was watching (tanked) and wondered...

[new2scrub]

just how many fish can i cram into my 45 gallon cube without issue? I have 7 fish now and they are all very fat and happy and there is still plenty of swimming space IMO. On the show they would cram 25-30 fish into a tank as small as mine....

[SantaMonica]

From a filtering standpoint it does not matter how many fish. What matters is how much you feed.

[Vannpytt]

Oxygen levels also matters. (Surface gas exchange, skimming, oxygen through photosynthesis)

[Rumpy Pumpy]

and room - packing em in too close will increase aggression

[midnight]

The answer is dependent upon all of the previously posted answers and more. Each addition to your aquarium should be carefully planned taking into consideration your existing fish, corals and inverts, the ultimate full grown size of your fish, compatibility between various species, etc. You should add each addition one at a time and slowly and you should quarantine in order to prevent parasites like ich, flukes, etc. If you follow this method, the answer to your question will come from your knowledge and experience and will be the most accurate based on your actual circumstances. Patience, research and reason will serve you well. There is no reason why most fish cannot live for many years in captivity, yet most do not. I have kept fish for many years and have made many mistakes. Naturally, I am trying to avoid future mistakes. With the internet there are many sources of excellent information, this site included! Of course there is a lot of misinformation. Question what you read and ask yourself "does this make sense". Generally, there are no shortcuts, however, new technologies and forums like this are making advances happen more quickly. For example, I am currently assessing the feasibility of setting up a hyposaline hospital tank 1.009 SG for treatment of marine ich. The scrubber is the only source of filtration. If it works, it will allow treatment for the 8 or more plus weeks needed without regular (daily) water changes. From my experience and from what I have read and studied, this would make hyposalinity an easy and effective way to treat marine ich, albeit a rather lengthy process. For excellent information and articles concerning many aspects of keep marine fish google "Lee Birch reef articles".

Good Luck!

[Floyd R Turbo]

plus don't go by what you see on Tanked do determine what you can do. That show is cool and funny but I wouldn't fill with tap, mix in salt, and add fish right away. The only salinity test and drip acclimate I have seen them do so far is with rays. probably because they're so expensive

[new2scrub]

i have been reefing a long time now and I know that the show is total b/s BUT.. I have seen real life tanks with that kind of stocking level. Just wondering what the whole truth is on stocking....

[new2scrub]

well just an update: I have 9 fish in my 45 gallon and so far everything is great....so far.....

[SantaMonica]

If high-stocking in the goal, you can just double, triple, or quadruple your scrubber size. The amount of fish that a tank can support is equal to how much algae is in the system.

[new2scrub]

hi stocking is not MY goal,I am happy with my 9 fish:) but I would love to see someone put a bunch of tangs in a small space using a large scrubber long term..that would change the game!

[dtyharry]

Even if I had a 10 feet long tank I would not get a fish that grew longer than 5-6 inches because you have to think of their welfare.

[Rumpy Pumpy]

Even if I had a 10 feet long tank I would not get a fish that grew longer than 5-6 inches because you have to think of their welfare.


Rules out a large % of what's available though doesn't it?

Even Yellow Tangs can grow to 7 or 8 inches I understand.


One strategy with a smaller tank is to buy juveniles, keep them for a year or two and then sell them on when they start to get too big. Fish fostering, sort of thing.

[dtyharry]

I would rather have a lot of little fish than a few big ones, think it looks more like a natural reef, just wish I had the money to do it!
Having said that, one possible benefit of the algae scrubber is the water change one. Salt is not cheap here in the uk and a 10% weekly water change on the hypothetical 10 feet tank would be 25 uk gallons which would cost about £10 or maybe double that if you had to buy the ro water! A scrubber could eliminate that cost.

[new2scrub]

IMO fish only swim long distances to find more food when they consume the food where they are. like tangs that will eat every little strand of algae on a reef then move to the next reef while the first reef re-grows. but when we give them all the food they need we eliminate the NEED to swim long distances. IMO it would be like saying that dogs NEED to run in packs and hunt for food all night...but we all know that a dog can be happy and healthy eating puppy chow from a dish and sleeping in your bed.......no??

[dtyharry]

Yes that is a fair point I guess but it would be nice to have a shoal of chromis having a proper swim instead of banging their heads on the side all the time! Depends on the fish I guess, lionfish hardly move, gangs are all over the place.
In that hypothetical 10 feet tank I would have two big reef pinnacles at either end and an artificial oil rig type legs structure in the middle hanging down for them all to swim around.

[Murph]

IMO the show should run a prominent disclaimer at the beginning stating that the show is for entertainment purposes only along with a internet address directing people to a site where they can find the proper way to set up a home marine system.

They could then proceed with the reality show non sense. I wonder when they will have the first fist fight and the ensuing sad but introspective music as someone walks in shame off the show.

I wonder if these guys actually service the tanks after they are set up? If all they do is fabricate and set up the tanks I imagine they are none to popular with the service company's that have to deal with the after the fact problems that look inevitable considering the way the tanks are tossed together with not much thought put in but the initial ascetics of the tank on the day it is "unvailed".

[dtyharry]

I live in the uk so have not had the pleasure of that program but by the sound of it I am not missing much!

[Floyd R Turbo]

I spoke with Brett from Tanked at MACNA for quite a while on Friday. There's a lot that you don't see on the show, ATM has many of their own products, which they will be launching soon, to treat the water and maintain the tanks. Nothing that I would do (similar chemicals you have out there now for detox and maintaining zero phos and low N between maintenance).

Bottom line is that the show is for entertainment purposes, and they throw in a few things here and there about filtration, but it's not geared to be that kind of show. Animal Planet / Discovery Channel has a formula for a show, so that's what you see. They have a large QT and holding system, and you don't see that the fish are not coming straight from Exotic to the site, it's just the drama factor. Exotic was at MACNA too by the way. After speaking with Brett at length about several things I would say they do a pretty good job.

Interestingly, the show has single-handedly changed the demographic of Animal Planet in 3 weeks. They shifted the median age from 50 to 35 and went from 75% men 25% women to 50-50. It's the most popular show they've had. And it's going to drive people into the hobby, which will eventually be good for everyone in the industry.