Finally decided on tank.. clam and cleaner question

[04redmach1]

Looks as if we are going with a 29 gallon biocube. Our landlord doesn't want too much water in the house so this is what we have to work with until we buy.

So my question is about clams, does the stock lighting work for a clam? Next is cleaner shrimp, crabs, and snails. What would be efficient in this tank with about 6-7 fish total? Will be doing reef with Fiji rock and corals.

 

[Bifferwine]

Should be fine for crocea or maxima clams. But you won't get 6 or 7 fish in there. 2 or 3 fish max, 4 if you pick very small fish.

1 fish per 10 gallons is the saltwater rule of thumb.

 

[04redmach1]

Should be fine for crocea or maxima clams. But you won't get 6 or 7 fish in there. 2 or 3 fish max, 4 if you pick very small fish.

1 fish per 10 gallons is the saltwater rule of thumb.

Why only 2-3 fish? I will be getting more perchers than anything. Green clown goby, Mandarin, and sand sifting goby. Pair of clowns and Coral beauty is others.

 

[Bifferwine]

Because your fish will be crowded and fight with each other if you overstock. And your water quality will suffer because your tank's water volume will be too small to support them all.

Fish produce waste. A 29 gallon tank can only handle so much waste and saltwater fish are territorial and will fight for space. It's not a big size tank. You will be limited in how many fish you can keep, sorry but that's the truth. A mandarin will likely starve to death in a tank that size too.

 

[04redmach1]

Makes no sense in doing it then.

 

[Bifferwine]

Why not? There are lots of great looking 29 gallon tanks. You just have to limit your fish selection to a few that you really want. You can still have clams, shrimp, corals, etc. No matter what size tank you get, there will always be fish that you want that are too big for your tank.

 

[04redmach1]

Well, the main issue is I hear several different ways to determine how many fish. Depend son inches per gallon, then if some are perchers, and so on... If I can;t get the fish to look at, I am not spending $1000 on it. I can never get a 100% answer and when I want something, then get told another. Gets irritating.

 

[Bifferwine]

Ummm sorry?

 

[04redmach1]

Seems everyone has their own view, and like I said get told several different things. Just makes no sense...

 

[PRC]

You may have went to other sites that gave you bad information. Biff isn't.

General rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10g of water. 29g =3 fish.

But, don't discount the corals....I've only got 8 fish in a 180g tank and they're small fish...But I can get tons of corals, they're as much fun as fish IMO.

 

[04redmach1]

It wasn't a forum, it was a knowledgeable local place. Owner does it as hobby too. He said as long as you don't over crowd tand with swimmers I should be fine with a mixture of 6 fish. He has 4 in a 14 gallon biocube alone and has been fine for 4 months.

I also don't want to loose $100 in fish or corals either, but I am doing it for the fish as well as the coral.

 

[reeffreak]

Why only 2-3 fish? I will be getting more perchers than anything. Green clown goby, Mandarin, and sand sifting goby. Pair of clowns and Coral beauty is others.

Mixing gobies in that size tank has a high chance of them fighting to the death.In general,that size tank is too small for a mandarin.They need live pods and a system that size will never be able to sustain enough for one long term.There is a rare chance that you may find one eating frozen or train one to eat frozen but it's rare and would take alot of work.You maybe able to get away with five or six fishes.Be diligent with the waterchange and choose tankmates that get along and suited for your tank size.

Biff is really giving you sound advice.Rather you listen to it or not is up to you.

 

[Dakwan]

Before you do anything pick up "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" 2nd Edition by Robert M. Fenner

I'm just getting into the hobby as well and i've read probably 4 or 5 different books and that particular one stands head and shoulders above the rest. I've heard other reefers praise it as well.

