When should I stop stocking aquarium?

[littlea8]

Okay so I have a 46 gallon bowfront aquarium. Currently I have:

2 Clownfish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Flame Angel
1 Green Chromis

I was looking to get a blue regal tang and possibly a different angelfish. Are these compatible and do I still have more room for fish or should I stop stocking my aquarium? In the book I own it says 1 inch for every 2 gallons so this would mean I have plenty of room left but I'm not sure if that's correct?

 

[Innovator]

A 46g is too small for any tang. They need larger aquariums to facilitate their swimming patterns, maneuverability, grazing habits, etc. If you didn't have a yellow tang already in your tank you could afford to have other fish, but I definitely would not add any more tangs. What kind of clownfish do you have? I've always known flame angels as being rather passive so one might tolerate a pygmy angel, but I doubt it would tolerate another dwarf in a 46g. I would not follow those 1" rules, they are quite inaccurate.

 

[melosu58]

I agree with James. Those inch rules are worthless. It all depends on what`s in the tank. Some fish have bigger bioloads then others. Some fish are messy eaters and some are not. I also agree with the tang advice. They need bigger tanks. Longer ones for more swimming area.

 

[littlea8]

I believe there ocellaris clownfish....does this mean I can add any new fish...maybe even a smaller one?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Stocking levels are kind of a personal choice as to how close to "the edge" you want to push it. Agree with the others that the tang probably shouldn't have been put in to start with. The additional angel will probably not coexist well with the existing angel. If the tang remains, I wouldn't put any more fish in there.

Here's the livestock in my 46g and I consider myself maxed out: 3x chromis, 1x O.Clown, 1x Bangaii Cardinalfish, and 1x yellow clown goby.

 

[littlea8]

ya I don't want to overstock...I really just wanted to add one more fish like a regal tang or a blue neon goby maybe something small...many people told me the yellow tang shouldn't even be in my tank when my LFS said it would be fine so that's why I'm so confused...to me it looks like there's a lot of space but then again I'm a beginner..would it be pushing it to add a small blue neon goby?

 

[GhostKnife]

I would think the goby would be fine as it will spend most of its time along the bottom and in and out of rocks. Your bio-load as of now is more than likely okay. But I would not get any more "swim fish" as you dont have the room. Another angel there is a 1% chance that it will get along with your flame angel. How much live rock is in your tank. Is there a way for you to free up some space for the tang to zoom back and forth. It is more than likely not full grown. Once full grown you could always exchange for a fish like a blenny or something of that nature. The tang will be cramped in a closed in space.

 

[littlea8]

I don't have much live rock in my opinion..heres a photo of my tank (flame angel is prob behind a rock)...but I would be happy with just a blue neon goby

 

[Copepod]

Neon Gobies are my favorite fish...can't find one to save my soul right now...good luck...they are also cleaners...will clean gills even of other fish...just make sure you get the Goby and not an Engineer Goby...can look similar. and lots of LFS employees don't know the difference...Neon Gobies are usually about 1" long and very blue stripe..