I have 3 fish in my 29 gallon tank as of right now. The max I had was 4 but one jumped a while ago unfortunately. Any way. My stock is 2 clowns and a bicolor blenny. I was thinking of adding 2 pajama cardinals but am worried that 5 fish in a 29 gallon tank is too much. Thoughts?
How many fish per gallon?
- Thread starter GR00VY
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Devaji
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the fish per gallon rule is so out dated. there are way to many factors involved to give a rule of thumb like that.
many thins come in to to play here like stocking list, filtration/ export method amount and how often water changes are done how mature the tank is etc.
many thins come in to to play here like stocking list, filtration/ export method amount and how often water changes are done how mature the tank is etc.
Hey @GR00VY
There are many factors in how heavy you can stock. Do you have a mini setup with a sump or a skimmer? Or are you running a Hang on Back filter?
To be honest with just the two clowns and a Blenny, I would say you can get away adding 2 Pajama's as they tend to hang out in the middle of the tank and the 29 Gallon tanks are nice and tall. They aren't a large fish and shouldn't make much of a mess
Keep up with your water changes, and if you can get a small skimmer that would be even better!
Good luck!!
There are many factors in how heavy you can stock. Do you have a mini setup with a sump or a skimmer? Or are you running a Hang on Back filter?
To be honest with just the two clowns and a Blenny, I would say you can get away adding 2 Pajama's as they tend to hang out in the middle of the tank and the 29 Gallon tanks are nice and tall. They aren't a large fish and shouldn't make much of a mess
Keep up with your water changes, and if you can get a small skimmer that would be even better!Good luck!!
SPR1968
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You just need to make sure you have systems in place to deal with the removal of the additional nutrients being produced so they don’t build up, otherwise I think you’ll be fine.
In a tank of that size simple water changes should deal with it
In a tank of that size simple water changes should deal with it
As others have said - the fish/gallon rule really has no place in a marine system. If you are willing to do the water changes needed, and you're not trying to stuff a handful of triggers/angels/tangs in the tank (i.e. stick with small, peaceful fish) you can get away with more than you'd think. Take aggression into account and allow for each inhabitant to have it's own space to occupy.
That being said - I prefer to keep my fish load light. I currently have 7 fish in my 120, the largest being a Tomini Tang. I need to add a YWG (IMO no tank is complete without!) to fill it up.
That being said - I prefer to keep my fish load light. I currently have 7 fish in my 120, the largest being a Tomini Tang. I need to add a YWG (IMO no tank is complete without!) to fill it up.
My tank is running pretty good at this point. It has been up for just over a year. Algae is pretty much under control. I do have spirobid worms but I just scrape them off if the become unsightly. Water parameters are good. I run a canister filter with foam inserts on the bottom followed by seachem matrix and then purit on top. Water changes are conducted biweekly along with a cleaning of the filter.
PicassoClown04
5000 Club Member
Hi! As others have said, the fish/gallon rule really isn’t a thing anymore. I like looking at the bioload all the fish use. Like if I had a 60 gallon tank, I could fit 10 maybe even 13 low-medium waster fish (chromis, pj cardinals, blennies, gobies, etc) but I would only put 1 snowflake eel and a fox face or something in the same space because frankly, eels are nasty (albeit very very cool) and create a lot of bioload.
It’s also important to look at how your fish behave. I wouldn’t want 5 ‘active swimmers’ like dwarf angels, wrasses, etc in a 30 gallon tank, they would run into each other all the time. Better to have a swimming fish, one perching fish, a bottom dwelling fish, and a pair of clowns that just hang out in their host coral. This way even though you have a lot of fish, they don’t really encounter each other. A good example of this is a 30 gallon tank with a cherub angel, a longnose hawk, a goby/shrimp pair, and a pair of clowns. The angel swims around the tank, the hawk perches on the rocks, the goby stays in the sand, and the clowns don’t stray far from their host. This was everybody has plenty of space.
with your tank, since you have 3 low waste fish and you want to add 2 more low waste fish, I’d say it’s okay. The clowns should pick a host and stay there, the bicolor lives on the bottom, and the PJ cardinals are technically ‘free swimming fish’ but mostly they just hang out in the water column. I don’t think you should have a problem.
It’s also important to look at how your fish behave. I wouldn’t want 5 ‘active swimmers’ like dwarf angels, wrasses, etc in a 30 gallon tank, they would run into each other all the time. Better to have a swimming fish, one perching fish, a bottom dwelling fish, and a pair of clowns that just hang out in their host coral. This way even though you have a lot of fish, they don’t really encounter each other. A good example of this is a 30 gallon tank with a cherub angel, a longnose hawk, a goby/shrimp pair, and a pair of clowns. The angel swims around the tank, the hawk perches on the rocks, the goby stays in the sand, and the clowns don’t stray far from their host. This was everybody has plenty of space.
with your tank, since you have 3 low waste fish and you want to add 2 more low waste fish, I’d say it’s okay. The clowns should pick a host and stay there, the bicolor lives on the bottom, and the PJ cardinals are technically ‘free swimming fish’ but mostly they just hang out in the water column. I don’t think you should have a problem.
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