# of fish/gal?

[koranman]

I have read a lot of people who seem to have too many fish in their tanks according to the rule. Please help me if I am off the base on this or not.
I have a 125g with 110 lbs lr 4" ls or at least I put in 4 10 lb. bags of live sand with some argonite sand enough to fill the bottom of the tank to 4"
Americal wet/dry seaclone skimmer and standard skimmer , fluvol 404, an 801, 2-302 powerheads.
5 - 3 stripe damsels 1" ea x 5 = 5"
5 yellow tail blue damsels 1" = 1"
1 yellow tang 3" = 3"
2 percula clowns 2" ea x 2 = 4"
1 maroon clown 4" = 4"
1 huma huma trigger 2" = 2"
1 bicolor pseudochromis 2" = 2"
1 large coralbanded shrimp
Total 21" now in 6 month 30"
If I am figuring right I could have a total of 25" of fish am I over the limit on a FOWLR tank? Can I add more in time or am I done?
Any opinion is great!!!
Koranman

 

[bang guy]

I believe you are WAY over. I use the conservative approach and it has never failed me I use the maximum ADULT size when adding up the inches.
I EXPECT my fish to reach the adult size. I guess if someone expects their fish to die in middle age they should use the middle age size of the fish.

 

[frankl15207]

The inches per gallon is a general rule of thumb. You need to look more at the type of fish and the resulting bioload. You have a lot of active fish there.

 

[stupid_naso]

Wow, that is a lot of fish. I don't see why you want 10 damsels in your tank. They are somewhat aggressive. Right now they're probably not, but as they grow older they'll be more aggressive towards the others, including the other species in the tank.
Ok, about that rule of thumb. I don't believe in it, as simple as that. I used to go with it, but now I have a sebae and a sixline in a ten gallon. If you calculate that, sebae grows to about 3-4 inches, and sixline about the same. 6 inches for 10 gal. Wow that's 3 inch/ 5 gal. And no I don't expect them to die in the middle.
IMO it's better if you watch the stability of your tank, and the happiness of your fish than worrying about some rule. The main reason such a rule exists is the oxygen level and whether your tank can handle the bio-load. As long as you're not overstocking, which you are (sorry), then you're fine. And I see you have a skimmer. Regular water change, no over feeding, then you're fine.
My concern is the yellow tang and trigger. They will eventually (how long is eventually, I dunno) outgrow your tank. However, I am not suggesting that you get rid of them. Why would you? IMO you have the space to keep them. I have a friend who keeps a humu2 trigger in a 40 before, and now 125, for almost a year now. It hasn't grown much, it's not even 5 inches. And she bought it at about 3 inches. You do need to know that your tang, trigger and maroon clown will be the three big fish in your tank. And make sure they don't bully the other.
I do suggest you get rid of the damsels, they're trouble. If you want to get a schooling damsel then get chromis. They are relatively less aggressive, and school together. And they won't fight as they grow older.
I hope this helps...
stupid_naso

 

[ed r]

I think you missed 4" inches of Blue Damsels when you added your current total. That aside, I agree with the comments of the other posters. While currently the fish should be ok in your tank, the adult sizes would be too crowded. Yellow tailed blue damsels only get to about 2+ inches, but the three stripe can be 3+. And all of the damsels can be very aggressive with both other damsels and the other types of fish. I would consider removing the damsels, but it is your tank. You get to or have to live with it. Good luck.

 

[koiman6]

Damsels suck! Chromis are a great choice for cycling. That many damsels would kill any small fish you introduce to the tank. The trigger is not a community fish. I would recommend blennies or gobies to replace those damsels. You might experience problems with the clowns. I would introduce them at the same time to reduce aggression. Gobies such as firefish would be a great addition because they school and you have deep enough sand for them. If you dont put the damsels in you'll be fine on space. The reason you see people with "too many inches" and it works is because they have researched their fish to see who would fit together and also if you have a tank full of fish who swim throughout the tank you wont have as many fish but if you mix the types of fish you can hold a lot more.

