Stocking a 29 gallon ... to much ?

[twintrades]

My tank is a 29 I have 45 lbs of LR and getting more once its cleand of aiptaisa.
Skimmer is a seaclone.

As of now i have a clean up crew consisting of 4 Lil hermits and 2 margarita snails. and 1 narsis.

Fish are 2 lil pajamas.

Future plans are 2 clowns, 1 fire fish, a sand sifting goby , 1 blenny and a coral beauty. Later mabey a flasher wrass or a manderin.

Sound like to much ? Or just right.

Also we would only get 1 clown and later get one more smaller.

So is having 8 fish to many?

[Brando457]

Better to get both clowns at the same time IMHO more likely they'll pair up.

I don't see an issue with having

2 pajamas, 2 clowns, a fire fish, a goby, and coral beauty OR blenny, but the wrasse I wouldn't recommend and mandarin you'll have to wait on til its established.

[new2salt09]

that dosent sound bad most are small the golby & fire are rock dwellers
any ways

[tang56]

i think that would be over the top. id go with adding only about one more small fish like a firefish or a clown.

[tangzzz]

If you put more rock where are the fish going to swim? I think that's too many fish, leading to a very high bio load and algae outbreaks. I think maybe one more fish, two will be pushing it since you already have 2 pajamas.

[Patriot54]

That is way too many fish, you are setting yourself up for failure if you do that.

[agreeive?fish]

In my 30g(with a 29g "sump" of extra water volume) i have

pair pink skunk clownfish
1/2 black drawf angel
scissor tail dart fish
purple fire fish

will be adding
royal gramma
pearly jawfish
mandrin(down the road when my to be built 1000-1599g sump/refuge is on line)
shrimp/goby pair
and a couple of fish to get the heck out of the rocks and be more visable and that will be my bio load


i think your bio load will be ok if you UPGRADE YOUR SKIMMER i have personaly never owned a seaclone but have seen them in operation and cant see where they do much..but thats just an opinion..if you dont upgrade your skimmer you close or at your bio load max

[twintrades]

I have no sump as of now. So you think with having 8 fish would be to much of a bio load in my 29 ? I dont plan on upgrading my skimmer yet.


The manderin would be added later to the tank when its established. ( might not even get one till i upgrade the tank.)

When i add more rock it would be just to get closer to the surface. And make the rock work more appealing. Not to crowd out the fish. ( need better spots for corals.)

[tangzzz]

I think 8 fish would be too much; I would try to keep fish at a minimum if you plan to keep corals; especially if you decide to keep sps.

[EllieSuz]

I kept three fish in my 29 and when I upgraded to a 40 I added one more. Now that I have a 60, I have five fish and they are all on the smaller side. I think your stocking plan is way too much. Also don't believe a Mandarin will ever flourish in such a small tank, even if you wait until it's mature. The absence of a sump and/or refugium prohibits Mandarins in my opinion.

[muttley000]

I kept three fish in my 29 and when I upgraded to a 40 I added one more. Now that I have a 60, I have five fish and they are all on the smaller side. I think your stocking plan is way too much. Also don't believe a Mandarin will ever flourish in such a small tank, even if you wait until it's mature. The absence of a sump and/or refugium prohibits Mandarins in my opinion.

Agreed,
My 29 with 29 fuge will have a pair of clownfish and 2 other small fish. Your proposed list is destined to faliure

[travis32]

Why are we not following the general rule of fish here? General rule of thumb for an established tank is 1" of fish per gallon. If it's in it's infancy then it's 1" of fish for ever 2 to 10 gallons depending on how long it's been up.

Technically in the end 29 inches of fish (not sure if that is mitigated by water displacement by LR.) Assuming 5 gallons of water are displaced by LR that's around 24" of fish total

That's around 6 X 4" fish (going by adult size not what they are at the LFS). I think 8 fish would be too many, but, if you go by size and the max size of the fish is 2" then theoretically you could have up to 12 fish.

