterday . . .You'll want to research each fish individually in addition to research how they interact with other similar types.
  
• C) Just by the mere fact you're asking this question and you've already over-stocked the tank indicates that you really need to slow down, de-stock and take a long slow look at your tank and think long-term. Learn not only the "suggestions" as noted above but WHY they are suggested. If you know WHY things are suggested you're much better prepared to make these judgment calls in the future and less likely to make costly (money wise and fish health wise) mistakes in the future.
  
• D) As you get more experienced you can "Tweak" the rules a bit and might get away with it. Unfortunately that's the exception and not the norm.
  
• E) With all due respect I feel that the 1" of ADULT fish per 5g rule is one that most new to fairly new tank owners should have inscribed into the glass of their tanks. Yes it's conservative but it's also a fairly rock solid starting point. I have yet to assist or follow a tank that was set up correctly and abode by this rule have any "stocking" problems. In all honesty I like to see a tank stocked MUCH more conservative than this for the first 6 months or more just so the tank owner has a decent chance to learn the basics of husbandry before getting into advanced problems caused by heavy bio-loads. At first keep it simple in order to keep it going.
  
• F) Remember it's easy to Add More fish later as you get a handle on things but it's really hard to de-stock a tank once you've pushed the limits and gotten bit by overloading. Losing fish just plain SUCKS!

Good luck and keep researching and learning. The only time you stop learning anything salty is when you stop DOING salty!!