Too many fish???

[Neilperk]

Hey guys! New to the fish world... I just picked up my 2nd round of fish and after looking at their max length at adulthood, I'm a bit worried about whether I have enough space... and want to make sure I make smart decisions from the start and return fish as needed before it's too late.

I have a 75 gal FOWLR, 80 lbs of live rock, UV filter, protein skimmer, and plenty of flow throughout the tank.

My first round of fish was:
1 Longfin Bannerfish
1 Royal Dottyback
2 Clownfish
1 Chocolate Chip Sea Star
3 Turbo Snails
and 2 Trochus snails

All of my parameters leveled out within a couple days. Two weeks later, (today) I added the following:
1 Regal Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Flame Angelfish
1 Emperor Angelfish
1 Spotted Orange Diamond Goby

for a total of 9 fish, a handful of snails and a sea star. They're all babies now so the tank is empty, but I need to know if this is going to be too much when they're all grown up. I'd much rather take a couple back now then have them dying from a bad decision on my part. Thanks!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Take back both tangs and the emperor angelfish. They require larger tanks.... Without those fish you should be fine.

 

[Mrc8858]

Take back both tangs and the emperor angelfish. They require larger tanks.... Without those fish you should be fine.

+1 and you might want to consider taking back any sand sifters like the goby and starfish til later down the road when your sandbed matures some more... Your lfs shoulda known better then to sell you some of those monsters but they come with a hefty price tag which gives them incentive to do it anyways especially the emperor angels which are beautiful by the way. You should try and post some pics before returning them

 

[Engineer Brian]

I think you are safe with the two Tangs... I've kept two blue, a yellow, a purple, and a sailfin tang in my 80 gal with no problems. I think Tangs grow only as large as the tank can support. Just arrange your rock work so there are lots of caves and tunnels as well as free space above or in front for them to swim.

I'd take the emperor angel back. They can Get up to 15" in length. Beautiful fish though...

I agree about the sand sifters... They thrive in my tank for a few weeks but always die off. I suspect I don't have enough food in my substrate for them to live off.

Try to find the "Marine Fish" book by Scott W. Michael. It's a great resource for compatibility, diet, size, etc.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I think you are safe with the two Tangs... I've kept two blue, a yellow, a purple, and a sailfin tang in my 80 gal with no problems. I think Tangs grow only as large as the tank can support. Just arrange your rock work so there are lots of caves and tunnels as well as free space above or in front for them to swim.

I'd take the emperor angel back. They can Get up to 15" in length. Beautiful fish though...

I agree about the sand sifters... They thrive in my tank for a few weeks but always die off. I suspect I don't have enough food in my substrate for them to live off.

Try to find the "Marine Fish" book by Scott W. Michael. It's a great resource for compatibility, diet, size, etc.

Common misunderstanding IMO. Tangs grow and grow, and start to get deformed if there isnt enough space. Just because you put a 1" tang in a 5 gallon tank doesnt mean it will stay that small forever. The fish will keep growing and become deformed, killing it at an early age. Take back the tangs, the yellow tang is the only one that MIGHT be ok...

 

[willbratz]

I think you are safe with the two Tangs... I've kept two blue, a yellow, a purple, and a sailfin tang in my 80 gal with no problems. I think Tangs grow only as large as the tank can support. Just arrange your rock work so there are lots of caves and tunnels as well as free space above or in front for them to swim.

I'd take the emperor angel back. They can Get up to 15" in length. Beautiful fish though...

I agree about the sand sifters... They thrive in my tank for a few weeks but always die off. I suspect I don't have enough food in my substrate for them to live off.

Try to find the "Marine Fish" book by Scott W. Michael. It's a great resource for compatibility, diet, size, etc.

I waited a year to get my scooter blenny. I know at the lfs they were feeding him brine but they say he really eats copods. I feel really good about the last two months he has completely self sustained off the tank.
I have a blue regal tang in my 55 with no issues. I also tend to agree that they only grow as large as the tank can support. I have a total of 9 fish in my tank, and aside from the occasional 3 stripe chasing my blue devil Fiji, and vice versa they all seem happy and healthy!!

 

[Mrc8858]

Fish organs do not stop growing just because they don't have adequate space. Over time in to small of a tank they will experience stunted growth which is the misunderstanding that they only grow to the tanks size. Imo if your dedicating the time and money into the hobby that it requires then you should atleast supply the minimum requirements for the fish.

 

[emerald76]

Fish organs do not stop growing just because they don't have adequate space. Over time in to small of a tank they will experience stunted growth which is the misunderstanding that they only grow to the tanks size. Imo if your dedicating the time and money into the hobby that it requires then you should atleast supply the minimum requirements for the fish.

This is true. The fish will die earlier than they should. A perfect example is goldfish in one gal bowls. Goldfish live twenty years, but Goldie's in bowls live only a few months to a year or so

 

[cashmoney6980]

X2 @emerald

It is just plain cruel in my mind to put a fish in a tank that's too small for it full grown. It'd be like putting a toddlers room in a closet thinking that as he gets older that he'll stay that size because he won't "grow bigger than his room would allow". Why would you put 6 fish that grow up to a foot each in a tank that's only 48" long? Full grown they would have to take turns turning themselves around... Sorry if I sound rude, that's just one of my pet peeves.

 

[54seaweed]

OMG

just put me in a small box so I stop growing
imagine a 6 ft man 250+ pounds in a 3X3 box
not very comfortable huh
the way people think really scares me
and the worst part is they keep live stock
geezzzzzzzz
are the schools getting that bad
what ever happen to good ole common sense



wow

 

[Bettafanatic]

I agree with everyone. Downright cruel in my opinion.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I agree with the tang theory. You can keep them for a little while in a smaller tank knowing you are upgrading but lots of people end up not doing it in a timely manner as life comes up with unexpected expenses and a larger tank might not take precedence. The yellow tang is probably fine. A lot of LFS will sell you the small juveniles telling you it's okay for now. For now, sure, but in the long run I think you will find that you won't have the adequate room for its swimming habits. It's kind of like putting a Great Dane in a run and keeping him there. They need a lot of room to swim and while you may feel he has enough, in reality, you are putting them in a tiny space. Couple that with the fact that its shared space with other fish and it makes it even less. I would return them, or look online at Craig's list or other places to see if you could acquire a much larger tank. I know it's not what you want to hear but figure losing the money you spent on them over the next 2-3 years. Then think about the stress on them as they grow. Some might say "it's only a fish", but it's a living thing that counts on you to take care of it.