I have a 16 Gallon and a 8 Gallon salt water marine tank that I have build to keep just fish (no corals). I was wondering what you guys think would be a good stocking level of small marine fish?
My thoughts were:
8 Gallon:
2x Common Clownfish
3x Hermit crab
1x Cleaner shrimp
Just the two small fish, the common clownfish shouldn't cause any problems but feedback would be appreciated. Clearly I wouldn't try an put in an Angel fish or anything that grows larger than 2inch
Your stocking ideas seem very reasonable! I don't even factor in hermits as part of bio-load (since their job is part of the clean-up crew), but in a smaller aquarium that's wise to do. You might want to consider a turbo snail for each set-up to control algae on the glass as well. When you get these up and running, please post some pictures!
Thanks for the reply. How do you calculate what is a good bio-load for a tank, are there any scientific paper written on the subject or even a 'general consensus' on how to calculate a tanks maximum bio-load?
Obviously I don't want to have to many fish in the tank that they will be unhappy but like everyone else I would like to make full use of the tank and keep as many fish as possible.
Hi Top cat,
I tend to run a heavy bio-load in my tanks.Weekly water changes certainly help,but the smaller they are,the less likely I am to push the limits.
You've got yourself some nice limits set,but watch those 3 neon gobys.A scenario of one being a bully,or 2 pairing up and ostracizing the other are present,especially in a small tank.
Best of luck and have fun!
Hi Top Cat and to TR. I am really conservative when it comes to stocking and would not put any more than the 5 fish you have indicated in the 16. I don't think it leaves you much wiggle room and if it was anything besides neon gobies I would think it was too many. There is really no rule of thumb like inches of fish per gallon of water. If you think about it in the whole size of the fish you immediately conclude that a 2" neon goby is a lower bio-load than a 2"clownfish.
Yeah, I think that old rule of thumb is pretty useless. In a freshwater scenario, 10 once inch neon tetras would fit in a shot glass, whereas one ten inch oscar would weigh over a pound.
to TR. I am really conservative when it comes to stocking and would not put any more than the 5 fish you have indicated in the 16. I don't think it leaves you much wiggle room and if it was anything besides neon gobies I would think it was too many. There is really no rule of thumb like inches of fish per gallon of water. If you think about it in the whole size of the fish you immediately conclude that a 2" neon goby is a lower bio-load than a 2"clownfish.
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