General rule of thumb for maximum allowed fish?

srothenberg

Member
What is the general rule of thumb for the max amount of marine fish allowed in a single tank? All my fish are babies right now with the biggest at probably 2" I have a 75g and a soon to be 20g sump. Besides my CUC and corals, here's my fish:
False Perc Clown
Yellow Tang
Blue Hippo Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Blue Throat Trigger
Flame Angel
Right now they are all real small. I know I'll have to give some of them up or upgrade tanks, but right now I've got good water quality and no aggression problems. So what is the max amount of fish people keep? As long as the water stays clean and they all get along?
 
C

curve

Guest
Those tangs will outgrow that tank so fast but you should be fine right now.
 

blue78vette

Member
A lot of people on all message boards claim to be experts or tell you things that they believe are true, and some are here is what I have heard and read in books but I'm no expert
Tangs usally need a very large tank but of course what specific tang very much matters, powder blue and brown grow very large and do need a large tank.
As far as the other fish it really matters what each fishes "bio load" is. My reccomendation is find a good LFS and some one that isn't just trying to seel you something and ask before you buy. Trail and error is really the only way to really know though, every fish is diffrent.
 

spanko

Active Member
1. This fishes natural habitat, and your ability to mimc it, should be the first consideration.
2. The available biofiltration in your tank and its ability to handle the bioload you introduce.
3. The aggressiveness, gentleness of the species you are putting together.
4. The full grown size of the fish you are considering and your ability to move it or upgrade the tank prior to the fish getting stressed in too small of an environment.
I think these are the considerations that need to be thought about prior to stocking any tank. There really is no rule of thumb to go by IMO.
 

m0nk

Active Member
There is no rule of thumb, bioload and adult size need to be considered. Your tangs won't survive long in that tank, and it might not be a good idea to keep them in there currently even if they are small. Powder and hippo tangs are more susceptible to HLLE and ich if they get stressed, and that could happen in that size tank no matter how small the fish currently are; and in fact, juvenile tangs are much more sensitive and could develop something that's harder to recover from. Especially with there being 3 total tangs, you'll have trouble with open swimming and grazing, not to mention the territorial issues between the yellow and powder blue. My recommendation is to return them to the fish store and get more appropriate sized fish for your 75, or upgrade now.
As for the trigger, I can't speak specifically to that because I've never had one, but my understanding is that they're aggressive and might cause trouble for your other fish over time. Maybe someone else can chime in there.
 

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2828201
1. This fishes natural habitat, and your ability to mimc it, should be the first consideration.
2. The available biofiltration in your tank and its ability to handle the bioload you introduce.
3. The aggressiveness, gentleness of the species you are putting together.
4. The full grown size of the fish you are considering and your ability to move it or upgrade the tank prior to the fish getting stressed in too small of an environment.
I think these are the considerations that need to be thought about prior to stocking any tank. There really is no rule of thumb to go by IMO.
+10... I have often heard 1" of fish per 5 gals of water... IMO that is almost as vauge as using watts per gallon to measure lighting for corals and other inverts. A 6" pipe fish has no where near the bio load a 6" blue hippo tang has... so that squashes that theory... Spanko hit the nail on the head IMO.
 

mcbdz

Active Member
I agree with spanko, perfect dark, and monk.

The best thing is to plan for the adult fish, nomatter what size it is when you buy it.
 

wangotango

Active Member
Originally Posted by trouble93
http:///forum/post/2828922
+1 Someone please tell me what Imo means.
IMO = In My Opinion
No point in repeating, but you have to look at adult sizes, behaviour, aggression, diet, etc. ex) Tangs not only get big, but need a lot of swimming space, rock to graze on, and they poop a lot. Juvenile tang in a small tank will work, but not as an adult.
-Justin
 
First of all, everyone on this site thinks you need a tank the size of the ocean to keep a tang, while I agree that they are super swimmers and voracious algae eaters and most of them get large, it does take a very long time for one to grow so large that a 75 gallon or larger tank could not support them. I have a very nice 75 gallon reef tank and I also have 3 tangs in it, a blue hippo, a sailfin, and a kole tang, along with these I have a watchman goby, occelaris clown, starry blenny, mandarin goby, neon goby, 2 cleaner shrimp, 150 nas. snails and multiple corals. I have never had a problem going on for over a year now, I do 10-15 gallon water changes every other weekend, and have very consistent levels. Keep doing what makes you happy and keeps your tank healthy and enjoy the hobby.
 
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