Lets here about your over stocked tank

[fishykid9212]

I want to see how many of you out there have really overstocked tanks, like me. In my 92 corner I have 3 damsels 2 clarki clowns, cuban hog, hippo tang, naso tang, stars and stripes puffer, and french angel. Ya thats a lot and they are all doing great. So if you want to post or talk about your overstocked tank you can do it here. Also please don't critisize other people.

[phishlet]

How about overstocked with coral? Does that count?

Here's a pic. It's a mix of softies, lps, sps, shrooms, zoos, gorgoinians etc. oh... and some fish.

[fishykid9212]

sure anything counts and awesome tank!!!

[Icedawg4563]

Some would say I'm overstocked w/ a 30 g that has 1 firefish 2 ocellaris clowns, a coral beauty, and a six line wrasse

[AJP]

I have a 20 with 2 green chromis and one PJ cardinal, with 2 more chromis and another PJ on the way.

[PupChow]

That's an awesome tank!

[Nanook]

Originally posted by fishykid9212
I want to see how many of you out there have really overstocked tanks, like me. In my 92 corner I have 3 damsels 2 clarki clowns, cuban hog, hippo tang, naso tang, stars and stripes puffer, and french angel. Ya thats a lot and they are all doing great. So if you want to post or talk about your overstocked tank you can do it here. Also please don't critisize other people.

This is sad to hear, really. I think you are endangering the lives of your fish...it is only a matter of time.

Dave

[greenbean36191]

I agree with Nanook. I don't think a reef keeping discussion board is the place to come to boast about keeping fish in an inadequate environment.

If you take these fish out of their natural environment for your own enjoyment the least you can do for them is give them the best chance at a good life they can have in captivity.

[Nanook]

[moved]


Overstocking is a very common mistake that new aquarist's make. They usually have to learn the hard way that keeping too many fish in a system leads to aggression, disease and ultimately death. Eventually, the weaker fish will succomb to disease or aggression, then the population will bring itself down to reasonable numbers for a given ecosystem.

At some point, the aquarist finally figures out that he/she will spend less money replacing fish and enjoy fish that have an optimum environment for their particular needs, after losing several pets. This learning experience may take a couple years at least...I know, I went through it.

Ultimately, providing an environment that is best for your fishes health will provide you will a sense of pride. Knowing that you gave the fish their best chance out of the ocean because you cared about the quality of their water, their habitat, their tankmates and their needs, will lead to a responsible aquarist. If you haven't read The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner, I highly suggest you get it and give it a read...it will open your eyes a little hopefully.

Dave

[AJP]

Not sure that I am overstocked, but some might think so. My fish are small and don't make much waste. If you think that I am let me know.

[Johnsteph10]

I fully agree with above. By saying for us to not criticize you, you have already recognized the fact that you are in the wrong by purposefully overstocking your tank.

Do the right thing and get rid of the 3 tangs.

[IchHater]

now you have me wondering. i have a hippo tang still young, marroon clown, lm blenny, small yellow tail damsel, 2 peppermints, one bta and one condy in a 42 gallon. there is no aggression at all and the quality water is perfect. actually all my fish seem to dig eachother.they all kinda do their own thing. but no worries, i am planning my 75 as we speak. it should be up and running within 3 months. anyway i know i pushing the limit and i have been watching VERY closely. just ask the wife. i almost forgot what she looked like!

[clown fanatic]

i too am worried i have a maroon 3.5 inches, a scopas tang still very small, a lm blenny and a arc eyed hawk in a 29 how can you tell if your over stocked. now i KNOW when my tang gets bigger i will have to upgrade him to a bigger tank but for now he is small, about the same size as my maroon

[Nanook]

Originally posted by clown fanatic
i too am worried i have a maroon 3.5 inches, a scopas tang still very small, a lm blenny and a arc eyed hawk in a 29 how can you tell if your over stocked. now i KNOW when my tang gets bigger i will have to upgrade him to a bigger tank but for now he is small, about the same size as my maroon

Maroon Clownfish are very territorial. Tangs are very tempermental, so those two alone in the 29g may be asking for trouble. Both the Lawnmower Blenny (55g) and Scopas Tang (75g) call for larger tanks according to Scott W. Michael's pocket guide. Also, with these two fish feeding on filamtentous microalgae, there may be some aggression.

