Want to start a discussion on overstocking tanks

[reefproaquatics]

Not sure what about the above is appealing to anyone. Nothing about that situation promotes any natural behavior.

 

[jx fang]

Those people just like having a living furniture in there tiny living room.

I'll always remember a famous quote from those 'experts': " I'm not afraid of fish dying, I'm only afraid of not have enough money to buy new fish."

However nothing will change there minds.
Most chinese people don't consider fish as pet, they are just food.

 

[reefproaquatics]

Yeah. Its unfortunate for the fish though.

 

[RedSea500MaxS]

It’s not done until it’s over done! I had 47 fish in a 225, with 250 corals. Only a protein skimmer and carbon reactor. Old school with T5s and water changes. Today everything is easier. If you like it, it is right. Your corals will tell you what they think! Have fun. Smile and enjoy R2R and your beautiful reef!

Gifts from God and Mother Nature.

 

[Rilo]

Depends on the size/temperament of the fish and the size of the tank. It's riskier bioload wise to have an overstocked tank so if you don't have the filtration for it don't bother. Then there's the territory fights.

 

[MnFish1]

Is this considered overstocked?
Not my tank.
This is a typical fish only tank in Hong Kong.
That's also considered as the expert level fish keeping here in HK.

Actually - this is an interesting question. or couple of questions. To me - it would be too 'busy'. But - It looks like a picture of an actual reef. Granted on an actual reef there would ve thousands of gallons of water for fish to escape to. But - the volume of fish probably means there is little aggression.

As I said above - they must have a huge filtration system. Much of the 'guesswork' we do about whether fish are 'happy' or 'not' is probably just that - guesswork. I think the fish in this tank probably are 'ok' physiologically, socially and etc. I wonder though -the size of the tank - and the filter. Also - would love to see a video - aggression-wise

 

[jx fang]

Technically speaking they are using tons of Sera siparox for ammonia removal.
There is very low aggression because there is just too many fish and no place to hide or territorial.

I just saw this tank on youtube:

 

[Easy E]

I think overstocking greatly increases the chance that something might go wrong. Crowded fish can become stressed, and more susceptible to disease as a result. Plus, a higher bioload generally requires more maintenance. Most who achieve long-term success with an overstocked tank have a lot of experience and expertise. Adding too many fish has always led to disaster for me.

 

[jx fang]

There is not much study about highly overstocked fish tanks long-term results in fish health.
All the people I know that keep tons of fish in a tank don't keep the tank longer than 3 years.
One person keeps 80(relatively big fishes) in a 40" tank.
They all get bored and re-start the tank, or a tank crash killed all there fish.
Or get too frustrated by fish keeps dying, and run out of money.
If anyone know a super overstocked tank longer than 10 years, please share with us about the fish health.

 

[HB AL]

I have alot of fish in a 90G, 14 total and alot of coral, I dont consider it overstocked just well stocked. Fish are all a good size, healthy, no fights, deaths, etc... If you have good filtration you can have alot more fish than people believe is successfully possible. Also being in the hobby for over 30 years also helps having good results.

 

[drblakjak55]

Agree. Hong Kong tank lets you see a lot of miserable fish with no place to hide or sleep.

 

[jp_75]

I have alot of fish in a 90G, 14 total and alot of coral, I dont consider it overstocked just well stocked. Fish are all a good size, healthy, no fights, deaths, etc... If you have good filtration you can have alot more fthan people believe is successfully possible. Also being in the hobby for over 30 years also helps having good results.

do you mind sharing your fish list? always wonder if i am overstocked? thx

 

[clown and friends]

I have alot of fish in a 90G, 14 total and alot of coral, I dont consider it overstocked just well stocked. Fish are all a good size, healthy, no fights, deaths, etc... If you have good filtration you can have alot more fish than people believe is successfully possible. Also being in the hobby for over 30 years also helps having good results.

