how to figure fish capicity per tank?

[vic1]

I know less is usually better but what is the best way to determine the amt of inches of fish per gallon. I have a 40 gal. show tank. What are the rules on how many fish per gallon to keep it safe and everybody happy. Right now I have a Flame Angel, maroon clown, dragon wrasse, yellow coris wrasse, banded coral shrimp, feather duster, 4 small hermit crabs, and a hawk, all are very small, except for the Flame. I also have about 30 lbs of live rock. After looking at this I feel I might be over already, What do you think?

 

[beth]

Ok, with what you got in there now, I'd say you are AT CAPACITY, and probably over capacity at this point.
The old "per inch-gallon" method used in the freshwater hobby does not apply to marines. Your best bet would be to study up a bit on compatibility, space requirements, growth expendency, etc of each fish in your tank, and base your judgement as to "how many" on that, rather than trying to follow a per-gallon ratio....and, at this point, my opinion is that you are at capacity with what you can put in your tank.
[This message has been edited by beth (edited 05-26-2000).]