What's The Rule?

[FishinInTheDark]

I know in freshwater, there is a (very subjective) rule regarding stocking your tank. (1"/G) I'm reading a book about saltwater aquariums and it gave the marine rule in there somewhere, but now I can't find it. I know to stock slowly and all that; I'm just creating my master plan for a FOWLR tank that will be a reef when I begin to understand all this hoodoo voodoo of saltwater!

Thanks to anyone who can help find The Rule. . .

Conni

[FishinInTheDark]

Wait, I found it: my book says 1"/4G for six months then 1"/2G afterward. Now, how do critters fit into this equation? When I study pics of reef tanks, there are definately more corals and fish in there than gallons.

Let's say I get my live rock and sand going and develop an algae problem. I decide to dump in some shrimp or snails. How do these factor in to my fish stocking later? And then, if things go well, do I have to reduce fish to add corals and such?

Sorry if I'm being obtuse! I went through the completely stupid overstocking thing with my first FW tank some time ago. I don't want to do that again!

Thanks again,

Conni

[Paidbychrist0825]

Critters such as shrimp and snails, crabs ect dont factor into the stocking equation. Corals dont count toward the stocking limit either. Only fish.

Some people have very good ways of keeping water moving, and so can put more fish in safely. But stick to your rule( 1/4 is a good one, 1/2 is pushing it a bit IMO) until your nice and experienced

[FishinInTheDark]

Thanks, PBC!

C.

[Zack]

PBC put it very well how corals and inverts play in little to the 4" per gallon. I must say it all depends with fish. I am not big on very general rules like this. You may have a 48" 50 gallon tank and you go out and get a 12" grouper which will not work in a 50 gallon tank just as an example.

I say with good filtrtion good water quailty ect ect all factors in to what you can keep. As the time comes for you to get fish i hope you will post so we can work to get good choices for you.

Zack :)

[arockkid]

Now I'm curious to know what size tanks and what size of which fish you all have in your tank.

Mass is more important than inches, of course, but it's hard to say "You should have x number of grams of fish per gallon". They say a 2" fish is 4 times the mass in general than a 1" fish. And a 3" is 9 times more...so you could have 9 1" fish in the same water where you can only have 1 3" fish.
And what about PIPEFISH?

Okay. Gallons? Fish? Sizes? I wanna know.

[FishinInTheDark]

Thanks for your reply, Zack. I do understand that you don't want to put one 10" fish in a 10G, but can easily put ten 1" fishes in there! I was just looking for a general rule to shoot for at first. I am very comfortable with a slightly overstocked FW aquarium which is overfiltered and I do sizeable waterchanges weekly. That tank is thriving. Unfortunately, since I know absolutely nothing about saltwater, I was looking for a general rule while I'm planning.

The funny thing about the example you just gave, is that the 48" 55G tank I am going to make into a marine tank came to me with FW fish in it. There was a 5" pike cichlid and a 14" catfish. The algae eater died (Go figure). I felt so bad for that cat who must have been dying to swim and could barely turn around in there. I think that the owner of the LFS I gave him to is going to keep him!

At any rate, I'm looking at relatively small, hopefully hardy fish. On my list (which is by no means final, these are just ones that I'm considering. I will inevitably add some and subtract many!) are 1 Regal Tang, 2 Ocellatis (sp?) Clownfish (of course my 3-yr-old insists!), 3 Pajama Cardinalfish, 1 Midas Blenny, 2 Blue Cheek Gobies, 1 Cleaner Wrasse, 1 Strawberry Gramma. Let me reiterate that I don't plan on getting all of these fishes. They are just the species I'm considering (and how many of each). Please feel free to jump in with more suggestions, or warnings about my candidates.

Thanks in advance for all of your guidance!

Conni

[jman785]

Good selection of Fish Conni. You might also consider the 'Banggai CardinalFish'. It closely resembles the Pajama Cardinalfish. The Cardinalfish's diet consists of frozen meaty foods such as Brine Shrimp, Mysid Shrimp, and Plankton. Selcon or other marine vitamins help retain its color. They are also known to breed in captivity...Instead of the Midas blenny, why not consider getting a scooter or lawnmower....those are other possible combinations :) By the way, its Amphiprion ocellaris, or Ocellaris :) Good clown choice...I'd refrain from Maroon Clowns, as some I've seen throughout the shipments I've brought to my store, have seemed pretty much aggressive...Good Luck Conni, let us know if you have any problems.

Coral Forum Staff

[FishinInTheDark]

Jared,

That's my favorite name. If my youngest had been a boy, she would have been a Jared!

Anyway, I like the Lawnmower Blenny suggestion. If I swap him for the Midas, all of my candidates would be from the Indo-West Pacific. I kinda like the idea of having them all come from the same place. . .

Thanks,

Conni

[MikeS]

hi there
I didn't see it mentioned above, so I'll do it.....make sure when you start adding fish to your tank, take your time! Add them one at a time, and make sure you give the tank plenty of time to adjust to the new bioload before adding more fish...as for fish selection, you can always check here first to get info on the species, its needs, its compatibility with other fish and inverts, ect.
A quarantine tank is also a good investement, it doesn't cost too much to set one up, and it will protect your larger investment (main tank) from disease. Good luck and have fun!

MikeJS