How many fish can I transfer to DT at once?

[TheWalkingCoral]

Seems to be mixed answers online, looking for your opinions!

I have a 40B that has been up for two months currently stocked with some coral, 2 shrimp and 10 astrea snails + conch that I have feed daily. While my DT was fallow I had two clowns, a wrasse and a tang in a observation tank. I've transferred the two clowns last night into the DT, would it be safe to add the wrasse and tang as well? All the fish are small and not adults.

 

[Jekyl]

Tang in a 40 is probably not a good fit. Usually you want to give a month between adding livestock.

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

Thanks for your advice.

 

[piranhaman00]

No tang can fit in a 40 no matter how small.

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

There seems to be a ton of injecture here and no education nor simple research. You guys have no idea what the long term solution for this fish is nor how this came to be. Yet here you are.

 

[Jekyl]

Everyone has a story as to why their situation is unique. We're not trying to be mean. Just looking out for the things that don't get an opinion.

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

I think I'll just flush it instead =D Sewer system has more volume.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Recently I took over an established tank and removed most of the swimmers as there was a lot of aggression in the tank and it had fish I just wasn't into.

After a few weeks down, I added fish back 1-2 small fish at a time, every 4-5 days checking levels constantly.

I have not seen any issue at all thus far.

 

[MONTANTK]

To answer your question, I would not add all the fish at once because it can result in an ammonia spike. I would probably wait 5-7 days between adding fish.

In response to your tone towards the other reefers, they’re just trying to help. This is by far one of the friendliest communities I’ve been a part of. We all want what’s in the best interest for our animals. Sure, a juvenile yellow tang will be fine in a 40 breeder but once that fish is 3/4 full grow or even slightly less it’s health will begin to decline. Simple research shows yellow tangs need a minimum 75 gallon and I even think that is a stretch. Couldn’t tell you how many yellow tangs and blue hippos I’ve seen with fin rot from being in systems that were too small and/or not properly taken care of.

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

Tone? I'm sorry maybe I'm not a part of the gentlemen's club and if they don't like my tone they can delete this post/ban me, I'd more than welcome it. Most the posts here on R2R are assuming the average reefer will apply minimal effort to their reef tank and looking for a cookie cutter approach. I'm looking for the science, I'm looking for the nitty gritty. Why else would I waste my time with a post when I could just follow everyone else. You are the first to include some sort of evidence in your claim and even then is referencing a different fish which I do not own.

Also thank you for your opinion, seems to be a average beginning to form here around 5 days.

 

[Theulli]

Seems to be mixed answers online, looking for your opinions!

I have a 40B that has been up for two months currently stocked with some coral, 2 shrimp and 10 astrea snails + conch that I have feed daily. While my DT was fallow I had two clowns, a wrasse and a tang in a observation tank. I've transferred the two clowns last night into the DT, would it be safe to add the wrasse and tang as well? All the fish are small and not adults.

2-3 fish a week is usually what you see, though I think even that may be conservative, if you're willing to monitor your ammonia. You should see a spike of some sort 2-4 days after you introduce fish, it may be quite brief depending on the fish and your tank, and if you see that spike and then it goes away, that would mean your tank's biofilter has caught up with the fish you've got and I don't know what you're gaining from waiting at that point. If you haven't seen an ammonia spike within a week, that means one happened and it was either too small or too quick for you to see it.

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

2-3 fish a week is usually what you see, though I think even that may be conservative, if you're willing to monitor your ammonia. You should see a spike of some sort 2-4 days after you introduce fish, it may be quite brief depending on the fish and your tank, and if you see that spike and then it goes away, that would mean your tank's biofilter has caught up with the fish you've got and I don't know what you're gaining from waiting at that point. If you haven't seen an ammonia spike within a week, that means one happened and it was either too small or too quick for you to see it.

Thank you! Sounds like the goal is just to give the bacteria enough time to grow. So it's less of a time thing and more monitoring. Haven't seen anyone comment on fish aggression so I'm going to assume that will not be a issue as well.

 

[MONTANTK]

Tone? I'm sorry maybe I'm not a part of the gentlemen's club and if they don't like my tone they can delete this post/ban me, I'd more than welcome it. Most the posts here on R2R are assuming the average reefer will apply minimal effort to their reef tank and looking for a cookie cutter approach. I'm looking for the science, I'm looking for the nitty gritty. Why else would I waste my time with a post when I could just follow everyone else. You are the first to include some sort of evidence in your claim and even then is referencing a different fish which I do not own.

