Bio Load

[pm64971]

I'd just like to do a quick survey to figure out how many inches of fish people have in their tanks. I'm a little disheartened knowing that I should only put 10" of fish in my 50 gallon tank. That means, one butterfly fish and one clown and I'm done. So, I just want to hear what other people are doing. Please respond with the size of your tank, the type and length of each fish you have in the tank and whether or not you are having bioload problems.

Thanks,
a much more discouraged Phil

 

[gfishguy56]

Well, i have a 55 gallon tank with about 70 lbs of live rock and these are my happy, feasting like wild savages every single day for the last year and change and all get along well. of course the damsels ocassionally duke it out some only with each other, but all are doing fine. No deaths in over a year..
1 Royal dottyback - over 4 years old
1 Yellow tang ( the boss of the tank) also 4 years old
A mated percula Clown pair - 1 year old
5 Chromis's - i've had about 6 months
1 Canary yellow damsel - 2 years old
1 Blue Damsel - 2 years old
1 Yellow tail damsel - 2 years old
1 Flame Angel - 1 year old
1 Lawnmower Blenny named Lenny - 1 year

This may be somewhat of a heavy bioload, and way more than 10 incehs of fish, but I check my water parameters at least twice a week, keep up with my water changes religiously, have a sump, use Chemi Pure, UV sterilizer(highly recommend), 2 Maxi Jet Power heads for current, and most importantly, an Aqua C Remora Protein Skimmer to take out all the other crap. pardon my language.
So as long as you love your fish enough and show it by tending to their needs and don't buy fish that grow too large, you can keep more than your two or three fish. I hope this helps a bit.

 

[ReefLady]

180g display
100g sump
70g 'fuge
40g inline prop tank

1 Yellow Tang - 4.5 yrs old (4")
1 Purple Tang - 4.5 yrs old (4")
1 Copperband Butterfly - 3 months (4")
2 Ocellaris Clowns - 4 yrs. old (2" each)
1 Hippo Tang - 4 months (3")
2 Firefish - 5 months (2" each)
---------
Total = 23" of fish. I guess I could get a few more fish, eh?

The rule of 5"/fish per gallon of water is a very general/loose guideline. A lot depends on the fish's eating & swimming habits, territoriality, etc. 4" of Firefish is a lot "less" fish than 4" of Trigger.

IMO, more "small" fish take up less "fish space" than the same amount of inches in larger fish. Larger fish - Tangs, for instance, need a lot of swimming/grazing room. Triggers, Lions, etc., have voracious appetites, and add considerably to a bioload. Blennies, clowns, gobies, damsels, etc., OTOH, do not require large tanks, extensive swimming space, and are not very heavy eaters. .

Overall, you need to make sure the fish are not in a stressful enviroment (don't put a Tang in anything less than 4' long) - are not cramped/crowded, & have compatible tank mates. If you can do this, and also make sure that your filtration can keep up with your bioload, then you can push that 1"/5g rule.

HTH,

 

[MACATUA]

While I am sure it is a ploy to sell more fish, liveaquaria.com suggests no more than .5 inches of fish per gallon. In a 55 gallon, that is 27.5 inches of fish! That seems high to a lot of folks I am sure. Anyway, just saw that and thought I would share.

 

[ReefLady]

Macatua - Is that for SW or FW?

 

[MACATUA]

You may also be wondering just how many fish you can successfully keep in your aquarium. While many variables affect that answer, a general rule is to stock no more than ½ an inch of fully grown fish per gallon of water in your aquarium. For example, if you have a 30-gallon aquarium, ideally stock no more than 15 total inches of fully grown fish. Remember to consider your desired fishes' maximum size when calculating this amount.

Here is the link to the article on liveaquaria.com

http://liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=199

 

[ReefLady]

Wow. Thanks for the link.

 

[MACATUA]

That is a bit much right?

 

[ReefLady]

That is a bit much right?

Yeah, a LOT much, IMO.

 

[fishfreek]

My 20 gal tank. (setup since Jan 2001)

1 Maroon clown (2.5")(2+ years old)(I had two but lost one over a year ago)
2 Fire shrimp
4-5 Pepermint shrimp
*Note to self. never put that many shrimp in a small tank again.

My 45 gal tank. (less than 1 year setup)

1 Perc Clown (1.5"-2")(had two then one went carpet surfing then got another then one went carpet surfing so im just sticking with 1)
1 Yellow Tang (4")
1 Flame Angel (3"-4")

My 80 gal tank (Setup June/July 02)

1 Devil Damsel (2")
2 Green Chriomis (2")
1 Coral Beauty (3"-4")
2 Yellow Gobies (sand sifting) (2"-3")
1 Powder blue tang (~5")


As Teri said the 5gal per inch is a very loose general rule that was really setup for beginners IMO to help keep them from overstocking the tank to quickly. We all must accept that we can not keep as many SW fish in a tank as we can FW fish on average. This is for many reasons including agressiveness and the level of oxygen in the SW. As a tank matures more fish could be added to go below the 5 gal per inch general rule of thumb. And as Teri mentioned some fish produce less waste than others of simular size. Preditory fish usually produce the most bioload for their size.

 

[pm64971]

Thanks everybody. This is great stuff.