Advice please

[Gina]

I have a 29 gallon tank, it's inhabitants now include 5 blue legged crabs, 1 large scarlet crab, 1 peppermint shrimp, and Lennie the horned blenny.
Will it be ok to add 3 green or blue chromis? I also would like a dwarf angel of some kind in a few months but I'm wondering if that may be overload. The tank is not quite 3 months old but all the water paremeters are good. 3 inches of LS and approx 30 lbs LR.

Thanks for any advice.

[Hara]

you will be pushing the limit by adding the chromis, the angel will definitely be too much.

[lando]

In a young tank it is very important to add livestock very slowly. For now, if all water parameters are good, go ahead and add the angel. Wait for a few weeks and see how things go before adding the chromis. Success in this hobby is directly related to taking things slowly.

[Gina]

I did plan on waiting. So, if I were to add a dwarf angel now, is there a small fish I could also add in a school after I wait a couple of months? I'd like to have 3 of something small...no damsels please. I can see already I'm going to have to go to a larger tank soon. lol

[Hara]

IMO, you can do the angel OR the small school, but not both. It would be too much for that tank size.

[Gina]

Thank you for your advice. Now I have to decide which I want....angel or small school.
I really appreciate all the input here. I don't want to kill anything.

[lando]

IMO, you can do the angel OR the small school, but not both. It would be too much for that tank size.

I agree. This is the best practice to follow.

[tmkx3]

I know that this is totally crazy but I have a friend that has a 30g long tank and she has 10fish in it, 2 of which are a yellow tang and a sailfin. She also has a maroon clown in there. All three big fish. The weird thing about it is it has been over stocked this way for about six months. She has had no deaths and no illness. Me on the other hand I have a 125g tank with only six small fish and I am currently treating ick. Go figure. I do everything by the book. I even go over board on my acclimation. She floats her fish 20 minutes and dumps them in and I am the one fighting ick!!!!

[Gina]

Thank you all for your input. I was told by the sales manager at my LFS that I could add more fish if I had a protein skimmer. So far all I have is a horned blennie. Happiest, little fish I've ever seen.
He also said that so much depends on so many things that you can't set a fast rule. Just use common sense. I agree with him.
My next purchase will be a protein skimmer. Not sure which brand yet. Have heard pros and cons on a few different ones so I'm still in a state of confusion.

[Hara]

Originally Posted by tmkx3

I know that this is totally crazy but I have a friend that has a 30g long tank and she has 10fish in it, 2 of which are a yellow tang and a sailfin. She also has a maroon clown in there. All three big fish. The weird thing about it is it has been over stocked this way for about six months. She has had no deaths and no illness. Me on the other hand I have a 125g tank with only six small fish and I am currently treating ick. Go figure. I do everything by the book. I even go over board on my acclimation. She floats her fish 20 minutes and dumps them in and I am the one fighting ick!!!!

There is a very big difference between what is physically possible and what SHOULD be done. Anyone that has any fishkeeping ethics would know that the above situation is wrong and cruel to the fish. It is also a timebomb waiting to explode. It isnt a matter of IF it will happen, but WHEN it will happen.