Fully stocked or room for a couple more small-medium sized fish?

[BelieveInBlue]

I was thinking of adding a couple more fish, namely some sort of sleeper goby, leaning towards a diamond sandsifter, and an anthias of some sort, maybe Randall's or Bimaculatus, or dispar but those aren't available at the moment. I'm also considering getting a firefish goby of some kind since my purple disappeared a few months back.

Tank is 90 gallons, with about 100 lbs of live rock. Lots of hiding places and a decent amount of swimming space as well. Tank is about a year old, and doing well. I've lost the odd fish here or there but no major issues fish-wise so far. The fish are doing well and mostly getting along, idk if I want to risk disturbing the balance, but I figured I'd at least ask.

Current stocklist is:
1 Bellus angelfish
1 Squaretail bristletooth tang (jerkface)
1 Melanurus wrasse
1 yellow canary wrasse
1 McCosker's flasher wrasse
1 Lubbock's fairy wrasse (jerkface)
1 dusky fairy wrasse
2 ocellaris clowns
1 flame hawkfish
1 pajama cardinalfish
1 midas blenny
1 chalk bass
3 azure damsels
2 cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp (will get more once my LFS gets more in stock)
1 yellow coral banded shrimp

The bristletooth and the lubbocks can be jerks to new additions but it dies down after a few days and there's nothing more than the occasional flaring/chasing to maintain the pecking order. I could honestly do without the anthias but I would really like a goby to occupy the sandbed since it's mostly bare. What do you guys think? Any input is appreciated.

 

[Lasse]

I have a 80 gallons tank. Its 45 + fish in it. However I have not any angels or tangs. I have a trick when introducing fish. I let the be in my refugium for a week or two before introducing them into the DT. Its help with both intraspecific and Interspecific competition when new fish are introduced. The reason why it works is mostly unknown but - IMO - its helps if the new and old individuals have the same smell and the new have a possibility to adapt to your system without being attacked.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[i cant think]

I was thinking of adding a couple more fish, namely some sort of sleeper goby, leaning towards a diamond sandsifter, and an anthias of some sort, maybe Randall's or Bimaculatus, or dispar but those aren't available at the moment. I'm also considering getting a firefish goby of some kind since my purple disappeared a few months back.

Tank is 90 gallons, with about 100 lbs of live rock. Lots of hiding places and a decent amount of swimming space as well. Tank is about a year old, and doing well. I've lost the odd fish here or there but no major issues fish-wise so far. The fish are doing well and mostly getting along, idk if I want to risk disturbing the balance, but I figured I'd at least ask.

Current stocklist is:
1 Bellus angelfish
1 Squaretail bristletooth tang (jerkface)
1 Melanurus wrasse
1 yellow canary wrasse
1 McCosker's flasher wrasse
1 Lubbock's fairy wrasse (jerkface)
1 dusky fairy wrasse
2 ocellaris clowns
1 flame hawkfish
1 pajama cardinalfish
1 midas blenny
1 chalk bass
3 azure damsels
2 cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp (will get more once my LFS gets more in stock)
1 yellow coral banded shrimp

The bristletooth and the lubbocks can be jerks to new additions but it dies down after a few days and there's nothing more than the occasional flaring/chasing to maintain the pecking order. I could honestly do without the anthias but I would really like a goby to occupy the sandbed since it's mostly bare. What do you guys think? Any input is appreciated.

I have a 90 gallon with a plan for 13-14 fish and I think that’s pushing it. If it was extremely small fish then I would say try it however knowing what fish you’d like to try I wouldn’t risk it. You need to remember the max size of each fish, the Angel, tang, and Melanurus wrasse all get rather large with the rest getting between 3 and 4 inches. You need to remember the most important thing with fish;
Swim room, if you overload a tank with active and large fish it’ll be overcrowded.

Another reason I say no to the goby;
They NEED a good established and deep sand bed. Atleast 2.5” deep and 2 years old, if not older or deeper. I’d try to push the sand bed’s size to 3” if not 3.5” or even 4”. They need this sandbed size as the reason they’re so good at cleaning a sand bed is due to how much of their nutrients actually comes from it. The majority of these fish will also starve in the first six months of being in captivity. With others jumping out for whatever reason (Aggression being the biggest).

 

[PatW]

Your tank seems pretty fully stocked. The thing is if you have good nutrient removal, good husbandry, good temp control, good flow, decent aeration and so on, you might be able to add some more. The more fully stocked the tank, then if you get a disruption, it might lead to a tank crash. I am thinking of something like a loss of power and an increase in tank temperature could easily tip things over.

 

[BelieveInBlue]

Hmm fair points. I'll stand pat for the time being. Maybe I'll try the sump trick with a goby some day but for now I think I'll just leave it. I do have a pretty deep sand bed, between 2 and 2.5 inches, but I'm going to let it mature some more.

 

[Johnz]

I have a 80 gallons tank. Its 45 + fish in it. However I have not any angels or tangs. I have a trick when introducing fish. I let the be in my refugium for a week or two before introducing them into the DT. Its help with both intraspecific and Interspecific competition when new fish are introduced. The reason why it works is mostly unknown but - IMO - its helps if the new and old individuals have the same smell and the new have a possibility to adapt to your system without being attacked.

Sincerely Lasse

45 fish in an 80. That is epic. I need to get more fish.

Everyone will have differing opinions on how many fish you should keep in any given size tank. Some people keep stocking light, others like this mad lad will put 45 fish in an 80 gallon. It all depends on if you system can handle the nutrient export. I say keep adding fish until you're happy or you can't handle the nutrients. When you can't handle the nutrient export, return the last fish you bought and you're there.

 

[Lasse]

The aquarium it's not either a bouillabaisse!



