Stocking Levels

[Pearsondesign]

hey everyone

ok, i have a jewell rio 180 setup.
Tank is running 1 medium corallia inside, plus the internal jewell filter.
an external eheim 2 canistor filter, capable of cleaning 1000 litres an hour
a TMC UV sterliser

i have 2 full tank length marine blues, and 2 marine whites. all 4 are T8 (fatter) bulbs.

Now, the tank was cycled for 3 weeks, then when tests were coming back clear i started stocking.
nothing is wrong with the tank at all, im simply trying to get an idea of how many fish etc i can safely have in it.

at present i have the following
2 percula clowns
2 firefish
1 foxface (brown and yellow one, not typical yellow and white)
1 pyjama cardinal
2 blue damsels
1 dragon wrasse
2 turbo snails
1 random snail and another odd looking snail
1 blue legged hermit crab
hundreds of tiny snails that appear at night
1 large, about 10 inches long, bristleworm lol

ok, im thinking thats maybe enough for my tank now
am i right? or can i safely have maybe 2 more max?

as for corals and polyps, i have a nice large leather coral, a finger leather coral, some xenia, a kenya tree and some various coloured polyp rocks.

here are some pics
Foxface

kenya tree coral

Pyjama Cardinal and polyp rock

Polyps

More Polyps

Finger Leather Coral

Clowns and some Polyps

The right end of my tank

Full tank shot

Cleaner shrimp and some Xenia

Leather Coral and a clown lol

Random Coral - anyone ID it?

more polyp rocks

my fave polyp thing, moves so nicely in current

Comments welcomed
thanks for looking

 

[Morri]

I would say you are over stocked at the moment 180L = 40 Gallon imp, 1 inch per 2 gallon total inches = 20


2 percula clowns 6"
2 firefish 6"
1 foxface (brown and yellow one, not typical yellow and white) 7"
1 pyjama cardinal 3"
2 blue damsels 6"
1 dragon wrasse 12"

Total 40"

Sorry to be negative I would remove the dragon wrasse and foxface you could be heading for trouble with that level of stocking The 1 inch per 2 Gallons is a very rough guide but it does have some merit. Over stocking can be managed with a big skimmer and a sump but even then I would still remove the wrasse.

 

[ben1987]

i dont believe in any inch per gallon rule, but id say you were wayyy over the mark and some very bad fish choices in the dragon wrasse and rabbit fish as both will outgrow your tank a couple of times over. also damsels can grow into very aggressive little so and so's
your corals look good though, id just maybe re-consider some of your fish

 

[Morri]

I agree about the rule Ben but its useful guide when starting out there are so many variances in a marine aquarium there is no way of knowing for definate until its too late and the Nitrates go off the scale

 

[seffieuk]

Agree with you both, Morri and Ben - sorry, but you are already way over stocked and the fox face and dragon shouldn't be in there in the first place


Seffie x

 

[Pearsondesign]

really?
so i should take them out?
would i be able to replace them with some smaller fish?
i like the dragon wrasse, she is one of my faves
the foxface im not so fond of, it was offered to me by my lfs at a bargain price, and i used to have a proper foxface years back in my 7 foot tank.

hmmm, ok, well ill see if my lfs will take them back in for me

 

[seffieuk]

If it were me I would return the foxface, dragon and two damsels

I have a concern about tee firefish as well, are they a mated pair or juvies, if they are not a mated pair but juvies you could also be in trouble with these as they will fight when they become adult if they are not male and female.

My stocking would be:

Pair of clowns = 6 inch
1 x firefish = 3 inches

I would then start looking at a good marine fish book like Michael Scott (think Morri has one for sale at the moment) and chosing my other fish. I would look for a rule of approx 20/25 inches of fish, with no one fish being larger than 5 inches. Hope that helps

Seffie x

ps take a look at some of the smaller wrasses, there is a thread in the fish of the week, there are some really amazing ones. I can totally understand why you woul love the dragon, but as they get older and change colour and temp, bulldoze your tank you may not be so keen on a 12 inch monster that you have to buy a 7 foot tank for I don't think they should be sold

 

[Pearsondesign]

If it were me I would return the foxface, dragon and two chromos

I have a concern about tee firefish as well, are they a mated pair or juvies, if they are not a mated pair but juvies you could also be in trouble with these as they will fight when they become adult if they are not male and female.

