is this too many fish?

[Cozen89]

I wanted to think ahead of how many and what kind of fish I want to have in my tank so I can plan it out and not overload my tank.

I have a 50 gallon 36x18x18 tank.

I already have about 40 pounds of LR, I am considering about 10-20 more.

I will probably start with a few beginner corals such as mushrooms and green polyps.

So here is my list of fish that I'm thinking of getting:

2 false oc. clowns (hopefully can get a pair)
3 green chromis (i like active fish)
1 diamond goby
1 goby (not sure which one yet. Any suggestions? I'm thinking dragon, yash, or circus)
1 pygmy angel

This of course will be combined with a variety of hermits, snails, 3 shrimp or so (cleaner, pistol, fire) and a emerald crab or 2.

So is this too much of a load for a 50 gallon tank?

If not, anyone suggest another fish beneficial to this kind of tank.

Thanks everyone!

[Leopard Man]

Probably a little too much. It's all personal preference really. IMO, I wouldn't do the 3 chromis (not much personality and sometimes kill each other) and the pygmy angel (might nip on your corals).

The rest are fine. Why not try a fairy or flasher wrasse if you like active fish? You could also try a leopard wrasse, just make sure you have sand. Also make sure you keep egg crate over the top or have a canopy as fairies and leopards jump occasionally. 3 - 5 3" fish are good for a tank with your dimensions.

Cheers

[N8ster]

Another suggestion would be to add them very slowly. You can get by with more fish, if you add them over a longer period of time.

Here is a great tank with lots of fish, but you will notice that he added them over several years, and they have lots of places to hide.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

[Cozen89]

3-5 fish that are 3 inches? Damn, shoulda got a 100 gallon haha.

I like the chromis because I like the schooling behavior and they tend to draw out other shy fish to swim.

What do you mean by personality?

[Sk8r]

Yes.

You'll get better behavior out of your fish if they aren't stressed by overpopulation. It's not an unreasonable fish list, except if you added them all in the first two months. Do one fish or one set at a time [start with the chromis, proceed to the clowns or the goby] and quarantine your new ones, even the first ones, to make sure ich doesn't infest your tank---new tanks are double-susceptible to it, something about the chemistry. If you're qt'd and careful about your chemistry you'll do fine. One caveat: don't get a diamond goby until your tank is nearly a year old: they're detritus eaters and may starve to death in a young tank, because there's no food for them.

Personality? They have it, even a bit of individuality---I had a tang that hated nori; have a mandarin that thinks she's a tang's best friend, and a ywg that likes to cruise the front glass after main lights go out. And a completely harmless tailspot blenny that can stare down most fish in the tank, even the bullies, though he's only 2" long max.

[rustybucket145]

I'd probably shave the diamond goby off the list and then I'd say you would be fine. You just won't have enough sandbed to support that fish. Other than that I think your list looks fine.

Do NOT add them all at once. You could add the clowns together but I'd spead the others out over several weeks (a week for each fish) the most aggressive last.

[papagimp]

For the most part you would need a very large tank to get much schooling behavior. Chromis may stick together when first introduced but have a tendancy to "disapear" later on, or kill tankmates and loose that schooling behavoir you like so much.

I do think that load sounds a bit high, especially considering you have less than the minimum recommended amount of live rock in the tank. Do you have any live sand in the tank at all? Or bare bottom? Either way, I'd add another 20lbs of rock minimum let that seed a week or so, than add the fish. But that's just me.

Multiple gobies may interact negatively. May not, but it's a possibiltiy, and good chance they may compete for the same food sources. Choose carefully.

As for the Ocellaris Clowns. Get two juviniles, obvious juvi's, don't go for the bigger fella's. Getting two small juvi's will pretty much guarantee a pair (not always, but most the time, especially with this species) Clowns are hermaphroditic and out of a group of clowns, you'll have one dominate female, one dominate male, and a bunch of sexually immature males. If anything happens to the misses, the dominate male takes over and changes to a female, and the next unsexually mature male takes the males spot. Just FYI

[chrisqueenz]

What type of filtration are you using?

[Cozen89]

yes I was planning on about 20 more lbs of live rock which would give me about 60lbs. I have about 1.5 inches of live sand in my tank. I was about to get another 20 lbs today and add that. As for filtration I'm just using live rock and remora skimmer. I'm debating a hang on refugium with some more LR rubble and that green plant stuff. Chiata? is it called?

