Overstocked?

[jtipton]

Is this tank overstocked?

20 Gallon High (15 Gallons of Water)

1 Fire Claw Crab
1 Butterfly-Goby Waspfish
1 Freshwater Flounder
5 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
Live Feeders (Ghost Shrimp / Worms)

If I add the following, will it be overstocked?

1 Banded Archer
10-15 More Blue Legged Hermit Crabs

If I add the archer, I plan on moving all of these fish into a larger setup as they grow. Would the current tank last 1-2 years with this stocking?

Thanks.

 

[nmonks]

I think you sailed past "overstocked" a while back. So yes, adding more stuff would be a bad idea. Archerfish get large, easily 20 cm in captivity. You need something around four times the size of the tank you have now just to keep a single archerfish, let alone a group of them (which is how they are arguably best kept).

I'm not wild about fire-claw crabs (Pseudosesarma sp.) as aquarium denizens. They are amphibious animals, and not allowing them some land to crawl about on is basically cruelty to animals. In the wild they spend most of the time on land, and only go into the water to dampen their gills and to breed.

Cheers, Neale

If I add the following, will it be overstocked?

 

[jtipton]

The tank is setup to allow the crab access above the water line via a large piece of driftwood. He still spends most of the day in the water (not sure about night). I actually know very little about him. I bought him as a Red Claw Crab, and later found out that he wasn't. I can't find any resources online. Does your book have information on Fire Claw Crabs? I have purchased it, and am waiting for delivery.

Why is my tank overstocked already? The waspfish should get to a max of 4", and the flounder to 6". I figured the crab and hermits would not have a substantial bio-load, as they don't eat much. Do I have it wrong?

 

[jtipton]

Does anyone else know why this tank would be considered overstocked? Don't these fish fit the 1" = 1 gallon rule?

 

[nmonks]

This so-called "rule" is a guideline, not something to rely on. Specifically, it assumes all the fish are neon-sized. If you think about this logically, twelve neon tetras = 18 inches, about the size of an adult oscar. Obviously, the neons would be happy in a tank much smaller than the oscar! So you have to factor in the size of the fish, their activity, their sensitivity to pH changes, and so on.

Twenty US gallons is a small aquarium. Absolutely fine for small community fish, but once you start keeping things more than a 2-3 inches in length, things become less favourable. Your fish are probably fine for now, and since both the flatfish and the waspfish are difficult to feed, I'd leave them alone and enjoy them as they are. I'm still not convinced about keep crabs without real land for them to explore -- when you see them in tanks with sandbanks and roots, they hardly ever go in the water. But if they and the hermit crabs are happy, I think you have a nice little system, and wouldn't go messing it up by adding more fish.

Cheers, Neale

Does anyone else know why this tank would be considered overstocked? Don't these fish fit the 1" = 1 gallon rule?

 

[BracKeeper75]

Most People agree, this rule is not a rule when it come to brackish fish/larger fish!!!

 

[jtipton]

That makes complete sense. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[jtipton]

Alright. I saw some very cool scats at the LFS and am upgrading. I am getting a used marine tank for $250. It has the following:

55 gallon w/ overflow
wet/dry filter
2 powerheads
heater
48" coralife lighting

First off, is this a good deal? It seems like a steal to me. Second, will it allow me to keep the following together?

1 Hogchocker Sole (Feeding is going well)
3 Butterfly Gobies
1 Banded Scat
1 Archer

What would be a good fish to cycle with? I am not a fan of mollies. What else would be good to add? I like to keep the SG around 1.010.

Thanks.

 

[BracKeeper75]

Scats Need to be kept in groups no smaller than three!!!!