Number of fish in a 55 gl

[Coralgurl]

How many fish are acceptable in a 55 gl?
I have currently:
2 bangaii cardinals
1 blue green chromis
1 purple dotty back
1 yellow tang
1 flame angel
1 coral beauty
1 starry blenny
2 black clowns on order

The yellow tang I already know is an issue and if I can't find a home for him, Ive made other arrangements. The dotty back is picking at one of the cardinals, vie just learned they are a mean fish, so will have to find a home for it as well. The angels went in at the same time and do not appear to be an issue. Ive got a reef tank with 6 corals at the moment. I was told not to add a bunch of fish at one time but did not know there was a limit to the amount of fish.

Thoughts? Thanks

[Leah]

I would not add more if it were my tank.

[reefwars]

there is no set way to tell it depends on a whole bunch of factors like age,filtration,dimensions,type of fish etc etc etc but im with leah in saying your prob around your markcheers

[mike31154]

Fairly hefty bioload for a 55. I have fewer fish in my 77 and there's still plenty of gunk getting filtered out from their activities. You don't mention whether you have a sump & if so, what size? If it's not too late, I'd consider cancelling the clownfish order, or if you're set on having a pair of them, look to dispose of several of your existing fish. You can probably keep them all, but be prepared to spend a little more on a very good filtration system (skimmer etc.) & for some extra work keeping water parameters healthy.

[Coralgurl]

Thank you for the responses! We do not have a sump set up, I do have a fluval filter system running and a Tunze skimmer 9011. Tank is 6 months old (yes young).

I'm going to get rid of the tang and dottyback for sure and maybe the cardinals. I've been keeping an eye on everyone over the last few days, and other than the issue with the dottyback and cardinal, everyone else seems fine. That said, all the fish are juvies (except the coral beauty - she's bigger or close to the size of my tang) and I expect still have some growing to do.

The 55 is a narrow tank, 48 inches across. Most of my rock is along the back and touching in some areas. No dead spots, I have 3 pumps going (MP 10, MP40 and Koralia eco 750), so have good water flow. Fish all move in around the rocks fine.

Do people on this forum tend to sell/buy/trade fish from home aquariums? Sorry-I could probably go look this up myself...

Water parameters were tested last week and all were within range, will test tonight with the additional fish this weekend. I have a water change scheduled for the weekend. I fuss with the tank almost daily. Extra work - hmm, just the fact that I've neglected the rest of my house duties...lol

[christyf5]

Hey there, sounds like your tank has a pretty good sized community already. Removing the dottyback will definitely be less stressful for everyone (or alternatively you could remove the cardinals).

There is lots of activity in the buy and sell forums so you should find some good deals on what you need and yes people do buy and sell fish from home aquariums. Sometimes I find that is better as the fish are in good condition and are already eating prepared foods.

Keep an eye on your fluval filter, lots of detritus can build up there and cause problems with nitrate levels. Its fairly easy to clean and if there is a sponge in it, give it a rinse with some old tank water during a water change to get the buildup out of it while maintaining the beneficial bacteria

[Proteus]

Any new fish you add will be picked on for a bit. Regardless they will always defend territory. If you leave them for a bit the dottyback will calm down. Or you can change up there scenery. This will reset there pecking order. If you put clowns in you may find they become slightly aggressive. Just the way it is

[mike31154]

Sounds like you're on the right track, definitely plenty of flow with the MP pumps which will aid in removing detritus etc. My 77 gal is sumpless as well and I run a RENA XP series filter as a mini sump I guess. I don't keep any media in it except for a bag of carbon which I refresh every month or so. This is also when I give all the baskets etc a good rinse with old tank water as per christy's suggestion, to flush off the gunk. After several years, the media baskets are populated with plenty of sponges & tube worms which aid in natural filtration. Works well. Since you're 55 is long & there appears to be adequate swimming room with your rock layout, the tang should actually be fine.

[Coralgurl]

We changed out all the filter media, carbon and cleaned the sponge filters with the last water change (the weekend before last). This weekend is just water change. I was doing water changes every week for a bit and am now doing them every other week - 10 gallons (20%). When I put my first corals in, I was way overfeeding everything which led to a pretty good algae outbreak. Things are good now, just worried about what I've done with these fish.

Unfortunately, I am a horrible impulse shopper, only stopped at lfs to check to see if they had any clowns, and maybe a few frags....had the clowns, but they are not ready to go yet. So spend too much time chatting, forget about what I'm there for and next thing you know....new fish....my fault, not lfs.

Will post the tang and dottyback in the buy/trade section and see if anyone wants them. The clowns are for one of our boys and he is pretty excited about getting them.

I feel a bit better, thank you!!

[Coralgurl]

I've got a picture of the tank on my profile, I don't know how to get it from there to here.....

We've got a couple of those worms in our tank, they get really excited when I feed...lol.

I've been happy with how the tank has been running for the last little bit, everyone happy! I just noticed my bubble coral has new bubbles and is growing, this guy gave me huge heartache a month ago!!

Wondering - is it hard to go to a bigger tank using existing equipment, rock, sand, or would that tank have to cycle as well to start?