Am I maxed out?

L

luvtangs

Guest
Here's what I have in my 60 gallon. I want to know I can add anything else...
-yellow tang (1 1/2 inch)
-kole tang (1 1/2 inch)
-6 line wrasse (2 inches)
-purple pseudechromis (1 1/2 inch)
-perc clown (1 inch)
- neon gobbie (not even an inch)
I want something BLUE, any ideas on a nice BLUE fish?
 

jmick

Active Member
How about a blue background because your tank is overstocked with the two tangs (they may be small now but they will be large fish before you know it).
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by luvtangs
Here's what I have in my 60 gallon. I want to know I can add anything else...
-yellow tang (1 1/2 inch)
-kole tang (1 1/2 inch)
-6 line wrasse (2 inches)
-purple pseudechromis (1 1/2 inch)
-perc clown (1 inch)
- neon gobbie (not even an inch)
I want something BLUE, any ideas on a nice BLUE fish?
Another Neon Goby.
 
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luvtangs

Guest
I'd like something a little bigger than a neon goby. Any ideas?
 
S

serra

Guest
Suggestions: a bigger tank. The standard stocking recommendations are 1 inch of fish for 5 gallons. That is with good filtration and good water maintenance. Research the adult size of your fish and you will be able to answer your own question.
The greatest reward of keeping fish is watching them grow, thrive and living into old age. It is easy to throw a tank together...the skill comes in keeping the fish healthy and happy.
The only thing learned by spoon feeding information is the size of the spoon.
 

drea

Active Member
just keep up w. it and the fish will be fine...... too many stories out there......
my friends dad has a sialfin in a 30 galoon for over 10 yrs now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just make sure they look happy and not too much crowding with rocks and stuff..... i def would not add anything else though
 

aw2

Active Member
Originally Posted by drea
my friends dad has a sialfin in a 30 galoon for over 10 yrs now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just make sure they look happy and not too much crowding with rocks and stuff..... i def would not add anything else though

If that's true then the fish is not healthy and that size tank has almost certainly stunted it's growth.
There's no possible way, what-so-ever, that a Sailfin can be in a 30gal tank and be healthy, ESPECIALLY for that long.
 

drea

Active Member
so then why is it alive? ( don't get me wrong, i would never do that, but there are people on here scared to put 4 fish in a 175!!!!!!!!!!!!)
 
S

serra

Guest
Being kept alive is not always a good thing. I could be kept alive in a little room for years but no thanks. Dogs are kept in cages for their entire life and used as breeding stock. It all boils down to quality of life.
When we take a fish into our home, it should be with the understanding that we will provide the best environment, outside of the ocean, that is possible. We are taking over another creature's life and well-being. We should do this responsibly and with respect for their lives. This is the least we can do for our pets who give us so much enjoyment.
Fish are pets. Members of my little fishy family. I treat them humanely in all aspects including their home.
Climbing down off my soap box now...
 

danedodger

Member
Gotta go with some of the opinions expressed already. You're already over the max, IMO. I think Bang may've been joking about the neon. My take on it (forgive me and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Bang, as I wouldn't want to put words in anyone's mouth) is Bang was saying that with being overstocked as your fish grow and a tang's propensity to develop ich you would need another neon goby just to keep up with the ich outbreaks!
And about the sailfin too. It may SURVIVE in a 30 gallon but it's certainly never going to THRIVE! It's cruel, IMO. When it reaches it's max size (if it ever does and doesn't die first) the poor thing will barely be able to turn around much less really actively fly from one end of the tank to the other as tangs like to do. A fish can get used to some REALLY awful conditions as long as they happen gradually and slowly but it doesn't make it right. Not to mention that there's an exception to every rule. There are a few posts on here in the past where people don't do water changes, have readings off the charts, and their fish continue to live. Would any of us say that because of those few exceptions it's ok to never do water changes as long as the fish live through it? Not me. Children survive with being brutally beaten every day for years. Damsels survive the cycling process very often the whole while tortured while the ammonia burns their gills. Cockatoos survive not having their mental and emotional needs met to the point that they desperately mutilate themselves. It's still cruel.
I'm not the least bit scared to put fish in a tank and my opinion is not even as conservative as some. I think one inch per 5 gallons is the safest bet although I prefer to use that measurement for keeping fish in a reef tank and for fish only will go a tad bit more fish. No opinion on these "inches per whatever rules" replaces very carefully researching the max size and such of every single animal you consider before buying and having the patience to stock a little at a time though. These "rules" are just crude starting points, people's opinions, and not to be taken to their literal extreme.
 

jmick

Active Member
I would not recommend a Blue Linckia Star. Generally speaking, they have a very high mortality rate due to trauma from collecting, shipping and handling and often don’t live very long in captivity. They also require large established reefs.
 

bang guy

Moderator
I can believe someone could keep a Sailfin in a 30 gallon for 10 years. That doesn't mean that it's always going to work or even occationally going to work. It's a fluke. Also keep in mind that these fish should live for 50 - 60 years and the one in the 30 has the odds severly stacked against it. A fwe years ago someone dove off of Niagara falls with nothing but street clothes. He survived unhurt. Does that mean it's safe because one person did it without a scratch? I would put good money on any Tang dying of stress long before 10 years in a 30 gallon tank. It will fail 99% of the time.
If you want to be frustrated in this hobby and have animals die on you then overstocking is the best way to accomplish that. If you don't want fish to live long then that's fine but it's not something I'm going to recommend and anyone that recommends that you overstock your tank is trying to sentence your fish to a short miserable life.
 

fixed

Member
I'm not disputing what you're saying, but do we really know that fish are "stressed" from being around too many others, or from living in a tank 4 feet long instead of 7 feet? Has anyone really done a scientific study on whether a fish would live 30 years or 50 years, based upon its tank and tank mates? Sometimes it seems that might be engaging in a good deal of anthropomorphism, rather than scientific fact. Too often we might project how we might feel upon our fish, which may not be accurate. I'm not saying be inhumane, but what constitutes being inhumane might be subject to a great deal of debate, largely centered around unproven facts.
 
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