Can I stock more?

SWFirstTimer · 09/23/2007, 08:28 PM

We have been spending the last several months setting up a 30 gallon long tank. We have approx 30 - 40 lbs live rock, one with yellow sponge, some purple and lots of green growth. A xenia, some mushrooms...and 2 aptasias, I think (I know, not good...but no spread and the wife likes them)

We have stocked this with the 4 striped (white and black) and blue damsel we had in a smaller tank when we first started, a false percula and a crown royal angel (Dwarf). We also have approximately 1 1/2 - 2 dozen snails and hermit crabs and a turbo snail.

Was wondering...are we maxed out or could we add the following?

The wife would like a second percula (false)...from some reading it sounds like I could put in 2 and they would get along, a 6 line wrasse to help with bristle worms as we have several starting to show and maybe 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp. Is this too much? Other suggestions?

Thanks!

harryk · 09/23/2007, 08:36 PM

a six line wrasse and 1 more clownfish would be ok. Just make sure it's smaller then the one you currently have. I would remove the 4 stripe damsel though. they are super aggressive and might have some issues in a small tank like yours. the blue damsel isn't as aggressive and you should be ok. also 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp would be fine. Just a note though. you probably have too many snails if you have 12-24 or is that incuding hermits?? If there isn't enough algae they will starve to death.

hope this helps

boiler_2000 · 09/23/2007, 08:39 PM

Don't be too quick to eradicate the bristles. From what I undersatand from many on this site, they are harmless to your reef and are a very good addition to you CUC.

Norward · 09/24/2007, 08:13 PM

Keeping aptasia in your tank is asking for trouble, spread is only a matter of time. Consider a peppermint shrimp or two to control it. If you are going to keep that many fish in a 30L, I hope you have a protein skimmer.

bertoni · 09/24/2007, 08:17 PM

I wouldn't add any more fish to the tank. It has 3 reasonable-sized fish already. The tank might be okay with an additional ocellaris clown, but the water quality might turn downhill. The dwarf angel gets fairly large for a tank of that size, in my experience.

petoonia · 09/24/2007, 08:38 PM

If you got rid of both of the damsels you should be able to get away with it IMO. As long as you keep up with water changes, and have a decent skimmer.

Shrimp should be fine as long as you keep your nitrates down.

As far as the aiptasia goes...well I had a tank about 10 years ago. I had no idea what aiptasia were. When a few popped up in my tank I thought I had some cool hitchikers. I actually fed the darn things. Well about 6 months later my live rock was covered in aiptasia, and it was pretty much impossible to fix the problem. So having a few in the tank might be nice to look at now, but when you have hundreds of them in your tank they start to loose their appeal. So you might want to rethink keeping them in your tank. That's just my 2 cents.

Good luck with your new tank!!!

09/23/2007, 08:28 PM	#1
SWFirstTimer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 14	Can I stock more? We have been spending the last several months setting up a 30 gallon long tank. We have approx 30 - 40 lbs live rock, one with yellow sponge, some purple and lots of green growth. A xenia, some mushrooms...and 2 aptasias, I think (I know, not good...but no spread and the wife likes them) We have stocked this with the 4 striped (white and black) and blue damsel we had in a smaller tank when we first started, a false percula and a crown royal angel (Dwarf). We also have approximately 1 1/2 - 2 dozen snails and hermit crabs and a turbo snail. Was wondering...are we maxed out or could we add the following? The wife would like a second percula (false)...from some reading it sounds like I could put in 2 and they would get along, a 6 line wrasse to help with bristle worms as we have several starting to show and maybe 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp. Is this too much? Other suggestions? Thanks!

09/24/2007, 08:17 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I wouldn't add any more fish to the tank. It has 3 reasonable-sized fish already. The tank might be okay with an additional ocellaris clown, but the water quality might turn downhill. The dwarf angel gets fairly large for a tank of that size, in my experience. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

09/24/2007, 08:38 PM	#6
petoonia HereWeGoAgain... Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,648	If you got rid of both of the damsels you should be able to get away with it IMO. As long as you keep up with water changes, and have a decent skimmer. Shrimp should be fine as long as you keep your nitrates down. As far as the aiptasia goes...well I had a tank about 10 years ago. I had no idea what aiptasia were. When a few popped up in my tank I thought I had some cool hitchikers. I actually fed the darn things. Well about 6 months later my live rock was covered in aiptasia, and it was pretty much impossible to fix the problem. So having a few in the tank might be nice to look at now, but when you have hundreds of them in your tank they start to loose their appeal. So you might want to rethink keeping them in your tank. That's just my 2 cents. Good luck with your new tank!!! __________________ I've been in the hobby for about 10 years....(so I know a little bit)...(but not all that much).... Current Tank Info: 58G. Oceanic (Starphire). Mixed Reef

09/23/2007, 08:36 PM	#2
harryk Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 262	a six line wrasse and 1 more clownfish would be ok. Just make sure it's smaller then the one you currently have. I would remove the 4 stripe damsel though. they are super aggressive and might have some issues in a small tank like yours. the blue damsel isn't as aggressive and you should be ok. also 1 or 2 cleaner shrimp would be fine. Just a note though. you probably have too many snails if you have 12-24 or is that incuding hermits?? If there isn't enough algae they will starve to death. hope this helps

09/23/2007, 08:39 PM	#3
boiler_2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 87	Don't be too quick to eradicate the bristles. From what I undersatand from many on this site, they are harmless to your reef and are a very good addition to you CUC.

09/24/2007, 08:13 PM	#4
Norward Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Little Rock Posts: 407	Keeping aptasia in your tank is asking for trouble, spread is only a matter of time. Consider a peppermint shrimp or two to control it. If you are going to keep that many fish in a 30L, I hope you have a protein skimmer.