My stocking would be:

Pair of clowns = 6 inch
1 x firefish = 3 inches

I would then start looking at a good marine fish book like Michael Scott (think Morri has one for sale at the moment) and chosing my other fish. I would look for a rule of approx 20/25 inches of fish, with no one fish being larger than 5 inches. Hope that helps

Seffie x



ps take a look at some of the smaller wrasses, there is a thread in the fish of the week, there are some really amazing ones. I can totally understand why you woul love the dragon, but as they get older and change colour and temp, bulldoze your tank you may not be so keen on a 12 inch monster that you have to buy a 7 foot tank for I don't think they should be sold

Thankyou
ill have a think.
my original plan was to have 2 perculas, a small angel, a wrasse and maybe 3 or 4 other small fish.
but, the 2 blue damsels came *free* in bits of live rock i was very angry because i didnt want damsels in there
so after that i went for fish that would be happy together, or so i thought, and had nice vibrant colours.

its difficult for me to go from a 7ft tank where stocking and water quality were never an issue to the 180
im in the process of shutting down my vision 180 to use for a small marine fish only tank, or maybe some seahorses and pipefish.

i want to get another larger tank, but at the moment money and space are both issues in that plan

 

[seffieuk]

its difficult for me to go from a 7ft tank where stocking and water quality were never an issue to the 180

I can imagine, it must be very difficult mind you the 180 is a nice size tank, a perfect home for a pair of clowns and if you have the correct lighting a bubble tip Nem, obviously only when the tank is at least eight months old and you have at least 4 x t5 and you are happy to feed the nem weekly. You would still be able to have a flasher wrasse or the like, a goby or blenny and maybe even a small angel (woops, drifted into what I would keep, you havent even mentioned a Nem )

Seffie x

 

[Morri]

yip 180 gives a lot of nice options

Flasher Wrasse are stunning Lurve my Mckosker

Small Angels Dwarfs are ok also the smaller angels in the Genus Genicanthus like Bellus one of the reef-safest Angels there are

Blennies are a great addtion to any reef tank full of character

Shrimp Goby Pair are a good feature as well

 

[Pearsondesign]

hmm, ill have a think and see what i can come up with

on a side thought, would my vision 180 be ok to house just the dragon, the foxface and a volitan lion?
obviously id have uv steriliser, larger canister and new lights, but would that tank be big enough for those 3 fish? no corals, just live rock base.
cos if thats ok then ill simply change my freshwater vision 180 to marine
then i can use my spare 5 foot tank for my freshwater, and move my turtles to my spare 3 foot

 

[Pearsondesign]

heres my turtle tank

heres my freshwater tank

and this is my living room with the tanks either side of the fireplace/tv area

 

[seffieuk]

I see you have your priorities right, fish tanks, tv, sofa and even a little table for your beer (that is if your little one will let you!)

Seffie x

 

[Pearsondesign]

I see you have your priorities right, fish tanks, tv, sofa and even a little table for your beer (that is if your little one will let you!)

Seffie x

lol your #41#### right
theres another sofa behind where im standing, so i sit right in the middle of fish tanks i have 7.1 surround setup aswell so sitting in middle is perfect

i have another tank in my back room, next to me now, its my rutle tank.
it houses 2 musk turtles and an ouachita map turtle

also, outside i have 2 other tanks. one is a 5 foot with tadpoles and some random sticklebacks and perch they are from my local river. the fish, not the tadpoles
i have a small arc tank with about 100 tadpoles in, they are mostly for turtle food

i recently split from the mother of my child, and since then have setup the marine tank and moved everything sbout
its much better now, and it has given me things to keep busy with for the last few months.

im still trying to decide on what to put in my other tank, the vision 180 on the left of my room.
i want to move the freshwater fish and plants to another tank, or sell/swap for marine stuff.
then, when its empty, set it up as marine and put my dragon, foxface and a volitan lion in
either that or seahorses and pipefish to breed seahorses

what do you think?

 

[seffieuk]

Its a nice looking freshwater set-up but again the foxface and dragon are too large for the tank. It makes a perfect clown habitat though - maybe think along the lines of a rarer type clown?

Seffie x