How many fish is too many fish :-)?

[carri10]

How many fish is too many fish?

I have a 1.8m x 0.9m x 0.65m fish tank (6ftx3ftx2ft), with a 250l (66gallons) sump.

Here is my stocking list at the moment.


Freckle faced tang
Sailfin tang
Two spot bristletooth tang
Naso tang
Lamarcks Angel x 2
Coral beauty x 2
Banggai cardinal
Twin spot goby
Scarlet hawkfish
Orchid dotty backs x 8
Halichoeris crysus
Leopard wrasse
Carpenters wrasse
Lawnmower blenny
Clownfish x 2
Regal angel.

Orchids are cool, not punchy at all (they are tank bred, maybe this helps?). Lamarck angels can be a bit ‘chasey’ but coral beauties are relaxed.
NO3 is under control and stable at about 5ppm, but PO4 rises without GFO. It’s currently held at 0.1ppm. pH drops 0.2 at night.
I skim dry 24h/day with a Nyos 220.
No mechanical filtration, but a whole load of life I the cryptic sump.



I am considering a large (10-15) small cardinals for an ‘acro’ cloud OR a group of 10 Anthias
Is that pushing it, or do I still have room for more fish? For example, a couple of fairy/flasher wrasse, or 5 chalk bass?

Thanks.

 

[tbrown]

You're going to get different opinions on this since there's not really a hard and fast rule.

If your tank is exporting nutrients and the fish aren't suffering due to overcrowding then some will say you're fine. You'd have to determine that based on your fish behavior.

Anytime you add new fish you run the risk of of increasing aggression and throwing off the balance of the tank.

 

[cba191]

I read the list of fish and saw 66 gallons. My initial thought was the comments will be a bloodbath.

 

[Marine Betta]

How many fish is too many fish?

I have a 1.8m x 0.9m x 0.65m fish tank (6ftx3ftx2ft), with a 250l (66gallons) sump.

Here is my stocking list at the moment.


Freckle faced tang
Sailfin tang
Two spot bristletooth tang
Naso tang
Lamarcks Angel x 2
Coral beauty x 2
Banggai cardinal
Twin spot goby
Scarlet hawkfish
Orchid dotty backs x 8
Halichoeris crysus
Leopard wrasse
Carpenters wrasse
Lawnmower blenny
Clownfish x 2
Regal angel.

Orchids are cool, not punchy at all (they are tank bred, maybe this helps?). Lamarck angels can be a bit ‘chasey’ but coral beauties are relaxed.
NO3 is under control and stable at about 5ppm, but PO4 rises without GFO. It’s currently held at 0.1ppm. pH drops 0.2 at night.
I skim dry 24h/day with a Nyos 220.
No mechanical filtration, but a whole load of life I the cryptic sump.



I am considering a large (10-15) small cardinals for an ‘acro’ cloud OR a group of 10 Anthias
Is that pushing it, or do I still have room for more fish? For example, a couple of fairy/flasher wrasse, or 5 chalk bass?

Thanks.

This may not be the exact answer you want to hear, and some people may disagree with me, but it really comes down to how many fish can you have while maintaining water quality and fish health. Many years ago, I had about 40 fish in a 75 gallon before I lost everything in a hurricane, and I know someone who has 400-600 fish in a 1000 gallon tank. One of major factors is the bioload that new fish will add. The fish you’re thinking about adding will not add a lot of bioload individually, but anthias typically require multiple feedings a day. What species of anthias were you thinking of adding?

 

[carri10]

I read the list of fish and saw 66 gallons. My initial thought was the comments will be a bloodbath.

LOL. That’s just the sump.!
DT is about 270 gallons.

 

[carri10]

This may not be the exact answer you want to hear, and some people may disagree with me, but it really comes down to how many fish can you have while maintaining water quality and fish health. Many years ago, I had about 40 fish in a 75 gallon before I lost everything in a hurricane, and I know someone who has 400-600 fish in a 1000 gallon tank. One of major factors is the bioload that new fish will add. The fish you’re thinking about adding will not add a lot of bioload individually, but anthias typically require multiple feedings a day. What species of anthias were you thinking of adding?

Probably dispar, or one of the smaller ones.

 

[Marine Betta]

This may not be the exact answer you want to hear, and some people may disagree with me, but it really comes down to how many fish can you have while maintaining water quality and fish health. Many years ago, I had about 40 fish in a 75 gallon before I lost everything in a hurricane, and I know someone who has 400-600 fish in a 1000 gallon tank. One of major factors is the bioload that new fish will add. The fish you’re thinking about adding will not add a lot of bioload individually, but anthias typically require multiple feedings a day. What species of anthias were you thinking of adding?

Probably dispar, or one of the smaller ones.

Dispar are a good choice because they normally get along with each other, unlike Bartlett’s. I don’t know what your typical qt protocol is, but one thing to consider with anthias, like dispar, is being prepared to treat for uronema. I don’t know how big your Bangaii are, but I had one who would not hesitate to eat smaller fish. Keep that in mind if you’re thinking about adding something like the blue eyed cardinal. I don’t see an issue with adding more fairy wrasses. In fact a pair or harem would probably look great in there. I would just add everything slowly, and if everything is stable, you can think about adding something else.

 

[landlubber]

You're going to get different opinions on this since there's not really a hard and fast rule.

If your tank is exporting nutrients and the fish aren't suffering due to overcrowding then some will say you're fine. You'd have to determine that based on your fish behavior.

Anytime you add new fish you run the risk of of increasing aggression and throwing off the balance of the tank.

this nailed it pretty well.

 

[exnisstech]

Personally I would stop and let the fish you have grow out. That sailfin and naso are going to get big. Now that I've been in the hobby a while I'm finding out that often fish totally change personalities once they get a few years old. What works today may not work so well in a year or few IME.
I started with a standard 75g and am up to a 330g 84x30x25" and wish i could have gone larger. I'm not one of those people that pack a tank full of fish tho. I would rather have peaceful tank with a few fish vs a packed tank and have to watch fish aggression.

 

[carri10]

I think the ‘acro cloud’ of small cardinals should be okay. They will be pretty territory neutral, certainly not bossy and relative light bio load.

 

[Zionas]

I would let your current ones grow out, you have 3 Tangs that get pretty big. A Regal Angel, 2 Lamarck’s as your larger fish. Since PO4 is already rising without extra attention, I’d monitor and see how your current group’s doing before deciding to add any more. If you add more, only small fish or not too active ones.

6 bigger fish (active ones that swim around) in a 6ft footprint I say is about the absolute limit.