How many fish?

[littlefishy]

Hi, I am just getting my tank going and would like some advice as to how many fish I can put in (I want to keep fish and corals) as I've had different advice from the LFS's here. I have a 111G (UK) (133USG) tank.
Thanks

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF littlefishy! Most people go on 1-2 inch of fish per gal. I personally go for a lot less. It also depends on the type of fish as some fish (especially predatory fish) produce a lot more waste than other fish of the same size. Your filtration in terms of LR, skimmer etc, must be able to support the bio-load. Just a few thoughts...Hope you enjoy it here and I'm sure the others will chime in soon

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

I agree with Krish. The number of fish you want, will partly depend on the species of fish, and your goals for the tank. As an example, in my 120 US gallon tank, I have 6 fish (2 clowns, 1 6line wrasse, 2 anthias, 1 rabbitfish, 1 tang). I would probably only add one more fish in the mix (depending on mature size, maybe 2). I also don't want a high bioload. 2 of my fish will be big, and I want to give everyone a good territory to play in.

What are you thinking about for the tank? Maybe if we start there with fish you like, we can see if they will be compatible with what you want to do. Also, tell us about your filtration (skimmer, live rock, substrate, etc).

 

[Bouke]

my first year starting out i was still young 14. i had a 30 gl fish only tank and unresponsiablly on my part i had at one time about 19 fish in it. they seemed to do ok for having that many fish, but i would never do it again. when my velvet influenza struck I lost almost all of them it is times like that that i feel like quitting but i get back up and start again this time knowing what not to do.

 

[Sk8r]

I have a 52 gallon, with corals. I used to have (pre-move) a 100 gallon with fish, some fair-sized, and a lot of chasing. When I set up this one, I went to a different model of reefing---I get only nano-fish. I have 2 firefish, a chromis, a mandarin, a yellow watchman goby, and a rainford goby (court jester goby). Nobody jumps. Everybody has plenty of room for territory: my only persistently nipped fin is the mandarin's tail---a daily dispute for passage through the cave the ywg claims as his 'house'. The mandarin completely ignores his threats, and no real damage done. And they can be quite personable, the little match-stick fish: the rainford goby in particular can be quite shy, but in this company is one of the more forward and visible fish. I kind of like to see the fish I have in the tank.

Another virtue: everyone in there but the chromis hunts isopods, and if I need to leave the tank, I simply stock it heavily and know that most everyone is fed quite well. The chromis has never seemed to lose weight, either, so I suspect he's getting some amphipods on the side.

 

[MCary]

Krish, the rule is silly because it doesn't really apply, but for salt water its 1 inch per 4 gallons.

 

[4251cpd]

Krish, the rule is silly because it doesn't really apply, but for salt water its 1 inch per 4 gallons.

Soooooooooooo, in spite of what the granddaddy of marine aquariums (B.Fenner) has said what Krish has echoed, you are now the be all end all. I'd appreciate you enlightening me on this subject. It all comes down to can your system handle the bioload? Is there enough space to let the fish exhibit it's natural behavior? Many factors come into play, but the "rule" gives us a guide to what we can and cannot have in our tanks. It's kinda crappy to dismiss someone's advice out of hand just because you do not agree with it.

 

[jetaero]

hmm... I would say 1" per 10 gallons...

-Josh-

 

[Krish]

Krish, the rule is silly because it doesn't really apply, but for salt water its 1 inch per 4 gallons.

Well, if you read what I posted I said " Most people go on 1-2 inch per gal, but I personally go fo a lot less" It's a personal opinion if you ask me, and I guess guidlines are set up for us to give us some idea of what to shoot for. 1 inch per gal of goby is not the same as 1 inch per gal of trigger fish...

 

[morgan]

i have 9 fish in a 50 gal
1 sicissor tail goby 1 mandrin 2 black O's clowns 1 sailfin tang 1 lawnmower blenny 1 blue/yellow damsel 1 green clown goby the last is a maroon clown i had to but in because iwas getting smahed by the larger one i have various corals and have 0 nitrates and 0.05 phosphate everyone is quiet happy
the rule of thumb i here alot is 1 fish per 30liters but all fish are differnt
the only big fish is the tang
the only other thing is mixing the clowns but they are at differnt sides of the tanks with there own anenomes maroon has bubble tip and Os have 2 heriticus one a crispa and the others unknown

 

[4251cpd]

i have 9 fish in a 50 gal
1 sicissor tail goby 1 mandrin 2 black O's clowns 1 sailfin tang 1 lawnmower blenny 1 blue/yellow damsel 1 green clown goby the last is a maroon clown i had to but in because iwas getting smahed by the larger one i have various corals and have 0 nitrates and 0.05 phosphate everyone is quiet happy
the rule of thumb i here alot is 1 fish per 30liters but all fish are differnt
the only big fish is the tang
the only other thing is mixing the clowns but they are at differnt sides of the tanks with there own anenomes maroon has bubble tip and Os have 2 heriticus one a crispa and the others unknown

Morgan are you feeding minimumally or what kind of filtration method are you using for this system, Thanks, Mike.

 

[Little Luey]

IMO that rule is very misleading. A 10" blue tang will create more poop and have more room needs than 10 -1" yellow clown gobies. The one thing you need to realize is that if you overstock your tank you have lees room for error. Meaning if something is going to go bad, it will happen a lot faster than in a tank with less livestock. I would say be conservative when you stock it. Make a list of fish you think you want and let us see it so we can help you out, the order in which you add the fish is important, also swiming room and competability.