Today's math lesson is...

Z

zar

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Nov 22, 2004
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Okay, just planning way ahead here, but...

I have (or will have as soon as it cycles) a 29g reef tank. Assuming I put about 20-25 pounds of live rock in it (with about 3"-4" of sand; 1" of which is live sand) and get a few softies, what's the average/normal/usual/customary number of swimmers I could add?

thanks,
bruce
 
Sorry, I should have been more clear in my request. I'm looking for specifics and actual numbers. As a newbie, "less" means nothing to me. I could end up getting 100 fish and think that was less. ;-)

Also, I'm looking for suggestions on my first set of livestock. All I know for sure right now is that my four year old has me committed to getting a clownfish ala Nemo, but beyond that, I have no preferences yet.

thanks!
bruce
 
I have always been told the general rule is 1 inch of fish for every 4 gallons of water. Since you have 29 gallons you could have approx 7 inches of fish.

I follow this rule and dont have any problems. Of course some fish polute more and you have to watch out for that too. Clowns would be like 1-1.5 inches each depending on their size. You could get 2 clowns and then a couple other fish and probably be ok.

I have heard of people doing as much as 1 inch for ever 2 gallons (twice as much) and keep the water quality up, but then the fish can tend to feel crowded and unhappy.
 
Depends on what you're interested in. Make sure you use the adult size--tangs do not belong in small tanks, nor do dogface puffers and trigger.

1 pygmy angel
2 percula clowns


2 percula clowns
1 jawfish goby

1 jaw goby
2 pajama cardinals

2 chalk basslets
1 shrimp/goby

1 shrimp/goby
2 firefish (with very well covered tank only)

3 clown gobies
1 pygmy angel

And of course, a host of inverts--snails, worms, shrimp, small crabs, etc.
 
Thanks OnionGirl -- that's exactly what I was hoping to get. Kind of a "recommended" list of livestock that would be fun and yet not be overcrowded.

I went to a fish seller site and started with those you suggested, looking at pictures, etc., and now have a base list to begin with.

Given that this will be a reef system, am I safe in assuming that there is virtually no limit to the number of invertabrae allowed? I.e., whereas the fish might need to follow an "inches" rule, I can have a healthy count of hermit crabs, cleaner shrimp, snails, etc? And a reasonable number of softies, I imagine.

True? Or is there a rule or limit for those as well?

thanks,
bruce
 
HkySk8r187 said:
I have always been told the general rule is 1 inch of fish for every 4 gallons of water. Since you have 29 gallons you could have approx 7 inches of fish.

29 gal aquarium
100 gal prizm protein skimmer
one powerhead
one heater
2 inches live sand
20 lbs live rock
1 yellow tang
2 clowns
water temp 80F
specific gravity 1.022
pH 8.2
Click to expand...

I'll start with the 1:4 rule and see where it goes. Thanks!

BTW, your tank sounds almost letter-for-letter the same as mine. Except I don't have any fish in it yet. :-)
 
There are limits to the number of inverts, but they are 'soft' numbers--it's more about how many you can feed and provide territory for than a bio-load. Algae eaters are particularly hard to gauge, since a lot will depend on how much supplemental feeding you can provide. I'd start with about 2-3 cleaners per 5 gallons--maybe 15 snails, 5 crabs, 2 shrimp, and a bunch of worms (little guys, individual counts don't make sense). That's a pretty easy number to work with, and you will likely need to add as you go. Some of these will probably come in on good live rock, as well, so don't fuss too much about specific numbers.

With fish--it is a big deal. The fish are harder to keep alive than most 'cleaner' critters, and contribute more to the bio-load. With corals, there's a space issue--they compete chemically and physically for space, so knowing if it's an aggressive coral and how much area it will defend is very important.
 
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