how many fish can you put in a tank

[Drexgly]

How many fish would you suggest to keep in a 100 gallon fish tank so you dont over populate? and how much live rock do you need.

[kau_cinta_ku]

i would put between 1-2lbs per gallon of LR in a tank for good filtration. however how many fish all depends on what kind of fish and their needs.

[JENnKerry]

And their adult size.

[TKO]

I think I was reading on here somewhere that a general rule of thumb for stocking a tank with fish was something like 1" per 5gal of water, but then I know several people who stock much more than that.
Also would depend on type of filtering used. As JENnKerry stated be sure to consider the adult size if you buy them while small.

[milhouse74]

Skimmer or no skimmer will make a difference in water quality as well with fish, allowing you to keep slightly more if you have one.

[Clayman]

In my 100 gallon I have 125Lbs in the display and another 30Lbs in my sump. As for fish it all depends some are dirty than others so the loads applied by some fishes are greater than others. If you have some ideas and give us a fish list and we can let you know if it will work.

[Drexgly]

my buddy and I have a good idea of what we want but we'll put a list together for you. clayman I saw your setup with the hatian lv that is sweet is the bridge in the center natural or did you consruct that out of seperate peices.

[JENnKerry]

Originally posted by milhouse74
Skimmer or no skimmer will make a difference in water quality as well with fish, allowing you to keep slightly more if you have one.

Plus if you have a sump, that extra water volume will play a big role.

[Drexgly]

fish
1 purple tang,1 flame angel, 2 royal gramas, 1 bi colored blenny, 1 red sea raccoon butterfly, 2 fire clowns, 1 purple pseudochromis, 1 yellow watchman goby, 1 manderin dragonet-psychedelic, 3 blue hippo tangs, 1 sixlined wrasse, 1 four lined wrasse, 1 yellow wrasse, 1 purple lobster, 2 fire shrimp, 25 turbo astrea snails,
corals
1 deep sea yellow gorgonian, 1 greecn favits, 1 frog spawn coral, 1 mushroom polyp, 1 green ricordea, 1 plate green, 1 sun coral triple headed, 1 zoos green eye, 1 green maze brain, 1 purple and green plate coral, 1 red lobo phyllia, 1 purple and green bullseye mushroom,
anemone
1 purple tiped sebee anemone(heteractis cripsa)
clams
1 tridacna-crocea


advize me on what will live in peice with each other and what wont whats easy to keep alive and what isn't my tank I got is 180 gallons and in my opinion this is to much to put in a 180 I need to get this list down to something that will work thanx to those who direct me.

[Teremei]

I'll just tackle your fish list, because you can keep quite a bit of corals. Corals FEED off of nutrients in the water, fish ADD them. I have a year experience and am upgrading to a 120 (simular in size to yours). . That's way too many fish. .

1 purple tang (no experience with this)
1 flame angel
2 royal gramas (only keep 1, they will kill eachother, good choice)
1 bi colored blenny (just get the gramma instead, same color, prettier)
1 red sea raccoon butterfly (butterflys are for experienced reefers only)
2 fire clowns (this is fine, clownfish pairs are great, but get a more begginer clown like a false percula)
1 purple pseudochromis (pseudos are mean little suckers)
1 yellow watchman goby (decent choice)
1 manderin dragonet-psychedelic (great fish, but not until your tank is 6 months old, and have atleast 100# of live rock)
3 blue hippo tangs (these fish get BIG, maybe ONE)
1 sixlined wrasse (this is an ok fish)
1 four lined wrasse (you should not mix wrasses)
1 yellow wrasse (same as above.

[Teremei]

Let me just follow that up by saying, it's good you come here for advice first. The BEST thing you can do when you first start out is UNDERSTOCK your tank with fish. Add 1 or 2 fish only once a month, and only start with BEGGINER fish, because they are hardier and can withstand worse conditions which begginers usually shove them into. . . With the adjustments I made to your stock list, these are the fish I'd like in a 100g.

1 flame angel
1 royal grama
2 a pair of begginer clowns
1 yellow watchman goby
1 manderin dragonet-psychedelic (wait atleast 6 months)
1 blue hippo tang
1 sixlined wrasse

And even that is "slightly" overstocking a 100 gallon.

EDIT:: Opps, you first said 100 gallon. But my advice still stands, royal gramma and biclor blenny look the same, but the gramma is prettier so just skip the bicolor. You might be ok with 1 hippo tang and 1 purple tang in a 180. But ask the tang experts if those 2 would be ok with eachother. I really wouldn't get any wrasse except the 6 line is a pretty hardy fish. For some color, get a "fairy" wrasse they are very small bioload but are super colorful. Anyway those fish I singled out are what I'D do because I think they are all hardy and I like all those fish.

Oh and if it's a 180, then a nice trio of smaller anthias would be great. Either bartlet's or Dispar. Both get only 3" or so. 1 male and 2 female will keep the male's super colored. I'd like to do a trio myself for my 120 but I'm affraid that's not enough water volume considering the fish I already have will be transfered there.

[psy_chick]

rule of thumb:
freshwater = 1" per gal
saltwater = 1/2" per gal

of course, there are exceptions, but as a general rule this works

[Teremei]

I think 1/2" per gal is probably a little too much. But to each his own, when I first started I thought I wanted to put as many fish as possible, now I like to have more open swimming room and less crowded. I firmly follow someone around 1" of fish per 3 - 5 gal.

[psy_chick]

better too little than too much when it comes to stocking IMO...

[Drexgly]

thanks for the list of fish we will try these fish and see how they work for us.

[Drexgly]

what would say about a pair of clarki clowns good for a beginner or not. and what does IMO suppose to mean.

[AzMandella]

1/2" per gal is not unreasnable if you have the right equipment and enough LR.I have 5 green chromis,2 bl tangs,2 occileris clowns,1 six line wrass,1 manderin,1 orange spt diamond goby in an 80 gal tank with a 30 gal sump with 120 lbs of LR and only a protien skimmmer for filtration and running ozone.I also filled my overflow with bio-balls which not only quiets it down but helps with nitrates.The trick is to stock slowly so the biological filter has time to adjust to each stocking and for nitrafieing bacteria to multiply.

[Clayman]

Yes I made the bridge, I took me about four hours to get it the way I wanted.

This is what I am putting or have in my 100 gallon:

Pair Ocellaris Clowns ( have now )
6 Blue/Green Chromis ( have now )
Royal Gramma ( not yet )
Mandarin ( when tank is ready )
Flame Angel ( not yet )
Firefish ( not yet )
Purple Tang ( not yet )

2 Common Cleaner shrimp ( have now )
2 Fire shrimp ( have now )

2 Fighting Conchs
Brittle Star
Tigertail Cuke
Lots of Various Snails
Some mixed Hermits

Frogspawn
Ricordia
Fungia Plate
Unkown Plate

[Drexgly]

how do you think a purple lobster would fit into the mix. I read they are only dangerous when something is attacking them.