[cnote12345]

If I take care of my fish well enough do I need to worry about overstocking my tank by a little bit?

 

[cnote12345]

If I get a blue spot jawfish it doesn't need much swimming room because it burrows under the sand right? If I return the firefish could I get the dwarf angel?

 

[greenbird007]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+16+438&pcatid=438

"Minimum Tank Size:*70 gallons"

If you really want a dwarf angel check out www.liveaquaria.com they will outline the needs of each species.

Looks like Liveaquaria has changed that recently as most of their dwarf angels used to say 30 gallon or 55 gallon

 

[FutureDoc]

If I take care of my fish well enough do I need to worry about overstocking my tank by a little bit?

Part of taking care of your fish is not overstocking. Overstocking can leave to a lot of other problems, algae, chronic Alk/pH issues, and even oxygen depletion. I am not talking about the fish using the oxygen, I am talking about the bacteria using the oxygen, and they use a lot! As the bioload/stocking increases, those bacteria are multiplying. Additional nutrients also causes algae to increase (It produced O2 during the day, consumes at night)but it also dies as well, so bacteria get even more food. Finally, it reaches a point (often at night) where the bacteria is using so much oxygen that the fish literally run out of air. It affect the larger more active fish first in many cases... like the angels. You wake up to a few dead fish. That is the major risk for many overstocked, small, sump-less, skimmer-less tanks.

If I get a blue spot jawfish it doesn't need much swimming room because it burrows under the sand right? If I return the firefish could I get the dwarf angel?

Considering that those sand beds need to be 4" and that 4" is about 20% of your tank volume, I would not want to dedicate that much of my limited volume in the tank to sand. For some, a 30g tank is a "nano tank" and at the least, it is a really small tank. Stocking has to be more limited than other tanks because it is both less forgiving and the nature of the tank is more complicated.

For example: My 40B has 16.2 square inches of surface space for gas exchange per gallon. This is not counting my skimmer nor my sump either... which help more. If your 30g is not connected to a sump, then you are looking at about 13.2 inches per gallon (if it is 22x18) which is not particularly bad (standard 55g tanks only have about 10sqinpg) or if it is 18x18 it is only 10.8 but the more surface area, the better the gas exchange will be. So, when you are overstocking, you are betting against the gas exchange and bacteria... I personally never bet against bacteria.

 

[FutureDoc]

Looks like Liveaquaria has changed that recently as most of their dwarf angels used to say 30 gallon or 55 gallon

Yeah, I definitely remember them having smaller tank numbers. I guess folks started calling them out on it.

 

[connorp]

Doc, lets say the tank wasn't already stocked well. Would a flameback or pygmy do well in his tank? Since they only do get 3". I can see where you're coming from with the others, but these two are just so small.

 

[ornatebutterflycod]

Part of taking care of your fish is not overstocking. Overstocking can leave to a lot of other problems, algae, chronic Alk/pH issues, and even oxygen depletion. I am not talking about the fish using the oxygen, I am talking about the bacteria using the oxygen, and they use a lot! As the bioload/stocking increases, those bacteria are multiplying. Additional nutrients also causes algae to increase (It produced O2 during the day, consumes at night)but it also dies as well, so bacteria get even more food. Finally, it reaches a point (often at night) where the bacteria is using so much oxygen that the fish literally run out of air. It affect the larger more active fish first in many cases... like the angels. You wake up to a few dead fish. That is the major risk for many overstocked, small, sump-less, skimmer-less tanks.

Considering that those sand beds need to be 4" and that 4" is about 20% of your tank volume, I would not want to dedicate that much of my limited volume in the tank to sand. For some, a 30g tank is a "nano tank" and at the least, it is a really small tank. Stocking has to be more limited than other tanks because it is both less forgiving and the nature of the tank is more complicated.

For example: My 40B has 16.2 square inches of surface space for gas exchange per gallon. This is not counting my skimmer nor my sump either... which help more. If your 30g is not connected to a sump, then you are looking at about 13.2 inches per gallon (if it is 22x18) which is not particularly bad (standard 55g tanks only have about 10sqinpg) or if it is 18x18 it is only 10.8 but the more surface area, the better the gas exchange will be. So, when you are overstocking, you are betting against the gas exchange and bacteria... I personally never bet against bacteria.

Putting a dwarf angel in would set you up for failure. I also agree that la must have been called out there min tank sizes are what should be followed for your tanks safety.

 

[ornatebutterflycod]

Doc, lets say the tank wasn't already stocked well. Would a flameback or pygmy do well in his tank? Since they only do get 3". I can see where you're coming from with the others, but these two are just so small.

The adult size isnt always what makes or breaks a fish for a tank its swimming needs territory needs etc also have to be taken into acct. I would prefer to have multiple fish that fit than just one fish.

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

If you did 1 clown, 1 firefish, the jawfish, the basslet, no angel, and the mandarin only if you had a constant supply of pods, then you would probably be good. OH! I, almost for got, the cleaner shrimp would be fine as well.

 

[cnote12345]

If I were to return my firefish and get a dwarf angel would that work? And how much swimming area does a dwarf need?

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

I guess it would depend on what dwarf angel you wanted. Wii64brawl does have a point. Since those are so small... But, I believe that dwarf angels are grazers, and that tank might not give them sufficient enough space to graze.

 

[cnote12345]

Ok so a cherub or flame back would be my best option? Ok what do they eat?

 

[connorp]

Dwarf angels aren't the most territorial fish IME. I believe that one of the smaller ones would do fine if he didn't already have four fish.

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

They eat meaty foods, algae, and most importantly, make sure they get some spirulina in their diet as well. Some pellet foods like New Life Spectrum has that in it.

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

Is your tank going to be a reef. Because the most reef safe angel(probably) is the coral beauty.

 

[cnote12345]

Ya it is going to be a reef tank. Does that mean I should get the coral beauty?

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

Well, I don't know.. Maybe get other peoples opinions on this matter. It is the most safe angel, but I have one and it is a grazer, so tank size might be an issue.

 

[cnote12345]

What types of coral does the coral beauty not bother/eat?

 

[Mr. Fishy Man]

Well they seem to do fairly well with all coral, except for the occasional horror story about one that ate every coral in the tank.

 

[cnote12345]

Ok I think ill get a coral beauty!