I have 6 fish in my 25 lagoon. It honestly just kind of happened I was only planning on 5 but they're all little guys and one is a sand dweller who lives under the rocks. I've never had nitrate problems (other than too little N) because I run a fuge in the back chamber. If I did it again I would do one less but my own tank and the one I saw yesterday made me think to pose this question to the greater community.

 

[fish farmer]

I have 3 fish in a 32g and I’m done. Mostly corals and nems for me.

I have the same in a 29 gallon tank, pair of adult percula clowns and a sixline wrasse. The sixline is still small and expect would grow more. I can't see putting more fish in there unless they were tiny and stayed tiny. Once corals start to fill in the spaces there is less room to roam.

My thoughts are if you hypothetically set up a 10 gallon tank with rock and corals...how much space is left for one fish two to three inches long that doesn't swim a lot?

 

[EmdeReef]

30 fish in my 750xxl, 4 more in QT. I overfeed which i believe is causing my N and P issue. Still figuring out how to keep those in check without chemicals. All corals doing fine though.

 

[Sailingeric]

I have 14 fish in my 75 gallon but all but a couple are on the smaller side. I like having more smaller fish than few big fish.

 

[motortrendz]

I have about 16 fish in my 90ish gallon tank, some are bennies, some are rock/cave dwellers, mostly wrasses and a couple small tangs. I know it's technically overstocked, but all fish are fat and happy, no fighting and my water quality Is always pretty clean. <5 nitrates and about .08ish in phosphates. I feed 2-3 times a day. And run a skimmer rated at 250gallons.

My corals are all doing awesome. Softies to sps, I believe the cycle of fish eating and pooping really feeds the corals well but the clean water allows them to not build up on excessive nutrients.

 

[GatorScott]

I have the same in a 29 gallon tank, pair of adult percula clowns and a sixline wrasse. The sixline is still small and expect would grow more. I can't see putting more fish in there unless they were tiny and stayed tiny. Once corals start to fill in the spaces there is less room to roam.

My thoughts are if you hypothetically set up a 10 gallon tank with rock and corals...how much space is left for one fish two to three inches long that doesn't swim a lot?

same. 2 Picasso clowns that own the tank. And cardinal that exists in the shadows lol

 

[Sidius]

I don't think there's a simple answer to this question. There are a lot of variables that need to be considered. As others have stated, one 6" fish does not have the same space/footprint/aggression needs as another 6" fish, so I don't believe it's as simple as "X inches per gallon". I think that everyone has different views on what they consider to be acceptable from a cruelty standpoint. I look at my shrimp goby vs my royal gramma... they are not too far apart in length (at this point) but the goby never leaves it's spot and doesn't need swimming space, whereas my gramma swims around. Let's also not even get started on certain blennies or dragonets, where a small fish can have a large tank requirement if you can't get them eating frozen foods and they rely on pods to eat.

I kept African cichlids for years (I know it's not reef related but hear me out lol) and one of the most effective ways of spreading aggression or giving fish relief from other aggressive fish is to heavily overstock. It's easy for a fish to get lost in the crowd when getting bullied. It not only works, but it's also the most widely accepted way to deal with all the aggression large male cichlids tend to have. Bullied fish are stressed fish and can lead to sickness or not eating. Also, even though all male cichlid tanks are heavily overstocked, most people still consider footprint and the their individual fish's needs for tank length.

 

[mta_morrow]

I have 24 in my RSR525, 108 gallon display.

I plan on still adding more, perhaps up to 30. I have them split amongst all areas of the tank. Bottom, rocks, caves, mid level open water, upper level open water.

I feed pellets from an auto feeder 2x per day and a homemade blend of live bacteria rich foods 2x per day.

I run a skimmer, filter socks, 6 liters of matrix, a UV sterilizer, and dose 15ml of homemade NoPox daily.

NO3 always 8-12, PO4 .03-.1.

Nems- H Magnifica, LTA, 2 large rainbow BTA’s, and 3 rock flowers.

1 6” deresa clam.