Tank capacity

[debster]

I'm still in the process of making up my mind if I want to convert my 72G bowfront from a freshwater to a saltwater. Our biggest issue is quantity as our family likes to watch the fish swim and would like to have as many as possible without running into an overstocking problem. How many clownfish can we eventually have? We want a clownfish only tank, with the exception of any algae/bottom feeders that we may need as well.
Thanks for any advice =)
Debi

 

[richard rendos]

That depends on what kind of clown. You can get a lot of perculas in a 72 gallon tank, but only 1 or 2 maroons or tomatos. The aggresiveness is a huge factor here.

 

[debster]

We dont want any fish that are semi-aggressive or aggressive so any suggestions you may have would be appreciated, and please let us know what is the quantity we would be able to keep without overstocking.
Our goal is to create a tank with a lot of color variation and would prefer a full looking tank, rather than a couple of large fish. We previously had mixed African Cichlids and liked the large number and color variations we had, but their aggressiveness toward each other didn't make it suitable for us.
Thanks for any advice
Debi =)

 

[swilbs83]

If you like the look of small, peaceful schooling fish...Percula clowns/false percula clowns will work, you can have a school of blue-green reef chromis, a school of bangai cardinal fish, or firefish......All of these are really peaceful fish and are viewable all of the time (firefish hide sometimes, but are out for most of the day, at least mine is)...........5 percula clowns, 4 blue-green reef chromis, and a few firefish(purple or regular) would give you alot of coloration and movement in that tank and very little agression.....

 

[debster]

Thank you Swilbs. Are you saying though that I can only have approximately 10 fish total? Are any of the fish you mentioned algae and bottom feeders? If not, what type of fish should I get to cover the algae and bottom feeder issue?
Thanks again.
Debi =)

 

[swilbs83]

well...the general rule of thumb is one gallon per 3-5 inches of adult fish....false percula clowns get to 3.5 inches...true percula clowns are a little smaller.....Blue-green reef chromis get to about 2.5-3 inches (some get largerl, but most stay small), the firefish and bangai cardinals are all about the same size...so basically all of these fish stay pretty much the same size..lol.....so yes I would say that about 10 of any mixture of these kind of fish would be about max for you, give or take one...
None of them eat algae and spend all of their time swimming around.....However, that's what "clean up crews" are for
blue leg hermits, red leg hermits, astrea snails, mexican turbo snails, will take care of your algae problem and you can have pretty much as many as you want in addition to your fish......Have you looked at the purple firefish, reef chromis, or bangai cardinals yet? have you seen any other type of fish you like besides the clowns?

 

[barry769]

well...the general rule of thumb is one gallon per 3-5 inches of adult fish....
Or one inch of adult fish per 3-5gallons....

 

[swilbs83]

blah i got them switched around...damn thing is a tongue twister...but yes 1 inch per 3-5gallons is what i meant

 

[von_rahvin]

sea cucumbers are also great additions to a clean up crew.