Stocking

[hutsler]

I am new at this and i decided to get a tank. the local fish store said i could keep a coral beauty dwarf angel, a goby, and a three striped damsel, I also have two snails and a choc. chip starfish. they also said i would have plenty of room for another fish. after reading through your forums i am worried that my tank is overstocked.
my questions are:

Is the tank overstocked?
if it is which fish may i keep in the tank?
what should i do with the ones i should not keep in the tank?
im not going to flush them.

P.S. I have read that the damsels may be aggressive but the tank has been up and running for over six months with fish in it for about four and the damsel has never been aggressive with the other occupants so i was wondering if the damsels get aggressive as they grow older or would he have shown signs of this already.


I know there are a lot of question but again i am new at this and im not sure i should have trusted the lfs now

 

[Fish Fingers]

First we need to know you tanks dimensions, capacity and filtration before we can help you!

 

[hutsler]

First we need to know you tanks dimensions, capacity and filtration before we can help you!

Sorry about that its a twenty gallon tank, 24" x12", and I am using a penguin biowheel 150

 

[J-Money]

damsels can and do get aggressive from everything i've heard (they're also called devil fish i believe), but i've never owned one so i can't say wut to expect. I would think you would be alright with what you have in there since it is a 20G tank. none of those fish get very large i don't think. I would be more worried about the chocolate chip starfish, i've heard/read that they are carnivorous...but i don't know if that means they sneak up on slow still fish like the goby, or if they just munch on corals. Might wanna check into that...

Also, if you ever decide you want to get rid of a fish you have a few options. You can try and convince friends with a SW tank they could use yours or if noone has a SW tank convince them they need one and you'll help them out with their first fish Or you can usually go down to your LFS and trade it in...

 

[Fish Fingers]

IMO a coral beauty will get to big for a tank of that size. A 20 gallon tank can only really hold small fish such as damselfish, small gobies, dartfish,etc. The damsel might be ok in your tank, it really depends on the fishes personality, some people have trouble with them and others don't. To stop their agressive behaviour it's best to add them last. I'd take the coral beauty back and get a smaller fish (although that may be a problem with the damsel already in the tank).

As well as that keeping a starfish is a bad idea in a nano tank. If it dies it can cause all sorts of problems and screw up your tank big time so you may want to look into getting rid of it too. Also how much live rock do you have, what's your turnover rate and what type of goby do you have??

 

[hutsler]

I have a diamond goby ive heard lots of names for him but he is white with orange spots, as for my turnover rate i don't know what that means but i have not had a fish die except the starfish ate my peppermint shrimp. also i have ten pounds of live rock and getting more, i know i need 1 pound for each gallon but it gets expensive so i am adding a little at a time.

I wouldn't have bought the starfish but the lfs asked what i had in my tank and then suggested it knowing i had a shrimp in there but he hasn't bothered the other fish

 

[Chac]

I have a diamond goby ive heard lots of names for him but he is white with orange spots, as for my turnover rate i don't know what that means but i have not had a fish die except the starfish ate my peppermint shrimp. also i have ten pounds of live rock and getting more, i know i need 1 pound for each gallon but it gets expensive so i am adding a little at a time.

I wouldn't have bought the starfish but the lfs asked what i had in my tank and then suggested it knowing i had a shrimp in there but he hasn't bothered the other fish

Turnover rate is simply the overall Flow of your powerheads/streams etc.



Is the tank 20g (US or UK)

 

[Aquascaper]

Ok, Firstly I would get rid of the Starfish, the conditions really aren't suitable for it in a tank that size. Next, get a larger clean up crew, that will help to reduce the mess (removing the starfish will mean that you won't have to constantly replace these critters). You should be ok with the stock you have but there is no room for anymore. You will need to make sure that the water surface is constantly disrupted (this will increase the surface area for gaseous exchange - vital in a tank your size)and make sure you keep up regular water changes and monitor water quality weekly.

Finally, get a bigger tank