Over stocking a reef tank

JumboShrimp

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Here is something interesting to consider about a tank that size and shape, with the rock in the middle (which looks very attractive by the way, so congrats.) When it comes time to feed, none of the fish are too far from the food, like they would be in a 6 foot tank for instance. That means that the quick ones can basically stay in place and snatch up all the food. The fish that you notice aren’t really getting fed, you will have a tendency to want to feed them as well, and day-by-day you could find yourself over feeding the whole tank so that everyone gets something to eat. It’s just an observation I’ve made with a 24 gallon cube tank I have, with several small fish and a rock in the middle. But your tank is looking great. Best wishes.
 
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Jordan92595

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Here is something interesting to consider about a tank that size and shape, with the rock in the middle (which looks very attractive by the way, so congrats.) When it comes time to feed, none of the fish are too far from the food, like they would be in a 6 foot tank for instance. That means that the quick ones can basically stay in place and snatch up all the food. The fish that you notice aren’t really getting fed, you will have a tendency to want to feed them as well, and day-by-day you could find yourself over feeding the whole tank so that everyone gets something to eat. It’s just an observation I’ve made with a 24 gallon cube tank I have, with several small fish and a rock in the middle. But your tank is looking great. Best wishes.
I agree but what i do is feed my tank with a Turkey baster and i drop 5 filled up basters in each corner and the middle so the food is in every area of the tank at once and for my gobys i spot feed them while the other eating machines are distracted chasing their food around the tank lol
 

innovusaquaculture

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Have any of you had a chromis?? how’s their aggression?
I wanted a school of chromis in a 24x24x12 cube. I tried with 3 and lost all of them to Urenema. I tried 5 and lost all but 2 to the same and 1 killed the other. I then did 7 and figured out how to QT them correctly. I only wanted 5 in the tank, so I moved 4 of them in with the one survivor and they are now all fat and happy. They get fed 4 times a day, small feedings.

I now have a school of 4 in QT that have some ammonia burns from the wholesaler. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. They may go in my frag tank.
 
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Jordan92595

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They are too dumb to be aggressive. 3 would be fine. I haven’t had a problem loosing any chromis. If you add 3 however, your LFS should probably cut your off on fish buying for a while lol
Well if iadd the chromis I’m all done with fish in this tank lol but no one said anything about corals ;)
 

DarkReefer

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It doesn't look overstocked to me but I'm pretty new to the hobby myself (my tank has been up around 7 months).

I think with the fish at least, you can usually tell when you're starting to reach your limit because there'll be some fighting happening as the fish establish their dominance over one another and slot themselves into a pecking order.

I currently have 8 fish in my Waterbox 70.2 and feel I'm pretty much at my limit, might get away with 1-2 if I pick the right ones but it would be risky with the characters I have in there at the moment.

My fish stocking is;
2x Clownfish - Peaceful guys
1x Whip Fin Fairy Wrasse - Bit of a jerk - bullied the hawkfish
1x Two-Spot Bristletooth Tang - Bit of a jerk - starved out a sand sifter I had by chasing it whenever it'd see it.
1x Banana/Canary Wrasse - Bit of a jerk - bullied the six line
1x Flame Hawkfish - Big jerk - Beat the crap out of the whip fin after copping a bit initially, also chased the six line - very territorial of all the rockwork with new fish.
1x Cleaner Wrasse - Seems peaceful but can pester others trying to clean
1x Six Line Wrasse - Smallest of the lot and last one added, got bullied initially but keeps to it's own now and everyone leaves it alone.

I'm aware I don't have the most peaceful group but everyone now gets along for the most part. There might be the odd scuffle here or there but doesn't appear to be any major aggression so I'm leaving things as is for now.
 
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Jordan92595

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It doesn't look overstocked to me but I'm pretty new to the hobby myself (my tank has been up around 7 months).

I think with the fish at least, you can usually tell when you're starting to reach your limit because there'll be some fighting happening as the fish establish their dominance over one another and slot themselves into a pecking order.

I currently have 8 fish in my Waterbox 70.2 and feel I'm pretty much at my limit, might get away with 1-2 if I pick the right ones but it would be risky with the characters I have in there at the moment.

My fish stocking is;
2x Clownfish - Peaceful guys
1x Whip Fin Fairy Wrasse - Bit of a jerk - bullied the hawkfish
1x Two-Spot Bristletooth Tang - Bit of a jerk - starved out a sand sifter I had by chasing it whenever it'd see it.
1x Banana/Canary Wrasse - Bit of a jerk - bullied the six line
1x Flame Hawkfish - Big jerk - Beat the crap out of the whip fin after copping a bit initially, also chased the six line - very territorial of all the rockwork with new fish.
1x Cleaner Wrasse - Seems peaceful but can pester others trying to clean
1x Six Line Wrasse - Smallest of the lot and last one added, got bullied initially but keeps to it's own now and everyone leaves it alone.

I'm aware I don't have the most peaceful group but everyone now gets along for the most part. There might be the odd scuffle here or there but doesn't appear to be any major aggression so I'm leaving things as is for now.
I wish you luck with the wrasse they typically don’t get along with one another.. Only supposed to have one wrasse But with your tank can probably do 2 any more is a danger zone. Also if you plan on adding any fish wrasse should always be the last ones because they are most aggressive
 

DarkReefer

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I wish you luck with the wrasse they typically don’t get along with one another.. Only supposed to have one wrasse But with your tank can probably do 2 any more is a danger zone. Also if you plan on adding any fish wrasse should always be the last ones because they are most aggressive

Yeah the six line was the last to go in after reading up they're usually really bad for it.
So far thankfully everything seems okay after the initial hazing but time will tell.
 

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