Invertabrae for 6 gallon tank

[MikeGio]

Hi I'm just wondering what my limit is for this size tank. The tank seems to be doing great.

Right now I have
1 fire shrimp
1 emerald crab
1 dwarf zebra hermit
2 nessarius snails

Would like to add more but would that be pushing it? If I can add more what?, 1 shrimp and 1 dwarf hermit?

 

[Craigj247]

Fire shrimp are generally kept in tanks over 40 to 50 gallons... Smaller tank generally call for skunk cleaners of peppermint shrimp...

 

[Craigj247]

Can I see a pic of your tank?

 

[MikeGio]

The fire shrimp was the first addition and he has been doing great.

 

[Craigj247]

They will all do well for now but you have to take in to account growth... Even your clown is going to start getting pretty big. The problem is bio load more than space and inverts are very sensitive to water changes... Any way that is my opinion.... I don't think you should add anything more but let's see what others have to say... It's a nice tank though.

 

[MikeGio]

They will all do well for now but you have to take in to account growth... Even your clown is going to start getting pretty big. The problem is bio load more than space and inverts are very sensitive to water changes... Any way that is my opinion.... I don't think you should add anything more but let's see what others have to say... It's a nice tank though.

Wouldn't bio load have more to do with excess waste and not changing the water enough?, I have been doing water changes once a week.

Thanks for the advice as I am pretty new to this and need to understand the limits.

 

[Craigj247]

Yup it is excess waste... There is only so much of waste a tank and it's filter can take before things start to go bad... The general water change is about 20% of the tank volume... Even though the fish get bigger and the waste gets more your filter and water changes are going to stay the same... You could always add on a bigger filter but then your filtration to tank ratio is going to go off balance and your bio filtration is going to start putting out loads of nitrates into your tank on account of it processing more ammonia cause of your fish and inverts growing and producing more waste... This can cause algae bloom and bad water conditions.... I think you might need to upgrade in a while to keep things running smoothly... The reef tank hobby is like an addiction and I am sure you will want to upgrade to a larger tank in due course

 

[MikeGio]

Updated view, tank is going great, need to do a 15% water change every 6-7 days. Have an emerald crab that is attacking the fish, thinking of giving him back.

 

[Jacobsal91]

Is this a fluval edge tank? Looks great

 

[scottayy]

You're way overstocked. Clownfish need 30 gallons minimum. I see you have two clownfish and an azure damselfish. They are going to get stressed and maybe die from it.

Not much you can do in six gallons. I would take the fish back and get maybe 1 nano fish (even that's pushing it).

Great looking tank though! Wish I had one that looked like that

 

[Cfox]

+ 1 overstocked

 

[MikeGio]

Thanks, it is cool looking and I know I'm way overstocked right now. The lfs convinced me that tank raised clown fish are find in small tanks. I am going to upgrade to a fifty gallon this week, the only thing is I have to cycle the tank for awhile. Should the fish be find until then?

The fish seen very healthy and happy, right now. Ive been doing 6 day water changes.

Any recommendations on a tank that size with a stand? Something cool looking but not a ton of money.

 

[Jacobsal91]

Thanks, it is cool looking and I know I'm way overstocked right now. The lfs convinced me that tank raised clown fish are find in small tanks. I am going to upgrade to a fifty gallon this week, the only thing is I have to cycle the tank for awhile. Should the fish be find until then?

The fish seen very healthy and happy, right now. Ive been doing 6 day water changes.

Any recommendations on a tank that size with a stand? Something cool looking but not a ton of money.

50 gallon? Honestly if you go to a furniture store you can probably find a dresser or cabinet that it will fit on, make sure its strong enough! Or check online you can usually find something! For that tank if you pay more than like 200 your spending way too much IMO

 

[angelvelez87]

I have a pair of clowns on my fluval edge!! And sometimes it gets to 90 degrees and they are so beautiful and well and good looking!! I love them!! And i think your tank looks great too!!

 

[MikeGio]

I have a pair of clowns on my fluval edge!! And sometimes it gets to 90 degrees and they are so beautiful and well and good looking!! I love them!! And i think your tank looks great too!!

My fluval edge got hot like that also and I changed the hood and light to a cheap led and it works like magic.

 

[angelvelez87]

Yeah i know but mine is still hot like 88 with the leds!! Thats the down side of living in puerto rico!! Without a/c Or even a fan its too hot sometimes!! And btw do plan on putting some corals??

 

[scottayy]

That is just not ethical fishkeeping. Get a fan over that tank. Your fish are being tortured. By size and heat.

 

[angelvelez87]

Tell that to the people that made the freaking tank!! I always care for them and if in any case i see them in bad health i'll do anything to have them healthy but as i said they are so good and have been for more than 2 years then im not making any different!!

 

[carey]

Those 6g were not MADE for clownfish, they were made for mini eco systems.

The clowns should be ok for a few weeks in that tank until you can get a larger one up and running. The damsel I would take back regardless. Tank is too small for such a nasty fish. lol

All of you who have temps over 81 degrees should be doing something proactive to get those temps down and keep them down. It;s not good for the fish, period.

I had a 4g pico set up for a bit and I had 99% coral and one half inch fish. So it can be done really well in a 6g, no doubt about it. You just have to consider the restraints on livestock and work with it.

Here are some pictures of what I did with a 4g tank.

 

[MikeGio]

Those 6g were not MADE for clownfish, they were made for mini eco systems.

The clowns should be ok for a few weeks in that tank until you can get a larger one up and running. The damsel I would take back regardless. Tank is too small for such a nasty fish. lol

All of you who have temps over 81 degrees should be doing something proactive to get those temps down and keep them down. It;s not good for the fish, period.

I had a 4g pico set up for a bit and I had 99% coral and one half inch fish. So it can be done really well in a 6g, no doubt about it. You just have to consider the restraints on livestock and work with it.

Here are some pictures of what I did with a 4g tank.

I removed the entire light fixture and hood and replaced it with a clip on led, the temp stays between 75-78 and doesn't move from there.

The damsel is not nasty at all and seems to actually be less territorial then the female clown.