It's also a no regular WC tank and I feed exclusively with frozen feed. A special type of DSB and a mixed reef make this "this mad lad" to "brooke" most of the ten stone bricks of reef keeping.

The fish are chosen with great care so as not to restrict the living space of any of the species involved.

IMO - the numbers are of no concern - its the size of your fish, the behaviour, your type of feeding, amount of hiding space and over all system that matter. I did a recount - its around 50 fish in this aquarium.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[BelieveInBlue]

The aquarium it's not either a bouillabaisse!



It's also a no regular WC tank and I feed exclusively with frozen feed. A special type of DSB and a mixed reef make this "this mad lad" to "brooke" most of the ten stone bricks of reef keeping.

The fish are chosen with great care so as not to restrict the living space of any of the species involved.

IMO - the numbers are of no concern - its the size of your fish, the behaviour, your type of feeding, amount of hiding space and over all system that matter. I did a recount - its around 50 fish in this aquarium.

Sincerely Lasse

Holy hell. Could I get a list of all the fish? That sounds crazy, but it looks like a majority are quite small so maybe that's why?

 

[i cant think]

The aquarium it's not either a bouillabaisse!



It's also a no regular WC tank and I feed exclusively with frozen feed. A special type of DSB and a mixed reef make this "this mad lad" to "brooke" most of the ten stone bricks of reef keeping.

The fish are chosen with great care so as not to restrict the living space of any of the species involved.

IMO - the numbers are of no concern - its the size of your fish, the behaviour, your type of feeding, amount of hiding space and over all system that matter. I did a recount - its around 50 fish in this aquarium.

Sincerely Lasse

I totally agree, I knew you had a lot but didn’t know it was that many. Would absolutely love a list of them all (Scientific & Common if possible).

 

[BelieveInBlue]

45 fish in an 80. That is epic. I need to get more fish.

Everyone will have differing opinions on how many fish you should keep in any given size tank. Some people keep stocking light, others like this mad lad will put 45 fish in an 80 gallon. It all depends on if you system can handle the nutrient export. I say keep adding fish until you're happy or you can't handle the nutrients. When you can't handle the nutrient export, return the last fish you bought and you're there.

My nitrates/phosphates have actually been going down so I don't think nutrient export is an issue. The biggest concern is probably territory/aggression, especially with the angel and tang. The melanurus is actually surprisingly shy/skittish. I'm going to scrap the goby/anthias, but I'm currently thinking about maybe a firefish or a trio of talbot's damsels? Thoughts?

 

[Lasse]

Here we go
7 Chrysiptera springeri
4 Chrysiptera parasema
5 Zoramia leptacantha
5 Sphaeramia nematoptera
3 Halichoeres chrysus
1 Macropharyngodon meleagris Female
1 Wetmorella nigropinnata
2 Gobiodon okinawae
3 Gobiodon ceramensis
2 Asterropteryx semipunctata
4 Priolepis cincta
2 Callogobius hasseltii
2 Amblyeleotris steinitzi
2 Synchiropus stellatus
2 Emblemaria pandionis
1 Paraluteres prionurus (was 2 lost 1 the other day)
1 Acreichthys tomentosus
2 Manonichthys alleni (was not my best decision )
2 Assessor macneilli
1 Chelmon rostratus
1 Serranocirrhitus latus

56 fish + pistolshrimps, 1 Lysmata debelius, can not count them all - hermits. Also probably one ore more fish I know I have put in but never seen

Sincerely Lasse

 

[i cant think]

Here we go
7 Chrysiptera springeri
4 Chrysiptera parasema
5 Zoramia leptacantha
5 Sphaeramia nematoptera
3 Halichoeres chrysus
1 Macropharyngodon meleagris Female
1 Wetmorella nigropinnata
2 Gobiodon okinawae
3 Gobiodon ceramensis
2 Asterropteryx semipunctata
4 Priolepis cincta
2 Callogobius hasseltii
2 Amblyeleotris steinitzi
2 Synchiropus stellatus
2 Emblemaria pandionis
1 Paraluteres prionurus (was 2 lost 1 the other day)
1 Acreichthys tomentosus
2 Manonichthys alleni (was not my best decision )
2 Assessor macneilli
1 Chelmon rostratus
1 Serranocirrhitus latus

56 fish + pistolshrimps, 1 Lysmata debelius, can not count them all - hermits. Also probably one ore more fish I know I have put in but never seen

Sincerely Lasse

That sounds like my dream tank, just with many more gobies haha.

 

[BelieveInBlue]

Needs more wrasses IMO

Very nice list. Any issues at all with the damsels? I love the look of a large shoal of damsels darting in and out of a reef but I wonder how much aggression there is?

 

[ilikefish69]

Here we go
7 Chrysiptera springeri
4 Chrysiptera parasema
5 Zoramia leptacantha
5 Sphaeramia nematoptera
3 Halichoeres chrysus
1 Macropharyngodon meleagris Female
1 Wetmorella nigropinnata
2 Gobiodon okinawae
3 Gobiodon ceramensis
2 Asterropteryx semipunctata
4 Priolepis cincta
2 Callogobius hasseltii
2 Amblyeleotris steinitzi
2 Synchiropus stellatus
2 Emblemaria pandionis
1 Paraluteres prionurus (was 2 lost 1 the other day)
1 Acreichthys tomentosus
2 Manonichthys alleni (was not my best decision )
2 Assessor macneilli
1 Chelmon rostratus
1 Serranocirrhitus latus

56 fish + pistolshrimps, 1 Lysmata debelius, can not count them all - hermits. Also probably one ore more fish I know I have put in but never seen

Sincerely Lasse

That is so awesome. Well done!!