fish activity to consider before I buy

reef tank 2.0

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2021
Messages
359
Reaction score
146
Location
Cincinnati
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As I am getting closer and closer to being able to add livestock to my tank, I need to start thinking about fish species I'd like to keep.
I have an idea already of what I'm going after, but I have a question about the "swimmers" I might be able to consider.

With my having an 80 gallon (30x24x24), it's actually smaller due to sand/rock taking up space. For a simple number, let's go with 70+/-.
just an example, let's take a bristletooth tang. It requires a suggested minimum tank size of 70 gallons. Those fish are very active. Once I get my corals and less active fish in the tank, the tang wouldn't have much room to swim around.

Where is the cutoff point for the max size tank a fish would need before he's "cramped"? I don't want to get an active swimmer when I know he'll get bigger and outgrow the tank. right off the bat, I become the fish police and nix the idea. Not interested in buying small, and re-homing later down the road. I realize that I need to take the stocking list into account as well.

is there a rule of thumb to use?
 

lapin

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
10,791
Reaction score
17,953
Location
Austin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Example:
I have 8 fish in a 600 gallon tank. 72 gallons per fish. 2 Angels, 2 tangs, 2 clowns, 1 file fish, 1 wrasse. There is not much fighting and they have room to swim without too many paths crossed. Each has a place to sleep
 

Reefing threads: Do you wear gear from reef brands?

  • I wear reef gear everywhere.

    Votes: 20 13.8%
  • I wear reef gear primarily at fish events and my LFS.

    Votes: 10 6.9%
  • I wear reef gear primarily for water changes and tank maintenance.

    Votes: 1 0.7%
  • I wear reef gear primarily to relax where I live.

    Votes: 22 15.2%
  • I don’t wear gear from reef brands.

    Votes: 82 56.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 10 6.9%
Back
Top