Also thank you for your opinion, seems to be a average beginning to form here around 5 days.

I only referenced the blue hippo because it is another common one people stuff into small tanks. With all due respect, you started your build thread saying you dove into this without much research. Tank size relative to species is pretty common knowledge around here and one of the easiest things to research. The science is that when a fish is put into a small aquarium, it’s body will grow to the tank size. The issue with that is the organs of the fish continue to grow. This, combined with a small environment is what kills the fish, and can even crash a tank. It also makes it very difficult to tell when a fish needs to be upgraded to a bigger system. Hope everything goes well with your tank

 

[Msteven1]

Following your build thread, as I too have a 40 breeder that's been running fallow for a couple months. Tomini Tang and Yellow Tang are on my list as well.

 

[Theulli]

Thank you! Sounds like the goal is just to give the bacteria enough time to grow. So it's less of a time thing and more monitoring. Haven't seen anyone comment on fish aggression so I'm going to assume that will not be a issue as well.

If they are going in within a fairly short time frame, the first ones won't have had time to get territorial. If the process stretches out weeks, you might want to make sure the wrasse goes in last (depending on what type it is).

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

I only referenced the blue hippo because it is another common one people stuff into small tanks. With all due respect, you started your build thread saying you dove into this without much research. Tank size relative to species is pretty common knowledge around here and one of the easiest things to research. The science is that when a fish is put into a small aquarium, it’s body will grow to the tank size. The issue with that is the organs of the fish continue to grow. This, combined with a small environment is what kills the fish, and can even crash a tank. It also makes it very difficult to tell when a fish needs to be upgraded to a bigger system. Hope everything goes well with your tank

You are far from who I was referring to and were the first to share information factual or not to support your argument. This is a hobby and I don't see any research scientists posting so without ID or support information, who would you trust?

Everyone has a story as to why their situation is unique. We're not trying to be mean. Just looking out for the things that don't get an opinion.

This is incredibly dismissive and exact problem I have =D

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

If they are going in within a fairly short time frame, the first ones won't have had time to get territorial. If the process stretches out weeks, you might want to make sure the wrasse goes in last (depending on what type it is).

Thank you! It's a sixline wrasse that has taken a liking to the tomini tang, they have all been very sweet with each other as of now but I did read sixlines get more aggressive as they age. I don't plan on adding any more fish to this tank and they all have got along in a 20L observation tank for the last month.

 

[MONTANTK]

You are far from who I was referring to and were the first to share information factual or not to support your argument. This is a hobby and I don't see any research scientists posting so without ID or support information, who would you trust?




This is incredibly dismissive and exact problem I have =D

One thing to understand is personal experiences are research. I’ve learned a lot from my experiences and others. I’ll be totally honest, for the most part the research that exists in the hobby can be pretty dang boring. Again, tank size is generally a pretty agreed upon topic here amongst people who have been around a while and it is a very simple topic. Other things may have some more variance to them such as correlations between dosing products and coral appearance. A lot of this hobby is trial by fire but if someone can save you a headache and money in the long run I’d at least consider their input. I’ve certainly been guilty of putting fish in tanks that were too small and I’ve learned from it

Edit: but like I said before. If the fish is only 2-3in right now you should be fine for a year or two

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

One thing to understand is personal experiences are research. I’ve learned a lot from my experiences and others. I’ll be totally honest, for the most part the research that exists in the hobby can be pretty dang boring. Again, tank size is generally a pretty agreed upon topic here amongst people who have been around a while and it is a very simple topic. Other things may have some more variance to them such as correlations between dosing products and coral appearance. A lot of this hobby is trial by fire but if someone can save you a headache and money in the long run I’d at least consider their input. I’ve certainly been guilty of putting fish in tanks that were too small and I’ve learned from it

I understand where you are coming from and I agree on everything, even tank size! Again to note, you are not who I am speaking of. The dismissive tone and lack of supporting information by most R2R members? That's for the birds.

 

[Jekyl]

Here's the supporting evidence you have been going on about. I was trying to be helpful and when you got an answer you didn't like things got passive aggressive. I try and help people when I can when making bad livestock decisions. There isn't a day on here when someone isn't adding a fish too large, too many to a small tank, or losing another anemone. Sorry if I offended. However your health wasn't was I was concerned with.

Bristletooth Tomini Tang: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

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