Overstocked a 12g?

[kelleymmm1]

i have 2 pecula clowns 1 yellow shrimpgoby 1 sally light foot crab 2 emerald crabs 1 cleaner clam 1 flame scallop 1 camelback shrimp 1 green brittle starfish and maybe 15 snails and hermet crabs now my ammonia has stayed at about .25 and nitrite stays at 0.0 and nitrate has been 20 ppm I also have 3 anemones i think i probably need to take something out i dont know the store said it would be fine but no one on this site has this much in a nano cube 12g i have about 15 lbs of live rock 20 lbs of live sand and im using the fission skimmer does anyone have advise. on raise a less stocked tank or is what i have fine?

[Reeses]

I will freely admit that I may not be the best person to get advise from, but I would say that you are overstocked. The "general rule" for stocking fish is one inch of fish per 2 gallons of water. I don't mean to start anything ethically here, but fish need room to swim. The stats may be 1in/2g, but personally, I wouldn't keep more than 1 fish, no matter how "small" they stay in a 12g nano. And I wouldn't add anymore fish than that. I know that people do it, but I just can't help but feel it's not right. However, that being said, it's technically possible. I am assuming here that all your fish and inverts are all babies. Your sally lightfoot will most likely need a new home (eventually), they can grow fairly big and can be very aggressive. They need lots of room to roam. It's very likely that one day you just might wake up and find that it's picking on your fish, and that's no fun. I would say ditto for the emerald crabs. As far as the immediate threat with your ammonia, do several water changes to bring it down (your using RO water, right?) and it would be a good idea to add a small powerhead to help blow out detritus from your rock to keep it suspended in the water column so it can be removed by your skimmer. I blow my rock (without causing a sandstorm) before water changes so I can get some of it when I syphon. I would feed really carefully, in small amounts, and make sure all food is eaten. What are you feeding? How long has your nano been up and running?

[kelleymmm1]

thanks and yes im using ro water or even the premixed stuff at the store i thought the crabs might be pushing it and i sure dont want them to eat fish i have a power head in there it is a 660 it pushes alot I have wondered if it pushes to much i have been doing about 2.5 gallon water change ever 2 weeks do you think that is enough? thanks for the tips

[Reeses]

I do at least a 10% water change every week, and sometimes up to 30%. Some folks are afraid of doing large water changes, but my tank has only benefitted from them. JMO. :)

If your having a problem with ammonia, I would do at least a 10% water change every day until your ammonia levels read 0. However, if you don't take steps to prevent it from happening again (by removing livestock, uneated food, detritus, ect) your very likely to end up in the same boat. :)

Good luck, and I hope everything works out smoothly for you.

[Reeses]

Oh yea,

[welcome]

[All Delight]

Can you post a pic of your tank? I'd actually like to see how "overstocked" it looks.

But, yes it does sound like it is.

[Meloco14]

Anyone else notice how the OP is basically one long sentence? It's funny, I never noticed how much punctuation effects things, but I seriously read that at like 100mph without stopping. It made me laugh. Anyway, my opinion is that you are overstocked. 2 clowns and a goby in there is ok, but pushing the limits. Luckily you are using a skimmer, which definitely helps. I would worry about the crabs, at most I would put one emerald in there. I don't know what a cleaner clam is so I can't comment there. I have heard camel shrimp can start to pick at corals and fish, but I have no personal experience with them. What kind of anemones do you have? If they are all different, you may want to take one or two out. They can roam and if they run into eachother, which is likely in a small tank, they will sting eachother. Also, dead anemones can really pollute a tank, so if something drastic happened and 2 or 3 of them died at the same time, theres a chance it could crash the tank. On another note, the stock lighting in the nanocube is not enough for most anemones. But that is for a different post. I think the easiest way to answer your question would be yes, you are overstocked, because you have ammonia. Your ammonia should be 0. The presence of ammonia means your bio filtration can't keep up with the bioload. This is either because you have too many fish/inverts, or you are overfeeding. My suggestion right now would be to do water changes to get your ammonia down, and make sure your skimmer is working properly. Also maybe cut down on your feeding a little. Anyway, if you can post some pics it would help judge how stocked your tank is. Good luck!

[Reeses]

meloco 14,

The basis for my opinion on the stock of kelley's fish is because using the basic rule, 1 in. per 2 g, and using the dimensions of a 12g nanocube calculated with the total volume of kelley's rock and sand gives kelley a total water volume of about 10 gallons. Percula clownfish grow to about 4 inches or so, and one just about fills the capacity of fish the tank can realistically support. I think that choosing one of those fish (either 1 clown or keeping the goby and getting rid of the clownfish alltogether) would be the best choice as far a reducing fish livestock.

Hmmmm, perhaps I should have just typed that earlier!:lol:

[Jim Z.]

Where does the water go? Yes, I'd like to see a picture of your setup. The presence of ammonia suggests that your tank's critter collection is well beyond the carrying capacity. Change 2.5 gallons daily and hopefully the NH3 concentration will be reduced. Are the fish stressed (rapid gill movements, swollen opercula....etc.). Crabs and fish generate quite a bit of ammonia so getting rid of a few of the crabs will help.....Jim Z.

[Meloco14]

I agree Reeses, as I said I think the current fish load is pushing the limits. An experienced reefer could successfully keep these fish, with a lot of care and maintenance. In this case, though, I would agree with you that kelleymmm1 should cut it down. Personally I keep no fish in my nanocube, just one emerald crab and lots of corals. As a result I have had a very low maintenance, successful nano for over 2 years now. But I know a lot of people would find it boring without fish. But yes, in this case I would recommend losing at least one fish and some of the inverts. And depending on the species of anemones, she should probably cut down on those too. JMO

[kelleymmm1]

thanks for the advice everyone i have removed 3 crabs and 2 anemones. and changed 3 gallons my ammonia has droped and everything looks good my main goal is to keep the fish. I dont really want coral right now i just want alot of the coraline algae. I think ill take the other anemone out along with the cleaner clam and the flame scallop. I had also been overfeeding i think now i just put a little pitch in. In the morning and at evening as much as they can eat in a minute or to you know leave them a little hungry. once i get my camera right ill post some pics on my gallery. thanks everyone.

[mr pink floyd]

i dontl ie the nitrate and ammonia, not horrible but you need to watch those

[All Delight]

Meloco, No I didnt notice that its one long sentence. But now its funny as hell. Yes I was reading it really fast too!!

LOL!

[kelleymmm1]

O.K. You all are right. It was one huge sentence. My bad im not use to talking threw the PC. So here they are ,,,,........???? my friend was on here and said the exact same thing 120mph.

[Meloco14]

Haha don't feel bad Kelley it was great, it made me smile. Anyway, it sounds like your tank is doing a lot better. For feeding, you can feed them a couple times a day but keep doing what youre doing now, only feed enough for them to eat in a minute or two. Youre on the right track, good luck!