You must research the adult size of the fish though.. Otherwise in a 6 months to a year you'll have issues with disease and infections due to stressed out fish.

[twintrades]

OK what about 2 pajamas, 1 clown, 1 coral beauty, sand sifting goby and a fire fish ?


Is there a general rule of thumb for stocking ? I dont want to set up for failure but i also dont want to have a bare looking tank. My wife really wants the coral beauty and clowns. But if the tank would crash its not worth it.

So what would be the best for stocking ? And what would i gain if i added a 10 gallon sump/ refuigium ?

[thebkramer]

OK what about 2 pajamas, 1 clown, 1 coral beauty, sand sifting goby and a fire fish ?


Is there a general rule of thumb for stocking ? I dont want to set up for failure but i also dont want to have a bare looking tank. My wife really wants the coral beauty and clowns. But if the tank would crash its not worth it.

So what would be the best for stocking ? And what would i gain if i added a 10 gallon sump/ refuigium ?

Are you attached to pajamas??
You could return them get 2 clowns instead with the others you listed ^
Or..stay with that list as is. I find pajamas get boring, IMO you would enjoy a pair of clowns more :)

BTW..according to Drs Foster and Smith..the general rule is no more than 1/2 in per gallon of water.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2249&aid=2931

[thebkramer]

Here is another link with some great information from Drs Foster and Smith :)

http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+2249

[ctrl+f]

Why are we not following the general rule of fish here? General rule of thumb for an established tank is 1" of fish per gallon. If it's in it's infancy then it's 1" of fish for ever 2 to 10 gallons depending on how long it's been up.

That rule is meant for freshwater, and is pretty flimsy at that. Better to consider the actual diet/habits/size of the fish in question.

[fstar25]

+1 on lowering your total number. i have a 29g and was planning on 5 fish. now that i havr four i think that is too much. ill be staying at 4.

good luck and add fish slowly no matter what numbet you choose.

[travis32]

That rule is meant for freshwater, and is pretty flimsy at that. Better to consider the actual diet/habits/size of the fish in question.

I agree to consider the diet and personalities of fish. Not saying that a book is allknowing, but it's what SW for dummies says as a general rule for number of fish, and I've seen it mentioned here before too. I don't think it's just a freshwater rule...

And it is probably flimsy given some fish are messier than others.

[tangzzz]

Correct, the 1" of fish per gallon is for freshwater. I've even read in some places that 1" of fish for every 5 gallon of saltwater. You have to remember salt water is denser and holds less oxygen. I would leave your pajamas if you like them so much, a clown like an ocellaris or percula, and a fire fish. I think the coral beauty will not be to happy in a 29 and might get a bit territorial. I've seen mine terrorize smaller fish in an 8' aquarium. I would also leave the sand sifting goby out, depending on which one you want to get, some will starve after they eat the microfauna from your sand and will not eat prepared food. Hope this helps. The less number of fish you put in the tank the greater chances you give your fish of living their lives without stress or diseases.

[twintrades]

OK now after having the pajama fish for a while my wife finds them "cute but boring" They just float there and when they see you look at them they hide.

So were looking at 2 clowns, 1 Fire fish ( i like em) , 1 coral beauty ( promised her that one.) Mabey a wrass or 1-2 clown gobies or a hi fin.

This is going to be a reef tank also. So i know about the coral beauty. ( shell be fed well)

If somone has a different fish they liek that would work inplace of something i have. Tell me, Were trying to get somthing for all levels and have lota color. Our daughter is 8 months old and loves the fish at F&S.

[thebkramer]

If you wanted a fun sand dweller, the dusky jawfish is fun to have. He'll find a spot, and there he will stay constantly spitting sand and collecting shells and rubble for his doorway of the tunnel.

Just outta curiousity..what kind of wrasse are you looking at?? Wrasses get big and a 29 may be too small for one.