And while 4 fish may survive in a 14gallon tank in the the hands of an experienced reefer who understands and can react to changes in the tank that doesn't really make it ideal. A human can survive never leaving their bedroom.. that doesn't make it a healthy environment to live.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7469/hpim2335gm1.jpg

look at that picture! a 29 gallon tank with two clown fish and i think a yellow headed jaw fish? snuggled into his burrow in the sand

still a really attractive and interesting tank with lots going on

 

[Jmck]

Well, Honestly, you COULD put up to 4 or 5 small fish, BUT would have to pick very placid fish which can get there space easily and that will not fight each other.

Another problem is you may have to bump up water changes. Honestly hardest part is not having a big enough tank.

I have 60g tank and have 8 fish :goldfish: but they do well and have had no problems. All depends what fish, how often you will do water changes and whether or not you will upgrade

Biff is right though, general rule, no more than 1 fish per 10 gallons.

And mandarins will not do well without a healthy supply of pods. So be careful!

 

[dcantucson]

+1 everyone.
I think you could eventually get up to six fish but I'd start with only two and then wait about 6 weeks to add another. Small tanks can be very satisfying. Here is my RSM which is just a little larger. As you can see there is a Tang in it which is a very big no no in a tank that size. When you are new you tend to forget that a little tiny fish will grow into a much larger fish!

 

[Sharkie]

Hey Red!

As much as it hurts to see a local place tell you one thing and us another let me tell you from experience you want to watch how many fish you have and what types because it eventually causes problems.

I work at probably one of the best know aquariums in the world... the Monterey Bay Aquarium (we're ranked #2 right now! only under the japanese place). Working there I thought I knew everything and was able to keep tons of fish in my small 20g tank. I got WAY carried away and got things that fought, things that died pretty quickly, and things that were TOO large. With a tank its all balance and having a smaller tank you have to be very very persistant on keeping things PERFECT. If one thing goes wrong you are asking to lose the whole tank. I have finally upgraded and have 5 fish and 2 eels in a 75 gallon tank. my sister was given the 20 and she has ONE small damsel and is going to be getting ONE small clownfish.

The inch per gallon thing is a good idea but is faulty... lets say you have a 3 inch clown fish, that equals 3 gallons of water... okay thats cool but lets say you also have a damsel in there who is 1 inches.... which is 1 gallon of water. Okay so that doesn't sound bad right? right... BUT what if said fish decide they want to live in the SAME 2 gallons as the other fish? that equals FIGHTING and DEATH almost instantly.... if fish want a spot in a small tank they will fight for it. Thats not something you want... it will cause stress and dead fish... the 10g I think takes into consideration that in a 30 gallon tank if your two fish decide they want one spot, they can fight a bit and then the loser has another 20s to go claim as his... its really a terrortory and oxygen thing.

As cool as mandrins are they need a tank thats been established for at LEAST a year or they will starve. When buying a fish you always need to see it eating... a lot of local places will tell you things just to get you to buy... believe me, they are hurting more than anyone right now because no one is buying from them right now... Mandrins typically won't eat anything but live food... if someone tells you it eats frozen/flakes YOU NEED TO SEE IT. otherwise how do you know it really does? We have a LFS thats been here for 50+ years... but half the staff is all BS and sales... the people who tell you to not buy things and tell you the correct information will be helpful.

IMHO 4 fish in a 14g tank is suicide.... its been setup for 4 months? give it a few more and those fish probably won't be alive... in fact, its very likely that he's just relpacing fish into those tanks...

as far as your fish choice keeping multiple gobies regardless of the name/look difference is a BIG nono. They will KILL each other... you can't have a whole bunch of "sitters" in your tank either.... if they all are sand sifters then you're going to run out of live sand for them to munch on pretty quickly.... then they can starve if they won't eat other stuff.... a coral beauty is pretty but too big IMO for a 30g.

also what type of equipment are you going to be running on this tank? are you goign to be able to make weekly water changes of at least 20% on a tank of that size? i know the landlords play a part in controlling what you can do to an extent but if you went with a bigger cube i doubt the landlord would know the difference unless they are into the aquarium hobby