The other factor besides territory and food availability, is whether or not the filtration of your system is adequate, ie: lbs of liverock, protein skimmer, feeding habits, waterchanges, etc.

Just some ideas.

Dave

[clown fanatic]

thnx for the reply lol. the scopas and maroon im not too worried about being agressive towards, i see them swim around together sometimes and very often share the same cave in my rocks. i believe i have about 18 lbs of live rock and filtration...im getting a remora skimmer soon, i did have a skilter but...well any ways it sucked so i ended up stuffing it with some macro. i rubberband some roman lettuce on the tank every other day. i usually do a water change once a month, i feel guilty for not doing it as much as these other guys that do it like twice a week but getting down to the lfs can be a hassle. well now that ive told you my situation what do you think??

[Nanook]

I think the tank is too small for those fish. I think there are real issues with the Tang and LMB in competition for food in too small a tank. I also think that without a skimmer, it is just a matter of time before things go south.

dave

[Loralie]

What is the inches of fish per gallon ratio? I have read in several places that it is 1 inch per two gallons. Also dosen't the size of Fuge play into that as well as types of fish? I have numerous in my tank and have never had any issues. I feed numerous frozen foods as well as flake and live phyto and brine. I have a 3200 gallon per hour turn over.

[ChaosReefer]

ya know, although it is true that stocking levels for salt is a little stricter than fresh, it aint that much stricter, in fact i would go so far too say that most peoples tanks are understocked(which isnt necissarily a bad thing, i mean seriously some of you people go so far as to keep 2 4 inch fish in a 55 gallon tank, you do know that the rule of thumb is 1 inch for 2 gallons right? You also know that this doesnt always make sense since a 4" lionfish will make a much greater amount of waste then 4 1 inch damsels right? Although i would have to agree with you on fishykids tank, a couple of those fish get too big and too aggro to be kept together, and some dont even belong in reefs!!!

[blstravler]

I always wonder why people try to estimate how many fish are to many fish for a tank. I have a 120 reef w/ tons of rock a massive skimmer and major water movement in the tank and all of my SPS (SPS only tank) including all of my fish are fine. By anyones thoughts I have a lot of fish-

7 anthias (various types, 2 pairs 1 threesome)
1 Black Tang
1 Purple Tang
4 green chromis
1 mandarin
1 Juv emperator
1 Flame angle
1 maroon clown


People tell me I shouldn't have tangs in my 120 b/c it's only 4 feet long and tangs need a tank that is 6 feet long? I've had both of my tangs for almost 5 years now, actually I've had the purple for 7 years. No ich no nothing. I have a 180 that I maintain for my parents and there tangs are just as healthy as mine.

My anthias eat like pigs and have been around for 4 years. in that time I have had several spawning events.

I havent' lost a fish or a coral in 3 years.

I have never had a problem with water quality in fact I only do water changes twice a year, I know what you are thinkng "that's crazy" I've been doing this for 7 years on this tank, and I'm not going to make a change any time soon.

With all of this people say I don't know what I am doing, even though I have been in the hobby for about 14 years now. They tell me that I am cruel for having that many fish.

So b/c I have had nothing less then major success with the amount of fish in my tank does that mean because everyone "says" what I am doing is wrong that it is wrong, no it doesn't. What it does mean is that I am carefull and take good care of my tank and after many years in this hobby I have developed my own opinions and my own ways of dealing with things. So before we target people for doing things that we don't agree with for what ever reason that is doesn't mean it is wrong.

Maybe instead we should look at what other people do that have success in keeping large amounts of fish in their tanks and pass that along to people as well as warn them about what can go wrong if they keep a large amount of fish without the proper care and effort.

[leebca]

The 'why' has always been an easy question for me. . .We measure the fish to get a handle on the bio-load. Then we see if we have enough bio-filtration to handle the bio-load. About the only terms commonly used are: inches of fish/some number of gallons; or more technically, mass of fish/bio-filtration capacity.

For me, the concept of the limit to the number of fish falls into a few categories[list=1][*]territory/aggression[*]swim space[*]level of shyness; and[*]biological/chemical support[/list=1]

I have overstocked my aquariums in the past. I learned that:
1. when overstocked, most fish give up their territorial nature and their too confused as to who to be aggressive with, because another fish will be coming by in another second anyway;
2. we can't provide enough swim space anyway---our tanks are smaller than a whole reef;
3. shy fishes need hiding places and need to be out of the direct sight of assertive or aggressive fishes at least part of the time and when they want to; and
4. I have to provide too much biological/chemical support. There must an abundance of waste-handling bacteria as well as means to maintain the optimum oxygen content in the water. Gas exchange at the water's surface must be facilitated. Water chemistry needs close attention and maintained. This last category is the time consumer. The system has to be maintained. There's no, 'I'll get to it next month' kind of maintenance.