I have 2 clown gobies, 1 green 1 yellow, they are fun and take up no space at all. My green goby has taken up residence in my button polyps and my yellow signed a lease in macro algae.

The clownfish, coral beauty and fire fish sound like a great start! :)

[Beblebe]

OK now after having the pajama fish for a while my wife finds them "cute but boring" They just float there and when they see you look at them they hide.

So were looking at 2 clowns, 1 Fire fish ( i like em) , 1 coral beauty ( promised her that one.) Mabey a wrass or 1-2 clown gobies or a hi fin.

This is going to be a reef tank also. So i know about the coral beauty. ( shell be fed well)

If somone has a different fish they liek that would work inplace of something i have. Tell me, Were trying to get somthing for all levels and have lota color. Our daughter is 8 months old and loves the fish at F&S.I know you promised, but I've seen a coral beauty keep half a 100+ gallon tank under it's control. In fact it only lets 3 clowns, a few damsels, and occasionally a tang nearby. If you really wanted a dwarf angel then get a flame angel.

[twintrades]

Ive heard flames are more prone to nip lps and softies..

But she might find somting else that suits her fancy.

[thebkramer]

I had a coral beauty for 2 years and she never showed any aggression, nor did she nip on corals. I think its a hit and miss. She use to "play" with my female clownfish, but no fights broke out. I am actually getting ready to get another :)
I say let your wife have her way and if it turns into a problem, then fix it. I personally think you will be fine, but thats only my opinion. You could put the CB in last so it doesn't think the whole tank is its whole territory. Just a suggestion though. :)

[bertoni]

I limited my 29g systems to about three percula-sized fish. A pair of smaller clowns and maybe a smaller blenny should be fine. More than that, and I would expect trouble over the long haul, either from aggression or very high maintenance requirements. A good skimmer will help some, but not that much.

[twintrades]

What do you mean Very high maintainance ?

[travis32]

OP mentioned getting more than 45 pounds of LR, How much more are you thinking about.. 45 to 50 lbs seems like a good stock of a 29g tank. I know up to 2 X is the rule for under 100g, but, if you want a lot of fish they'll need some room to swim too.. Depends how it looks though and is aquascaped. Best personal preference and judgement on how much looks like too much or not enough.

[easydoesit]

A year before I joined this hobby I read The New Marine Aquarium by Paletta. He recommends a 1:5 ratio inch of fish per gallon. I have two ocellaris in my 50 gallon and a frimandi pseudochromis in quarantine right now. I don't plan on adding any more fish until I get a sump or upgrade. I will have 9 inches of fish in my tank when they're all fully grown.

[twintrades]

The rock we would add would be just basicly visual. Makeing our tank look more diverse. Right now we have standerd figi. IN a seperate tank we have 20 + lbs of dead sps and tonga branch coverd with coraline. Awsome looking stuff. Just has a aiptaisa problem now. ( pepermints are taking care of it)

[travis32]

Cool on the rock twintrades! Sounds like a good idea!

[new2salt09]

what size sea clone do you have??
they are a entery level skimmer but they do work, I have 1 that i still use to this day on small tanks a sea clone 150, there some mod you can do it I sure there is a thread on it
as for the angles its a roll of the dise I have a coral beuity & a flame in the same tank with sps & zoa's neather of them nip at corals nor do the fight
if you go with your plan add your fish slowley over time

[twintrades]

I think my skimmer is working fine. I get some really funky stuff outa the tank. We aranged the rocks and added some coral puddy to hold some rock work together and it went nutz. Foaming like mad.

The skimmer is a sea clone 100

[mcginnisandrew]

i used to have a seaclone 100 on my 29 gallon. I hated it haha. I had to get the venturi thing set just right to get any collection at all, and even then it was just light brown liquid. Then a day later I would have to adjust the venturi again, because it would move or something like that.
Now i have an aqua c remora and it works MUCH better, but its still not the best skimmer in the world.

[bertoni]

By high maintenance, I mean a lot of water changes and refugium work, at the very least.