I have a 13.5 Fluval that has been running for 2 years, this week. I have an ocellaris, six line wrasse, and a cardinal. The cardinal was added about a year ago and never had any problems with aggression and my fish all hang around eachother (no sticking to certain parts of the tank). I have been really wanting to add a small goby or a firefish but would that be pushing it? Also the clown and cardinal are pretty much grown and won't be getting much bigger.
Fluval 13.5 Fish stocking
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- Thread starter Mjhatley
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I have only one clown in my 13.5 and feel like anything else is too much.
Sharkbait19
10K Club member
Depends on what your water change rate is. I have a clown, gramma, aurora goby in mine, and a firefish in quarantine. I think it helps that gobies produce little waste.
In your case, I’d be worried about a new addition causing the 6 line to snap.
Kan123
Active Member
Honestly based on stocking I think you’d be okay adding another - I know I’m planning to have 5 fish in my fluval 13.5.
I’d be worried about the aggression from the six line more than anything
I’d be worried about the aggression from the six line more than anything
Sharkbait19
10K Club member
Kan123
Active Member
Yeah I do no water change and have undetectable nitrates and phosphates. Hence why I got a mandarin goby, I don’t feel bad increasing feeding to get it frozen cyclops.
that drastic of water change might actually be less stable for your system? You’re changing the environment 40% every 2 weeks.
Sharkbait19
10K Club member
I do 30% every 2 weeks, as w/c day approaches, my frogspawns close up a bit to tell me they want a water change. Not to mention that’s the cutoff for when the glass starts to be too covered in algae.
jfoahs04
Well-Known Member
Same here. I have a single DaVinci clown, a tailspot blenny, and an orchid dottyback in my EVO. I wouldn't add another mostly because the dotty will likely be problematic with a newcomer in the small space. But I think the bioload could handle it (I do ~5 gallons weekly).
Good husbandry in this little tank can keep the water stable even with a heavy load, but there's only so much square footage and that can cause stress or aggression depending on the fish.
Kan123
Active Member
Interesting, I believe algae will be on the glass anyways. Nutrient are undetectable but clean my glass once a week. Pretty interesting how your frogspawn reacts like that.
Sharkbait19
10K Club member
May be more coincidence than anything, but I guess there is just some chemical change that I don’t check that is fixed in a water change.
I agree there is no way to stop algae on the glass, it’s really just about keeping it from blocking my view of the tank.
Sharkbait19
10K Club member
Not currently
I've been told that by a lot of people but I've been this routine for my nano for 2 years now and I've never had a problem. Corals all happy and grow like crazy, and have had the same snails and hermits for the 2 years as well. I feed a lot and do reef roids so maybe that's why. My 75 isn't even as stable as this tank haha.
jfoahs04
Well-Known Member
I do about 5 gallons per week in my 13.5 EVO and it's also fine. The primary benefits are minimal fluctuations in calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium (so minimal dosing), and more "stuff" in the water for my fish/coral to feed on (I use natural seawater I collect myself). I do tend to overfeed (intentionally), so I think that helps balance things out - I aim for measurable, but low po3 and no3. If you're doing once every 2 weeks, I imagine you're fine.
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