[rustybucket145]

The fuge with Chaeto will probably be the best investment you will ever make for your tank.

But yes you are on the right track. Live rock= Ok, SS=Ok and Skimmer=AOk!

[Cozen89]

when I set up this tank, I purchased an established 30 gallon tank with the LR and live sand and transfered it to a 50 gallon. I kept about 15-20 gallons of the old water. A good portion of the live rock is purple and seems well established. Should I be adding calcium to help the Lr in development as well?

also I've been having a bit of trouble with temperature if any of you have seen my other post. Would it help cool the temperature if I set up my used 30 gallon as a sump/refugium and allow me to keep a few more fish since there is more water going throught the cycle?

oh also does the fuge need light for the chaeto?

Thanks for your help

[papagimp]

Originally posted by rustybucket145
The fuge with Chaeto will probably be the best investment you will ever make for your tank.

Couldn't agree more with rusty on this one. Chaetomorphia is a freakin' miracle plant!

and no, I wouldn't be adding calcium to help the live rock out. What you could do though, is get a test kit for calcium, check the levels and maintain them at 420-450ppm. If they are there or higher, no need to add more calcium.

[papagimp]

a sump /refugium will help some to cool the water down, a fan across the surface would help too.

Cheato will need a day/night light cycle to thrive. Luckily for us reefers, that can be as simple as going to home depot, spending $20 on a clamp on shoplight (one of those silver dish style clampy light thingies) and a cheap bulb. The bulb I use is a slyvania brand spiral compact flourescent, rated for 75watts but runs only 23 watts. Also availabe at home depot, lowes, and recently found a similar 6900k bulb at the dollar store .

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Your list sounds fine for that size tank. As stated, the chromis may or maynot school. Also the Diamond goby may not survive as stated. maybe look into a Yellow Watchman Goby or such.

As for the LR, most of the theroy of so many pounds per Gal of water are nothing more than someone trying to set a guide line. The big thing of LR is how porus is it which will give a greater surface area for the benifical bacteria to grow upon. If you've got some good porus LR, then you should be OK. Don't overcrowd your tank with LR and wind up crowding out your fish. If you think you need more LR, add it to a sump, not the main tank.

The majority of pygmy Angels are considered Reef safe. I've kept several of them over the years with no problems. I've had them with softies, LPS and SPS as well as clams.

The key is to take your time. Go slow and watch the tank mature gracefully.

[Leopard Man]

Originally posted by Cozen89
3-5 fish that are 3 inches? Damn, shoulda got a 100 gallon haha.

I like the chromis because I like the schooling behavior and they tend to draw out other shy fish to swim.

What do you mean by personality?

It's just personal preference. I just find chromis pretty boring, and if you really want to see their behaviour, a larger tank would be better. IMO, if you can only have a few fish, choose fish that are rare, beautiful, hardy and with character suited for your tank. Hence I suggest 5 3-4" fish (max adult size). That of course is entirely subjective.

Have fun.

[Cozen89]

Originally posted by Leopard Man
It's just personal preference. I just find chromis pretty boring, and if you really want to see their behaviour, a larger tank would be better. IMO, if you can only have a few fish, choose fish that are rare, beautiful, hardy and with character suited for your tank. Hence I suggest 5 3-4" fish (max adult size). That of course is entirely subjective.

Have fun.

that's actually pretty good advice. I guess since I am limited in the amount I can get, get the best possible.

Any more suggestions on what fish these might be?

reef safe please

[JER-Z]

i think you would be ok with that many...But go slow, don't add them all at once...And filtration has to be good of course.

if you get a diamond, make sure it is eating frozen food at the store before you buy it. I have had one for a while now and he is healthy and growing, he eats everything i feed and has a healthy appetite. I have heard that some don't do well because they never really eat prepared foods.

[Cozen89]

Originally posted by JER-Z
i think you would be ok with that many...But go slow, don't add them all at once...And filtration has to be good of course.

if you get a diamond, make sure it is eating frozen food at the store before you buy it. I have had one for a while now and he is healthy and growing, he eats everything i feed and has a healthy appetite. I have heard that some don't do well because they never really eat prepared foods.

The diamond is the only fish I have in my tank right now and he's eaten pellets. But he has just ben hiding for 5 days straight or so. Hasn't been playing in the sand at all, but at least he's eating.