Overstocked

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c0mf0rt

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
658
Location
Oregon
I'm considering getting a clown.... please take a look at my profile and let me know if you think I'm already overstocked ???

I've gotten my nitrates down to 5ppm and staying pretty constant with the new fuge, mangrove, and macros


by the way I know the yellow tang will have to go after it grows a little....
 
I would say you are way overstocked already. I would be very hesitant adding another fish to that system. How long have all of those fish been in there? Sounds like you've had it stable for a while, but that is a huge bio-load for a 60G. I would say hold off on the clown.

tripper
 
Yeah.... I was thinking I have alot.... but the inverts, corals don't count towards the bioload.... and I thought with the extra 15gal fuge that may I might still have a little load to play with......
 
I think even with the fuge you are pushing it. I wouldn't say you need to take anything back to the LFS if your parameters are stable, but, even on the short side, you have about 22 inches of fish which (if you use the common 1" per 5 gallon rule) would mean you would need a 110G tank just to house the fish you have right now.

That being said, I do know of many people that have REALLY overstocked tanks, but they have extra filtration going and stay on top of their water changes and they have no issues.

Everyone has their opinion on the correct amount of fish, but if you constantly check up on your tank, you can get away with more.

Just my $.02

tripper
 
The thing that I worry about personally with overstocking came from a post written to me when I was developing my fish list. It was a story about someone's friend who kept a well maintained tank that was seriously overstocked but had perfect parameters. A power failure in the night killed all of this guys fish because there wasn't enough oxygen in the tank upon power failure to sustain the fish for any length of time. Once his power went out it was "lights out" for the fish as well. I try to bear that in mind when I'm considering new fish because I'd hate to see that happen to me. At that point it doesn't help that you have 50g of extra water sitting in containers below the tank. I aslo plan on getting a UPS for the system :)
 
I think I counted 11 fish in 75gal capacity. I would agree like me you are probably overstocked at this point. We just need to find larger tanks, cheap. :wink:
 
You might be over stocked but several of your fishes are bottom dwellers and are not always swimming around which leaves more room for fishes that swim in the water colum. Also maybe less swimming means they use less energy and produce less waste, so the bio-load might be lower.
 
"stocking" is very subjective. It really depends on the type of fish you have and the filtration system you are using. The best way to tell if you are overstocked is to turn to your water parameters. If ammonia and nitrite are zero and nitrates are low, you are not overstocked. Keep in mind, the more you push the bioload limits of your tank, the less room for error you will have if something goes wrong. It is a good idea to leave yourself a little "buffer" room. I honestly do not think adding a clown to your tank would increase bioload much at all. Providing all parameters are normal. This does not address the crowd issue. If fish feel crowded they become stressed and we all know what that does. Would one more clown make it too crowded? Most likely not. People also need to understand that stocking an aquarium appropriately is much different then stocking an aquarium with the appropriate fish (meaning you can put three small fish in a 30gal and be stocked just fine. But you should not put a naso tang in said 30gal. tank...inappropriate.) Bottom line...if you feel your system can handle the addition of a clownfish, go for it. I hope this makes some sense, I will now step down from my soap box...Lando
 
Lando, well stated. The early comment about power outages has me thinking as well into investing into a backup system. I do not feel I am overstocked although I probably have at least 1 "inapporpriate" fish with the Orange shoulder tang for my 75gal.

In another thread on overstocking I made the point that there are no real rules only guidlines and every situation is different.
 
I get very upset by all of the "rules" that people feel they have to live by in this hobby. You care correct, they should be considered "guidelines". Every situation needs to be evaluated one at a time. I get very frustrated by people saying you can't do this and you can't do that when most of them have never tried. they arejust repeating what they heard from someone else. An example...I have 260watts of CF lighting on my 72gal. reef. I have been told time and time again that you MUST have MH lighiting in order to keep SPS corals and some clams. I have been keeping keeping two species of SPS corals and clams for months under my CF lighting. They are not merely surviving, but they are thriving. All have grown and retained their beautiful color. Keep in mind that I also do know my limitaions. There are several things I would not even consider trying to keep with my current set-up. All I ask is that people use some good old fashion common sense (although it might not be so common) when making descisions. Okay...really...I am off my soap box now...Lando
 
i mentioned in another post a similar thought. i think most of the "rules" are guidelines for someone who has time to take care of their animals but not spend as much time as some of us. neither way is right or wrong as long as the animal gets proper care. i spend a lot of time taking care of my tank. testing water , cleaning, feeding etc....... if you pay attention to the special needs of your animal and your tank and take the time to meet these needs i am sure many great things can be accomplished.

i also just got a SPS given to me. i have CF lghting also. i have faith that i can keep this coral happy and healthy.

steve r
 
Your tank is only as powerful as your equipment, and your consistency.-me

Granted, there are *some* rules to abide by.
1) Size of tank must be appropriate to fish.
ie. Don't stick a nurse shark in a 300g tank... :(.. that's just cruel.
ie. A large tang can typically do well in a smaller tank then most would claim, but can stress much more easily due to varying tank quality.
2) The more fish, the more filtration is needed, as long as fish are appopriately sized, and appropriately tempered.
ie. You can have 40 firefish in a 25g tank, that's *way* beyond the 1"/5g 'rule', but because these fish are so peaceful and expend so little waste it works out fine.
3) Don't think a fish is 'un-keepable' just because everyone else says so.
ie. Green Mandarin - this fish could pretty much go in almost any tank with healthy liverock (Suggested: at least two large chunks completely covered in growth).
4) Established tanks require daily maintenance. The more stuff you have in your tank, the faster things can change. "Overpopulated"? Look at doing checkups generally twice a day.... unless you have pretty hardy fish, or you like living on the edge; cleaning grime off glass and syphoning sand.

Personal experience has also shown me that nature will quite clearly show you its borders. Look at my (sad) "kill" list below. That wasn't my responsibility, but its owners who had way too many fish. Granted not all of them were in the tank at once, but he kept trying to add more and more, and the tank just wasn't having it. Typically when you cross that natural 'border', you'll lose more than you just added -- as fish durability and tolerance will only stretch so far.
 
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