 

[koranman]

great responses,
I guess I figured it was too much but we all hate to face reality. I will remove 3 of the 3 stripe and 3 of the yellow tails. I know damsels are territorial but I love them! I figure the trigger can take care of itself and the only ones I worry about is the percula clowns. Anyway good advice y'all. Thank you
K-man

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Dude,
you are no where near the capacity of your tank! You ahve live rock and a wet/dry filter for your tank. This gives you a larger capacity for fish.
Here is what you need to do to keep out of trouble.
Make siure you have three power heads and a cheap air pump - two power heads in one corner - one mid way down and the other pointing up creating waves on the tank top (thus increasing the tank size and oxygenation), the other pwoerhead ion the oppsite corner moving the water back to the two.
Place a cheap air stone in the back of the tank for constant oxygenation.
Make sure you have a good skimmer and alot of critters - hermits, star fish, sally lightfoot/ermald crabs and you can even add more fish to your family.
It's typically 1-2.5" of fish for every gallon - 110 equals 55 inches of fish, just don't over due it.

 

[ed r]

Bruce,
I don't think most of the earlier posts meant to imply that the tank was in immediate jeopardy because of extreme overcrowding. I think those posts indicated that as the fish grew toward adulthood, the tank would not contain a safe/recommended amount of fish. You are welcome to voice your opinion, but it is hard to agree with most of it. Pointing a powerhead toward the surface at an angle is a great idea to increase gas exchange. It does not increase the size of the tank. I didn't know there was anyone now-a-days that recommended using an airstone in either a marine fish only or a reef tank. Also, adding a large cleanup crew adds to the bioload. It does not increase the number of fish you can safely keep. Probably the best reason to keep the tank stocked well below the maximum possible is to maintain a safety margin. If you overfeed, if fish get sick, if the power goes out, if a powerhead dies, etc. These are problems for any tank. If there is a good safety margin, the aquarist will usually get his tank through them with minimal losses. When the tank is maxed out, the odds of a major wipeout get very high. This is my opinion. Some will agree and some may not.

 

[koranman]

ok. What if I use a 15 gal tank and run two powerhead with hoses one feeding into the other. Now I have 15 more gal plus I am adding plants and use it as refugium as well. Lots of air flowing into the 15 for more oxygen and the return into the 125 runs on the top of the water creating more movement on the surface of the 125.
I still think I am going to get rid of 3 yellow tails and 3 3-stripe damsels. Will this be better? I really don't want to get rid of the tang or the trigger.
koranman

 

[striker]

I believe that the bio-load varies with each individual tank and system. The inch per gallon rule was created to give a beginner or novice an guideline to owning a sw fish tank but i think it all depends on the system. For instance a 55 gallon tank with a 10 gallon refugium, skimmer, wet dry, 80lbs of lr and dsb will can handle a larger capacity of fish than a 55 gallon without the extra biological or mechanical filtration. Another thing you have to figure is the compatablility between species, the maturity of a system and eating habits of certain fish. Triggers and Puffers for instance are messy eaters and contribute to a large amount of waste. It is up to the owner of the tank to make a responsible and ethical decision to stock their tank according to the welfare and happiness of their pets. Highly aggressive and territorial fish are another thing to consider when stocking your tank. I'd definitely consider trading in a few of the damsels to make the tank a little less aggressive. You might want to add another fish in the future. Just keep an eye on the fish to see if they are showing signs of stress or fighting over territory. Check water conditions and regular water changes. They should do fine in your 125 gallon with enough places to hide and room to swim.

 

[bang guy]

I keep hearing about bio-load as if that's the only limiting factor. I don't believe it is. I would expect that Tang to show signs of stress if some of the fish are not removed prior to becomming full grown. Removing the 6 Damsels mentioned is a great step in the right direction.
An example of bio-load not being a limiting factor is my tank. I have a 155 gal With 200 pounds of live rock. I do have a heavy bio-load admittedly. I purposely added docile fish so the stress level would be low. I have a 64 square foot Refugium with 2500 pounds of live sand bed. By rights the tank could support over 200 inches of fish if you're only looking at bio-load. I don't know if I could physically fit that many fish in the tank.
IMO Striker is right on. You need to consider the habits of the fish, and their individual requirements. I absolutely adore Clown Gobies. They are extremely docile and don't fit the 1"/5 gal rule. On the other hand a Trigger is a really messy eater and extremely active. I don't think it fits the rule either, probably 1" of trigger/10 gal is more appropriate.
I still believe the 1"/5 gal is a good guideline for a mixed reef tank, but it's just a guideline...