Stock for my tank

saltwater sasquatch

saltwater sasquatch

Reefing newb
Hi,
I have a 55 gallon aquarium with about 45 lbs of LR. Just recently someone told me my tank was overstocked:frustrat:. I currently have 1 perc clown, 1 yellow tang, 1 zebra blenny, 1 red spotted goby, 4 green chromis, 1 snowflake eel, 1 serpant starfish, 1 sally lightfoot crab, about a dozen turbo snails and 6 hermits I also have 3 peices of coral. Is this to much livestock? And if so what would be the best livestock to keep in my tank so that I don't have only a couple fish. because if I am overstocked I would like to make it right.
Thanks everyone.
 
Thanks that is what someone else said. I will probably end up taking him back to lfs. What type of fish and how many can I have in my tank? Is there an inch to gallon ratio like freshwater?
 
I'd stick with the smaller fish... a Snowflake Eel would be Ok, but he gets up to 2ft long, and then you still have all those other fish in there.

Corals don't add to your bioload, so you can have whatever you'd like of those.
 
I'd say your fine on everything once you take the tang back. They do better in bigger size tanks and with it gone you wont be so overstocked. The eel can get big, but I'd say your ok on your tank. If there were other fish you wanted the eel would probably need to go. Corals are good additions as they add color and movement without bioload, but you need good lights.
 
Even without the tang and the eel you are at 7 fish, which is still too much for your tank size. The eel should be counted as 3 fish because they are so large, which puts you at around 10 fish. That is roughly double what you should have in a 55.

Heres what i would do: Keep the eel, clown and either the blenny/goby - which ever one is going to be bigger so he wont be eaten (always a slight possibility with eels)

or

Keep all the chromis and either blenny/clown/goby (choose one)

or

Keep blenny, clown and goby
 
I know the tang police will chase me down (wait, I haven't seen many tang police on this site) but I'd argue a yellow in a 55 is fine. I've had several tanks in that size, and I had a yellow in a 50 for two years with no issues, healthy, fat, no ich, nothing. Having said that, my 50 consisted of

Yellow tang, two occelaris clowns, two purple firefish, and a royal gramma. The tang was by far the largest, and I wouldn't have stocked any more than that. The thing with tangs is they like to swim, so if you have a smaller tank, you want to be arranging the rock that gives them areas to swim around while still providing them with a run the full length of your tank.

Finally, I wouldn't consider any other tang for a tank that size, its just my personal experience that yellows do fine if they don't have to compete for tank space with other similar fish.
 
I'm also okay with keeping yellow tangs in a 55 (GASP!). I had mine in a 55 for a few years, then upgraded to a 240, and now Tangy is in my 90. Tangy will have been with me for 11 years in 2011. Yellow tangs grow so slowly and are one of the smaller types of tang.
 
I also feel they are the most laid back. I don't really mean agressiveness, but every one I had seemed to settle to its surroundings easily. I think the big thing is to make sure its the only tang in the tank. I'd also stay away from similarly shaped fish like foxfaces as well
 
I was under the impression from a previous post by Sharkie that eels dont have a large bioload for their size, maybe she will chime in.
 
They don't, the issue is the effect on the other fish. The eel will take up alot of tank space and territory, and could add to the stress levels of the other fish
 

Similar threads

Mike
  • Sticky
New Member (Owner 😲)
Replies
0
Views
729
Mike
Mike
J
PULLING-OUT MY HAIR!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Jeff P.
J
Daniel C.
Cyano Assistance Needed
Replies
1
Views
2K
Captain Ron
C
M
Novice needing advice!!
Replies
0
Views
1K
montgrl99
M
Stellabl3u
Just looking for some pointers or advice
Replies
0
Views
2K
Stellabl3u
Stellabl3u
Back
Top