How do you know if you have too many fish?

Stew07

New Member
I am new to the hobby and this forum so I thought I would toss out a question I have been thinking about. I have a 20 gallon Innovative Marine. I have a Kessil A360 and a MP 10 with the filter media baskets it comes with. The fish I have are a yellow goby, royal gramma, purple fire fish, and a yellow coris wrasse (it is very small) I am told I am at my limit? If I go to a 40 gallon how many more fish can I have? And lastly, can I have a dwarf angel in a 40?
 

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Too many fish? The question we all ride the line on. I look at it like this. You can have 3 fish if one is nasty as hell u have 2 too many. Now if u have 10 fish, with no aggression, good water quality, ect your doing fine. Yes a dwarf can go in a 40.
Good tank maintenance, quality live rock , and peaceful inhabitants can help you extend your tanks limits. For beginners it is FAR easier tho to under stock.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

LOL, When it comes to saltwater fish...depending on the fish you select, you might only be able to keep only one fish in a 100g tank. A Dwarf angelfish would be prefect for a 40g to go along with what you already have. Then IMO you would be at your limit for the 40g. Saltwater fish are not like keeping freshwater ones (inch per fish kind of thinking). SW critters are extremely territorial. They need their space, otherwise they get aggressive, and just feeling cramped can make them sick.

When it comes to a saltwater tank, even a 55g is really small and narrow, a 75g is a little better...I would suggest that you go for a 90g. It is a 4ft tank, and doesn't take up much more space then a 55g. The equipment you would use on a 40g breeder thru to the 90g are all the same, since they are all 4ft tanks. The size of the lights, the power heads, even the filtration of choice. The only difference would be that you need more water, rock and sand.
 

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Side note. How do u like your yellow coris? I have had my eye on one at a lfs for a few wks. Peaceful?
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum, Stew! I agree with flower... why stop at 40? If you're new to the hobby, it's much easier to keep a big tank than a nano tank (like your 20G). Water parameters stay more stabile in a large tank, and small tanks can go sour really fast. Nano tanks are typically recommended for the advanced/expert hobbyists. If you have success with it long-term, I congratulate you. Not only do bigger tanks give you more time to catch problems and correct them before they become catastrophic, they also give you the option of adding a greater diversity of fish, invertebrates, and corals. If you go with a 40B, you'll be surprised at how limited you are when it comes to stocking fish. It's actually smaller than most people realize. My wife has a 40B, and it has 6 fish in it. I could have put more small fish in (just a few more) if it weren't for the adult saddleback clownfish that didn't want to behave in the 125G. My point is that even a 40 gallon tank will reach maximum capacity quicker than you think... especially if/when the coris reaches it's adult size of 4"-5". They're typically recommended for 50 gallon tanks or larger. Even if for no other reason, you should go large just for the coris...
 
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