Newbie is my tank overstocked?

[vicltruong]

I have a 10 gal with 5lbs live rock. No corals; HOB filter 70gph and an internal filter 70gph. I have in it 4 fish:

1.5" ocellaris clown
1" ocellaris clown
1" blue damsel
1" 3 strip damsel.

I have this for 2 weeks and everything looks alright. I added the fish slowly and cycled the tank properly. 15% water change every week. Amonia 0, Nitrate 0 and PH 0.

I'm wondering if this is overstocked? According to most literature it is overstocked when the fish grow up. But I see so many people overstock their tanks and it's doing okay. I was also wondering what are the consequences of overstocking? And also why are most of the fish literature recommeding such rediculously low stocking guidelines? i.e. I have read some people recommend 1" per 10 gallon. What is the point of that?

[Boomboy]

well that 1" per 5G at least as i have heard it, its just a guideline, some fish eat more or are more messy eaters, but as a guideline its not to bad, its not accurate but just good for the health of your fish and so you dont raise levels to much but back to the fish, your tank is very very new. 2 weeks is just the time it took for your tank to finish its cycle, when you said you added the fish slowly, you mean you added them all at once? but just slowly? or just added fish over those 2 weeks slowly? im assuming your PH is not 0, you have very little live rock in your tank for bio-filtration. another thing is that mixing damsels are said to be a no-no because they are very aggressive towards each other. and your fish need room to swim and also room for territory. youve made some mistakes but thats ok, just learn from them, and progress from it. read up alot more and try and get rid of at least half of those fish.

[PoonTang]

I would think if you were to gut the filters and fill them with LR of atleast 20 LBS and add a small skimmer you should be ok. However, those damsels are evil, trade them back in if you can.

[vicltruong]

sorry PH is 8.0. I guess my real question is what will happen if a tank is overstocked, assuming water quality can be maintained (i.e. Amonia and nitrite at 0) and all fish are at the same level of aggressiveness so no bullying? Is there any other factors that will kill a fish besides fighting and poor water quality?

Thanks for your help. I ask because I think 1" per 5 gallon makes the tank look very sparse and not very interesting.

[langdon reefer]

I would think if you were to gut the filters and fill them with LR of atleast 20 LBS and add a small skimmer you should be ok. However, those damsels are evil, trade them back in if you can.

Agreed the damsels gotta go i just got rid of the last one in my 220gal tank and he was chasing and killing fish 3 times his size he even killed his 6 brothers/sisters

[fdiddy]

i would think if you were to gut the filters and fill them with lr of atleast 20 lbs and add a small skimmer you should be ok. However, those damsels are evil, trade them back in if you can.

+1

[marie]

I personally am a fan of damsels (after all, clown fish are damsels) just as long as a person is aware that they are aggressive and should be the last fish added.
They are tough, hardy, cheap and colourful who could ask for anything more :mrgreen:

[vicltruong]

yeah I added the 3 strip damsel last he is getting chased by the blue damsel. but he keeps going back to the rock. The 1.5" clown is the boss but he doesn't do anything and the 1" clown just follows him around. it's interesting watching the territory battle.

I'm planning a predator tank next want a trigger, puffer, box fish, and cow fish. and maybe these damsel will go in there after they get bigger. What size of a tank minimum do you guys and girls think I need?

[Marlin65]

First thing you will have problems with on an overstocked tank is algae usually hair. Just make sure you do your water changes regularly, and some of the other suggestions posted would help your tank that much more.:wink:
Box/Cow fish release toxin when they die and can wipe out your hole tank just food for thought. I would think 75-90 min for the Trigger/Puffer combo depending on what kind.

[mike31154]

I currently have 7 fish in my 75 gal. At the most I had 10 but the 3 blue/green chromis have all been picked off. So I guess in a way my tank has established its stocking level by attrition. I have no plans to add any more fish to this tank. Mind you, most of my fish are considerably larger than one or two inches. Among them is one Blue Devil Damsel and although he's caused some grief in the course of the past couple of years, I have no plans to remove him from the community. He's a striking electric blue colour which is one of the reasons I prefer to live and let live. He pretty much is outmuscled by most of the other inhabitants anyway and is in no position to cause any dire harm to the other fishes in the tank.

That's my experience and although I've never tried to run a 10 gal (I got the 75 used and that's how I started) I suspect that in the near future you're going to have some issues with those four fish in your system. The two clowns are probably going to be okay but I'd recommend you at least see about removing one of the other Damselfish. They're all nice and small now and apparently getting along, but every one of those guys is very territorial and in the limited space they are afforded now, with few hiding spaces for night time safety, that is going to cause stress and trouble in the future if not already. So even if the water parameters are pristine and other people apparently overstock their tanks and it's ok, that doesn't do anything for the well being of your fish. Yes one or two fish in a tank looks sparse, but the consequences of overstocking will become apparent in a short time or maybe a little longer, but it's pretty likely there will be consequences. Anyhow, best of luck and keep reading up/researching the hobby. I'd say a 20 or 30 gal would be a better solution if you wish to keep a few more fish.

[ponokareefer]

I've been running a 9 gallon tank with 2 clowns, and a goby/pistol pair, and even with weekly 1 gallon water changes, using purigen, and a refugium, the hair algae is beginning to get bad in the tank. It won't be much longer, and I'm going to have to get the clowns out of the tank, as it just won't maintain the way it is. It has been a slow process of getting worse and worse, but I knew when I put the clowns in the system that it probably wouldn't be long term. Good luck with your system.

[WuHT]

Damsels arn't all that bad.

I have an azure damsel (one of the first fish in the tank) getting handled by a purple firefish (the last fish in the tank) ..and this is a 150 gallon aquarium