Slight confusion with stocking levels

[kenpau]

I've been researching what fish to stock my new 30 gallon nano with and am finding contradicting advise with regards to stocking levels online. I've kept saltwater tanks for over 10 years and it hasn't ever really been an issue for me because 4 or 5 decent size fish in a 150 gallon was all I wanted.

However I am seeing statements online such as 1" of fish for every 10 gallons, meaning I can only put one clownfish in my new system!...

20180714_104113 by kenpau01, on Flickr

Even with the 1" to 5 gallon rule I'm looking at a pair of clowns as a maximum. I do have massive amounts of filtration on the system so the bioload isn't a huge concern for me, but swimming space and maintaining a peaceful system is definitely a priority.

I'd love to put a group of 5 Threadfin cardinals in there, these are very slow, methodical swimmers with a max size of around 2", but that would put me massively overstocked if you go by the 1:5 rule. Other possible fish I've been looking at are the blue assessor, royal gramma and a flame angel.



Any advice with stocking would be awesome and knowing what stocking levels people successfully run in similar sized systems to mine would be greatly appreciated!



Build thread is here btw if anyone needs more info about the system...


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2679540

 

[Cancun]

I've been researching what fish to stock my new 30 gallon nano with and am finding contradicting advise with regards to stocking levels online. I've kept saltwater tanks for over 10 years and it hasn't ever really been an issue for me because 4 or 5 decent size fish in a 150 gallon was all I wanted.

However I am seeing statements online such as 1" of fish for every 10 gallons, meaning I can only put one clownfish in my new system!...

20180714_104113 by kenpau01, on Flickr

Even with the 1" to 5 gallon rule I'm looking at a pair of clowns as a maximum. I do have massive amounts of filtration on the system so the bioload isn't a huge concern for me, but swimming space and maintaining a peaceful system is definitely a priority.

I'd love to put a group of 5 Threadfin cardinals in there, these are very slow, methodical swimmers with a max size of around 2", but that would put me massively overstocked if you go by the 1:5 rule. Other possible fish I've been looking at are the blue assessor, royal gramma and a flame angel.



Any advice with stocking would be awesome and knowing what stocking levels people successfully run in similar sized systems to mine would be greatly appreciated!



Build thread is here btw if anyone needs more info about the system...


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2679540

Hi! Nice set up!! I don't go by the inch per gallon rule personally. But from my own experience it is better to be understocked then overstocked. Yrs ago when I had my first tank, it was a 29 gallon biocube....I had 5 fish max in that tank. A couple clowns, a six line Wrasse, a Blenny, and a pink spotted goby. That was max for that tank, anymore and water quality went down hill.

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[kenpau]

Hi! Nice set up!! I don't go by the inch per gallon rule personally. But from my own experience it is better to be understocked then overstocked. Yrs ago when I had my first tank, it was a 29 gallon biocube....I had 5 fish max in that tank. A couple clowns, a six line Wrasse, a Blenny, and a pink spotted goby. That was max for that tank, anymore and water quality went down hill.

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

Hi, thanks for the comment. The inch per gallon rule seems very vague to me. I'm not overly worried about filtration with this system as the equipment I'm running is massively over-rated for the size system. I'm more worried about territorial aggression, with passive fish though I'm wondering how much of an issue this would be?

 

[nereefpat]

Inch per gallon "rules" are nonsensical, imo. Focus on if the fish will fit in the tank and compatibility between your stocklist.

The cardinals, assessor, and gramma will all be fine. The flame angel will get too big and aggressive for a 30 gallon.

Very pretty tank, btw.

 

[IowaReefer]

Inch per gallon "rules" are nonsensical, imo. Focus on if the fish will fit in the tank and compatibility between your stocklist.

The cardinals, assessor, and gramma will all be fine. The flame angel will get too big and aggressive for a 30 gallon.

Very pretty tank, btw.

Perfectly stated!

 

[Deberber]

Inch per gallon "rules" are nonsensical, imo. Focus on if the fish will fit in the tank and compatibility between your stocklist.

The cardinals, assessor, and gramma will all be fine. The flame angel will get too big and aggressive for a 30 gallon.

Very pretty tank, btw.

Yep, perfect answer. Beautiful tank setup.

 

[Cancun]

Inch per gallon "rules" are nonsensical, imo. Focus on if the fish will fit in the tank and compatibility between your stocklist.

The cardinals, assessor, and gramma will all be fine. The flame angel will get too big and aggressive for a 30 gallon.

Very pretty tank, btw.

Yea I totally agree.....if you really want to add a dwarf angel then go for a cherub angel, but if you want a peaceful tank, I would stay clear of the angels, and go with your other choices. Even in larger tanks, there is nothing worse than an agressive fish upsetting the balance! [emoji16]

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[kenpau]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I agree about the angel, it's a bit of a struggle to find a 'show' fish for a system smaller that 50 gallons. I think I'll add a small group of 5 threadfins next, and probably a Royal Grammer later on with possibly one other addition, most likely the Blue assessor.
I definitely value everyone's opinion though so thanks for taking the time to reply