New Nano Reef Setup - Please Help

[skyler78]

Hello,

A friend of mine gave me a 30 gallon tank and helped me set it up. The 2nd day it was set up he stocked it with - 1 domino damsel (1 1/2"), 1 austraiian orange tail damsel (3"), 2 bicolor chromis (2"), 2 yellow tail damsels (1"), 2 fire fish (3"), 4 blue damsels (1 1/2"), 1 Three stipe damsel (2") and 2 Four Stripe Damsels (1" & 2").

Of course without any knowledge and my general excitement my small 30 gallon tank now has 15 fish in it. He told me that the general rule for stocking an aquarium is 1 gallon per inch of fish. But After a little bit of research I'm learning that this is something you take in to account after deciding compatibility of species.

My tank is obviously over stocked and I need to remove a lot of them very soon, but I'm not sure which species are the most compatible. My decision mainly depends on what will work with two Australian Black Perculas because I plan on getting them when my aquarium finishes cycling. According to several websites I'm learning that damsels should be stocked 1 per 20 gallons and they are more aggressive in small nano tanks. I'm starting to see this in person. They were getting along pretty good the first week but today (after the first water change) one of the Blue Damsels had his tail fin bitten off. He is now a gray / purple color and hiding in the corner barely swimming. The large Australian orange tail (3") is the culprit, he is chasing the other fish and is very aggressive. He now seems to have his sights on the smallest stripped damsel (1"). I've also noticed since the water change his colors have become much brighter and he often spikes up his dorsal fin.

Here is a little more info on my setup - It's a 30 gallon tank with 42lbs of live rock (pre cured), 40 lbs of live sand, eshopps pks 100 protien skimmer and a small aqua clear filter. My water tests have been ok aside from Nitrates they have been off the chart (literally). I have 8.0 ph, 0 Nitrates, 0 Amonia, 160+ Nitrates. This afternoon I did a 50% water change in effort to fix the Nitrate problem. The nitrates went down to about 40 ppm but several hours later they went back to 80+. I'm guessing this is due to over population?

I would love to hear some of your thoughts before I go to the LFS tomorrow.

Thanks!

[nlgill13]

Sounds like way to many fish as you suggested...I wouldn't ever put fish in the tank until it has completely finished cycling (b/c ammonia burns the fish and you will spikes of it at different times throughout the cycle)

Also setting up a quarantine tank (QT) would be good...You can take any of the extra fish that you keep and place them in the QT to keep an eye on them and to make sure they don't have any diseases

im thinking the max number of fish you want in a 30G is 5 or 6 smaller fish but you should probably wait for some advice from the nano guys

[pugcrush]

13 damsels and 2 firefish in a 30 gallon. That's a civil war waiting to happen.

First off, take out all livestock. Even though you've got cured live rock (depending on you determination of how LIVE it is), you still want the tank to cycle. If it was really good ESTABLISHED live rock, you might be ok with 2 fish. Either way, take out those fish ASAP and research.

[Butchhe]

Originally Posted by skyler78

He told me that the general rule for stocking an aquarium is 1 gallon per inch of fish. But After a little bit of research I'm learning that this is something you take in to account after deciding compatibility of species.

As your friend said, 1 gallon per fish is a general rule for freshwater fish, which is more accurate when stated 1 gallon per inch of fish once fully grown.

With marine fish, they need room to swim. The general rule is 5-6 times the length of the fish (fully grown) is what the tank needs to provide.

Again, these are general rules. You must look at the requirement for the species in which you wish to keep. The best thing I can tell you is research, research and some more research. Take it slow as nothing happens quickly in this hobby. GL

[foozdog]

I also agree with the other posters on this. When your tank parameters have settled out be cautious on what you add a pair of clowns may dominate the swimming area of your tank and can become aggressive. There is a sticky here for fish you can read. I would go with some kind of bottom dwelling goby and some cool inverts. Good luck and take your time you will be glad you did in the end

[Rockys_Pride]

Imo, take all the damsels and get store credit at your LFS. If you're planning on getting clowns, which are also damsels, you're going to have a fight later on.
You also need nutrient export, what do you have for that (fug, bio-pellets, etc.)? Keep up those w/c, for reasons stated above.

[skyler78]

thanks for the advice peoples. I took the 13 damsels to a store today. he liked the bicolored chormis and orange tail. but said he hardly stocks domino / stripe / blue because they are nasty fish and hard to remove.. another fish store told me people usually buy lion fish to get rid of them, odd but ok. the tank looks much more peaceful and hopefully the damsels will have longer lives.

[Fish Biscuit]

Also take one of the firefish back. 2 will only coexist if they are a pair & it will be a matter of time before they start beating each other up.

That was nice that one of the LFS thought you should buy a lionfish to help w/ your damsel problem.

Not all LFS are bad, but they pay the rent by selling fish. Do your homework & take your time & everything will work out ok. This is a great place for information!!

[skyler78]

I'm sorry I was wrong they aren't firefish they are scissortail gobies. They seem very attached they swim together and hide together.

My girlfriend's dad bought me this tank and brought the water from one of his tanks with 15 fish in it. I didn't know he was going to do this I found out the night before. I'm super grateful but I've been reading for 2-3 hours every night trying to get my head around all of this. He told me that if he put his water in it and his filter and live sand there would already be bacteria and I wouldn't need to cycle it.. I'm afraid the water he put in it was loaded with Nitrates around 160.. So I've been scratching my head trying to figure out how to fix this problem. Honestly I have no clue. I was thinking 30% water changes for a month or so then cut back to 5%?

[skyler78]

The first water change I did was 50%. Prior to that I added 42 lbs of live rock and another 10lbs of live sand. The nitrates went down to 80 after this water change. but I have a little spike in ammonia. I put some prime in to help with that.

I have to admit since he brought it over I have caught the saltwater bug. It seems very easy to get really excited and make a lot of irrational purchases / decisions. I'm just trying to slow down and let things take care of themselves. Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions thus far!

[Sugar Magnolia]

To Reef Central

Originally Posted by skyler78

It seems very easy to get really excited and make a lot of irrational purchases / decisions. I'm just trying to slow down and let things take care of themselves. Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions thus far!

Very wise for a beginner! Be sure to take the time to read through all of the stickies at the top of this forum. It's a lot of information to absorb, but it will answer a lot of the basic questions you may have and may clear up any confusion. Enjoy!!