fish quantity?

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billtw1

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
23
Location
georgetown, ky
I have a 24 gallon reef tank with overflow etc. I do about 15% water changes around every two weeks. The question is how many fish or inches of fish can I safely keep? I find myself wanting a lot but realize there are limitations. Curently have 2 small yellow clown gobies, small pygmy angel, medium bicolor blenny and a small banded antenna goby.
Also have cleaner shrimp, few snails and crabs for cleaning.
Any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 
There is no inches per gallon rule for SW. It all depends on the type of fish compared to your tank filtration. It is my opinion that you are already overstocked with 5 fish in a 24 gallon tank. JMO
 
I'm no expert, but I have 5 small fish, a starfish and 5 hermits and a 10 gallon and my water tests have all been coming out perfect and the fish are getting along fine. I think generally, alot of people like to play it safe but I think it all depends on the setup and like melosu said, the type of fish..
 
I think your stocking level is fine. What other fish are you considering?
 
I think the "XX inches/gallon" rule is an okay STARTING POINT to get a feel for stocking levels when planning the tank. But as far as using it as a hard-and-fast rule, that's a recipe for disaster. Certain fish need certain sized tanks, some fish are messier eaters than other, etc... Some books I've read quote 3 gallons per inch of fish, other say 5 gallons per inch of fish. (And that's full-grown inches... not how big they are now.)

Regardless, I think those 5 fish in the 24g kind of push it over the limit. I definitely wouldn't add more, and I'd be thinking about what one you want to take out if you start having problems.

Five fish in a 10g... no matter what kind of fish they are... is way too many for any long term plan.
 
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