Fish for a 55?

[cms722]

Ok so I know the rule that you're supposed to go by when adding fish to a tank. One small/medium fish per 10 gallons. So what I was wondering is what would the limit be if I kept all the fish I was going to add to the tank as small fish? Like, if their adult sizes only not 3 inches max. Would I still really only be able to put 4 or 5 fish in there or would it be able to have another 1 or 2 as long as they were small and they didn't increase the bioload too much. I'm just trying to get some ideas lol and I know I'm pushing it. But I'm curious to know what everyone else's opinions on this would be.

 

[Rufio808]

4 or 5 fish would be good for your tank. I'd get one larger show kind fish and a few smaller ones. I personally would like a tank with more smaller fish instead of a couple huge fish. Remember that some fish add a huge bioload, like lawnmower blennies.

Hope you have fun deciding what fish to get! I know how difficult it can be when you want all the fish at the store!

 

[cms722]

4 or 5 fish would be good for your tank. I'd get one larger show kind fish and a few smaller ones. I personally would like a tank with more smaller fish instead of a couple huge fish. Remember that some fish add a huge bioload, like lawnmower blennies.

Hope you have fun deciding what fish to get! I know how difficult it can be when you want all the fish at the store!

I like the idea of a bunch of smaller fish too. What makes lawnmower blennies have such a huge bioload? Aren't they kind of small?

 

[Rufio808]

They can get kind of big but its just they graze algae like mad, hence their name. A lot of them starve if they clean out your tank of algae and don't eat prepared foods. Some of them are just pigs though : ]

 

[cms722]

Ah ok. I guess that makes sense. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Dana42078]

I have a 46g and currently have 4 "small" fish. I also think i could add another so ina 55 i wouldnt doubt u could have 6.

 

[little_fish]

It depends on the fish you are adding, not just the size. Some fish will fight others of their kind, or they will occupy the same niche in the tank so you can only get one or the other. You can go over, just make sure that every fish has room to live. Think of it as having a 10 x 10 room with 4 people and one toilet. Its not bad, and 6 isnt too much worse, but by the time you get to 8 people, you just cant handle it anymore.

 

[Jmck]

well, Ill give you this as an Idea, I have a 60g, so just a bit bigger, and after getting cocky and thinking, yea this size thing doesnt really matter, I had 8 fish, 2 more than what I should have. Let me tell you... after that, things slowly started to spin out. So, I would not suggest more than 5 for you tank. IF you want more, upgrade. Dont punish the fish you have for you not having a big enough tank :)

Please dont exceed 5, ive been there done that, it doesnt work, and if it does, its extremely hard work.

 

[cms722]

I was thinking about doing 4 or 5. Just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts were cuz I have heard of people successfully putting one more in there. I was just curious. Don't wanna hurt my fish, when I do get them lol

 

[Charliegrs]

Well what fish did you have in mind? In my 55, I had a pair of small percula clowns, and a yellow watchman goby. The clowns always stayed to the mid-upper regions of the tank and swam freely, whereas the goby, like most gobys, lived on the bottom and shared a hole with a pistol shrimp. So those 3 fish would never get in each others way considering they occupied different levels of the tank. I probably could have added another bottom dweller, since the bottom had tons of unoccupied space. And maybe a few more free swimming fish like cardinals and I would maybe be a little over the limit but the fish would have plenty of room since its not so much the space they occupy but where that space is in the tank.