over population

[Eva1313]

I have a 75 gallon tank with about 55lbs of live rock. How many fish can i put in here? I already have 5 1" fish and 3 fish that are 3".....

 

[emerald76]

What fish exactly?

 

[Eva1313]

Three small blue damsels, 2 clownfish, a marine goby, coral beauty, and a small helmethead cowfish (which i will have a new tank for. He is only a square inch right now)

 

[Ingy]

A real basic rule of thumb is 1" fish per 5 gal in the new aquarium (15") and up to 1" per 3 gal in an established tank (25"). Using adult lengths, you have 6" of damsels, 6" of clowns, 1 to 3" goby (depends on kind), a 4" coral beauty and 1" of cowfish for a 20" total. That puts you towards the maximum for your tank, maybe 1 more.

BUT!!!

You have a cowfish in with Damsels. IDK if I would ever consider that as the cowfish can poison the entire tank if he gets stressed by the mean damsels (and even potentially the clowns).

Cowfish efficeinados please chime in.

 

[Bectan01]

The only thing worth mentioning is that the adult cowfish size is not one inch, it is one foot...

 

[mr_X]

I wouldn't be using the inch per gallon rule in a salt tank. I would research each fish and figure out what they need specifically.

 

[Eva1313]

My cowfish wont be more than 8" but i will have a new tank by then. He is only 1" right now. They are all very happy fish actually. The tank is large enough they dont stress eachother at all. My cowfish is super happy. I hand feed him and give him plenty of attention. Maybe ill get rid of the damsels. I dont like them anyway.

 

[huma-huma]

A real basic rule of thumb is 1" fish per 5 gal in the new aquarium (15") and up to 1" per 3 gal in an established tank (25"). Using adult lengths, you have 6" of damsels, 6" of clowns, 1 to 3" goby (depends on kind), a 4" coral beauty and 1" of cowfish for a 20" total. That puts you towards the maximum for your tank, maybe 1 more.

BUT!!!

You have a cowfish in with Damsels. IDK if I would ever consider that as the cowfish can poison the entire tank if he gets stressed by the mean damsels (and even potentially the clowns).

Cowfish efficeinados please chime in.

as mr. x stated, there's pretty much no use in applying the inch rule to saltwater. as for clownfish in with damsels, they are actually related to damsels, therefore its not really an issue in mixing them.
The Clownfishes, Damsels of the subfamily Amphiprionae, Part 1

you really need to individualize and specialize your stock list. both the cowfish and the damsels could possibly cause problems.

 

[Eva1313]

Ok well ill happily get rid of my damsels. Im way too attached to my cowfish. I love him. He is very interactive and likes to play.

 

[huma-huma]

Ok well ill happily get rid of my damsels. Im way too attached to my cowfish. I love him. He is very interactive and likes to play.

I dont personally see that being an issue. Ive seen several setups that successfully housed a cow/box fish. I cant really say the same for damsels. At some point in their lives they will become lil terror machines.

 

[AquaRick]

+1 remove the damsels especially if you want to keep the cow

 

[Eva1313]

So i quit feeding my fish twice a day because everyone said i was over feeding them. When i did that they all (damsels and clowns) started getting aggressive. So im back to feeding them small amounts twice a day. It seems everything is back to normal. I decided to not get any more fish at this point. Cowfish is still doing great. Just trying to prevent any problems.

 

[Mark The Kidd]

Pictures?

 

[Eva1313]

 

[mr_X]

How long have you had that mandarin? I hope you have enough food in the tank for it.

 

[Reeffanman]

Impulse buy I'm sure.... They are usually so cheap you can't turn em down.

 

[Eva1313]

I have tons of food for my mandarin i dropped to bags of copepods or whatever they are lol. I always make sure to ask the fish expert what they eat before buying. He is very healthy and has tons to eat.

 

[Eva1313]

The only impulse buy was my cowfish. Which is my favorite. I bought the tank from my friend. He couldnt take care of it. He already had the damsels. I never would have gotten damsels. I had them in my last tank. Had 4 and they would attack my new fish like a pack of wolves. Honestly want to get rid of them but not sure how to go about it.

 

[mr_X]

A mandarin can eat a bottle of copepods in a couple days. How can you be sure it has tons to eat with that little bit of rock? It takes them months to starve.

 

[Eva1313]

He eats tons trust me. We have put plenty other options in there for him. He is very fat and healthy.