How many fish in a 55 gallon?

[EthanHawaii]

Hi, I have a 55 gallon reef tank, and i'm just wondering how many fish I can fit in it?
I was thinking of getting a Yellow Clown Goby, or a tiny school of 3-4 nano fish.
The list below is what I currently have.

FISH/CRUSTACEANS:
2 Clowns.
1 Yellow Watchman Goby.
1 Pistol Shrimp.
1 Hoevens Wrasse.
1 Bubble tip Anemone.

CORALS:
1 Ricordea Florida (soon to be 2).
1 Frogspawn coral.
30 mushrooms.
1 Favites? (I think).

FILTRATO:
API filstar large.
30lb live rock.
SkimMate Protein Skimmer 65 gallon.
3 inch live sand bed.


Thank you very much,

Ethan

 

[Sk8r]

WHat worked well for me with a 54 corner bow: royal gramma, one chromis (or azure or yellowtail damsel), pair of highfin redstripe gobies, starry blenny, tailspot blenny [these two ONLY if you have enough algae to sustain them], yellow watchman, 1 firefish, yellowheaded jawfish.
Many of these are shy, but in this company, with no one threatening, they're front and center and active.

 

[EthanHawaii]

Did you have aggression with the Yellow Watchman goby and the Blenny?

Thanks!

 

[cougareyes]

I had a yellow watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair and a tail spot blenny in a 14g. I had no problems, the wg/ps stayed on the sandbed hovering their entrances to their underground cavern. The blenny was all over and they never seemed to pay each other any mind.

 

[serbusfish]

WHat worked well for me with a 54 corner bow: royal gramma, one chromis (or azure or yellowtail damsel), pair of highfin redstripe gobies, starry blenny, tailspot blenny [these two ONLY if you have enough algae to sustain them], yellow watchman, 1 firefish, yellowheaded jawfish.
Many of these are shy, but in this company, with no one threatening, they're front and center and active.

Sk8r, that's interesting to me because I was told that even having 8 fish in my 75 gallon was by many considered 'fully stocked' yet you're recommending 9 in a 54. Out of interest how many fish would you recommend for a 75?

 

[cougareyes]

I consider the psychological effects of stocking a tank beyond the biological effects of stocking. I can easily control bio load through a variety of methods but giving each species what they need in order of swimming space, caves, etc. and not combining fish that would create stress to the environment is more important to me. But in the end what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

 

[MadCnty]

It has always been, IMHO 1" of fish/per gallon...

 

[serbusfish]

I consider the psychological effects of stocking a tank beyond the biological effects of stocking. I can easily control bio load through a variety of methods but giving each species what they need in order of swimming space, caves, etc. and not combining fish that would create stress to the environment is more important to me. But in the end what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

For me at least the tank doesnt feel very full, the top of the tank is especially empty apart from at feeding time. I was thinking about putting in a Chromis or something that will swim higher up.

 

[jayball]

It has always been, IMHO 1" of fish/per gallon...

That is not even close to true, especially in a saltwater tank. It does not even accurately measure how much waste your fish produce. As an example a 4 inch dartfish will produce significantly less waste than a 4" tang if nothing else than a function of total mass

The most important thing that need to be taken into account when stocking is aggression management. That includes enough food available (for grazers), enough hiding spots / places to sleep, territory for fish that care about that, avoiding conspecific or like pairs that will battle to death, and plenty of other things.

If you try to shove 20" of fish in that tank in your sig you will probably have a few suprises down the line.

 

[EthanHawaii]

It has always been, IMHO 1" of fish/per gallon...

Thats for freshwater. For saltwater they say 1'' of fish every 4 gallons.

 

[EthanHawaii]

For me at least the tank doesnt feel very full, the top of the tank is especially empty apart from at feeding time. I was thinking about putting in a Chromis or something that will swim higher up.

My clowns have ocd, they will ONLY swim at the top of the tank!

 

[MadCnty]

My claim was in fact what I learned doing FW... And yes a 4" tang will output more than a 4" fire fish, but it is a "general" rule of thumb I use... You also have to consider your bio lode that your CuC produces...

 

[T Haynes]

Sk8r, that's interesting to me because I was told that even having 8 fish in my 75 gallon was by many considered 'fully stocked' yet you're recommending 9 in a 54. Out of interest how many fish would you recommend for a 75?

There no set number. Depends greatly on the type of fish you have and how much waste they make. It's better to start with a list you want and whittle it down

 

[JohnnyHildo]

to me this is basically an impossible question to answer as there are many contributing factors as to why having that extra fish did or didn't work out.
i think the best course of action is to establish your stocking plan and stick to it. if you know you're that person that's the type that struggles with will power leave space in advance for an impulse purchase or 2.

 

[EthanHawaii]

Ok, I am thinking of maybe getting a pair of Cardinalfish.

The one fish I would absolutely die for is a flame angel (or any dwarf angel) but I have heard everywhere that they will eventually kill the corals in the tank, but I also heard that as long as they never get hungry they won't nip at the corals? if I feed the flame angel enough would I be able to keep one without any problems? I feed my fish twice a day, 5-7 small pellets of quality pellet food, and 1/3rd of a cube of mysis shrimp, (picture of mysis shrimp cube below). Have you had any experience with flame angels? I really don't want to spend over $100 for one and then have to get rid of it!

Thank you everyone,
Ethan

This is the size of mysis shrimp cubes I use, I use 1/3rd of one of these cubes everyday.

And this is the brand of mysis I use.

 

[Reefer610]

I have two clownfish, a tomini tang, firefish, lawnmower blenny coral beauty, royal dottyback, six line wrasse plus sand sifting starfish and cleaner shrimp.

 

[shred5]

Actually it has more to do with Territory with saltwater fish.. Allot of saltwater fish are very aggressive or territorial.

Some can grow rather large so there is no way to have a set number.

Some people can puts lots of small fish in if they have the filtration for them...

 

[bat21]

Nutrient levels and territory. If you can export the nutrients, there is no real limit to the amount of fish you can have simply based on number. But if you want HAPPY fish. Then you need to respect what they require in terms of territory. I plan on overstocking my 65 gallon with probably 12 fish. All small, under 3". But I have painstakingly planned it out so that every little fish has it's own place in the tank, which makes them comfortable, happy, and peaceful. So far I have:

Pair of clowns: Never stray away from their rock, middle left side
Royal Gramma: Has his cave on the left side behind the clowns rock
Firefish: Has a bolt hole in a rock on the right front side
Watchman: Has two holes right next to eachother behind the firefish's hangout
Neon Goby: Darts all over, but has his own little hole under the gramma's cave
Pygmy Filefish: Slowly skuttles around pecking at rocks or just hanging out in corners
Yellow banded Possum Wrasse: Needs nothing. He swims in and out of the rocks and around the entire tank all day long and is everyone's favorite neighbor. He's like Mr. Rogers.

So everyone has their place. The next addition, currently in quarantine is a yellow clown goby, who I expect to perch on rocks and branchy things, of which there are plenty of.

After that, I'm going for a pajama cardinal to just hang out in the water column all day.

And I'm still undecided beyond that. But the point is, it's not a numbers game, so much as a puzzle. If the pieces fit together, it can work, as long as you have the required equipment or maintenance schedule to export nutrients.

 

[MT_is_a_Pisces]

Like the livestock selection. Currently have Pair of Clowns, 2 Firefish and 3 Banggai cardinals and the take looks empty

 

[EthanHawaii]

Like the livestock selection. Currently have Pair of Clowns, 2 Firefish and 3 Banggai cardinals and the take looks empty

I'm haveing the same problem. With only 4 fish in the tank it looks kinda boring.