Are we being cruel to our fish pets? Sure. We've taken them out of their normal environment and to get them to our tanks, we've killed more than 60% of those captured.

Regarding inches to gallons for SW fishes: I've read everything from 1" to 2 gallons; on up to 1" to 10 gallons. Seems like a real science to me!

What's important are, I think, and what I watch out for, are listed above.

For those new to the hobby, I would recommend standing by the conservative guidance. When you have a thorough knowledge, understanding, and control over your system then I recommend you follow your conscious and the amount of time you want to put into the hobby.

[juthunter]

Is this to much for a 135
1. Hippo Tang
2. Kole Tang
3. Yellow Tang
4. Niger Trigger
5. Lawnmower Blenny
6. 3 Chromis
7. Pair of Oscellaris Clowns
8. Snowflake Eel
9. 2 Fiji Damsels
10. Halfmoon Damsel
11. Spotted Puffer
12. Coral beauty.
This tank is a FOWLR and will no future planning for a reef.

I am upgrading to a 240 in the next few months and only plan on putting in a Juv. Emperor Angel, and getting rid of my snowflake and getting a skunk cleaner shrimp.
Thanks.

[blstravler]

The only problem I have with the list of fish is the eel, they do tend to put off a large amount of waste not to mention they eat other fish. Also-

What type of skimmer do you run?

Do you have a big clean up crew?

Do you have good water movement in your tank (return pump and wave maker) ?

Keeping your tank "clean" is what you need to be worried about.

I have a lot of fish in my 120 but I have dozens upon dozens of hermits and snails, 3 skunk cleaner shrimp, also a few stars. I also have a skimme rated for a tank 3 times the size of mine, a wave maker that controls 7 maxi jet 1200's in my tank. I also have a refug with lots of macro algea in it; something you might want to consider as well.

How long has your tank been running qith that amounf of fish for?

[juthunter]

Currently I am not running a skimmer but i am chaning 20 percent weekly, i also have moderate flow with 4 1200's going, i have 200 snails. I also have a 29 gallon refugium.

[Nanook]

Originally posted by leebca
The 'why' has always been an easy question for me. . .We measure the fish to get a handle on the bio-load. Then we see if we have enough bio-filtration to handle the bio-load. About the only terms commonly used are: inches of fish/some number of gallons; or more technically, mass of fish/bio-filtration capacity.

For me, the concept of the limit to the number of fish falls into a few categories[list=1][*]territory/aggression[*]swim space[*]level of shyness; and[*]biological/chemical support[/list=1]

I have overstocked my aquariums in the past. I learned that:
1. when overstocked, most fish give up their territorial nature and their too confused as to who to be aggressive with, because another fish will be coming by in another second anyway;
2. we can't provide enough swim space anyway---our tanks are smaller than a whole reef;
3. shy fishes need hiding places and need to be out of the direct sight of assertive or aggressive fishes at least part of the time and when they want to; and
4. I have to provide too much biological/chemical support. There must an abundance of waste-handling bacteria as well as means to maintain the optimum oxygen content in the water. Gas exchange at the water's surface must be facilitated. Water chemistry needs close attention and maintained. This last category is the time consumer. The system has to be maintained. There's no, 'I'll get to it next month' kind of maintenance.

Are we being cruel to our fish pets? Sure. We've taken them out of their normal environment and to get them to our tanks, we've killed more than 60% of those captured.

Regarding inches to gallons for SW fishes: I've read everything from 1" to 2 gallons; on up to 1" to 10 gallons. Seems like a real science to me!

What's important are, I think, and what I watch out for, are listed above.

For those new to the hobby, I would recommend standing by the conservative guidance. When you have a thorough knowledge, understanding, and control over your system then I recommend you follow your conscious and the amount of time you want to put into the hobby.

Well said!!!

Dave

[shawnaus17]

in my 55 gal i have 2 tomato clowns and 1 regal tang and 1 three stripe damsel and 1 royal gramma i had them in for two years and everyone is fine