Stocking list too hopeful?

[Mizu]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 32 gallon tank (about 3 feet long) and currently have 5 fish:

2x Blackstorm clownfish
1x Yasha goby w/pistol shrimp (the pistol is maybe 1/2 an inch lol)
1x Helfrichi firefish
1x Citrinis Clown goby

1x Cleaner Shrimp

The tank doesn't have many active swimmers which is awesome, im happy to see the fish occupy different parts of the water column, but I would like to fill in the tank a little more as there are lots of moments where it just looks like there are no fish in the tank.

I was thinking about adding some active swimmers that are colorful:

1x Solar fairy wrasse (These are supposedly different from Solon's and only get 3" in total length)
1x Yellow banded possum wrasse
1x Randalli's Assessor basslet

1x Fire shrimp

Also, I would like to add a bunch of snails and 2-3 hermit crabs, can I add in a Halloween hermit?

 

[Jekyl]

Have a full tank pic? As of now I'd say you're full on fish.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

that does seem like a healthy stocking list for that size in my opinion I wouldn’t add anything else… I don’t have much experience with Halloween’s but I think it would be fine, someone will fact check me if i’m wrong though. keep us updated!

 

[Mizu]

Im uploading a video now! To explain a bit further, the reason I think I can add a few more fish is because the clown goby just lays on the rockwork all day and doesn't really inhabit any of the caves I created.


Additionally, I added my Yasha goby and my Helfrichi at the same time and the Helfrichi actually goes into the yasha goby's den which I didn't even know was a possibility but they share the same hole under one of my rocks, so I basically have all of the territories still empty, and I have a few other hiding areas in the back areas of the tank no one uses.

My tank is currently very peaceful (the only real "aggression" is just the female clown boxing out other fish during eating but she never chases or attempts to nip. She does like to smack around her male though lol)

 

[Mizu]

 

[Mizu]

Sorry if it's poor quality, really appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I think you're full, but can add another if you really want to take the chance. The tank doesn't have many hiding spots, and besides aggression you also need to consider how the higher bioload will impact the water quality.

 

[Mizu]

I know this is going to come off the wrong way, but lets say I wanted to try and add all 3 of those fish and cap off at 8 fish. Am I "guaranteed" to have aggression or is it just something advised against because its risky/not sure what's going to happen?

In terms of bioload I think my current bioload is very minimal and I think the tank can handle quite a bit more

 

[eliaslikesfish]

I know this is going to come off the wrong way, but lets say I wanted to try and add all 3 of those fish and cap off at 8 fish. Am I "guaranteed" to have aggression or is it just something advised against because its risky/not sure what's going to happen?

In terms of bioload I think my current bioload is very minimal and I think the tank can handle quite a bit more

you will have unhappy fish, a bio load too heavy for your tank and a whole slew of issues to come, aggression would likely be low on the list of your concerns.

 

[Bitis Botanical]

I see from your build thread that this is a brand new tank that has only had fish for two weeks. As your clowns settle in and mature their personalities are likely to change drastically, even if you get away with adding more fish in the short term you're likely to have issues in the long term when they stake out their territory. I would suggest adding an anemone for the clowns to bring out their natural behaviors, I have a few Biocubes with clown pairs and anemones and don't feel like I'm missing out on anything with "only" two fish per tank.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I know this is going to come off the wrong way, but lets say I wanted to try and add all 3 of those fish and cap off at 8 fish. Am I "guaranteed" to have aggression or is it just something advised against because its risky/not sure what's going to happen?

In terms of bioload I think my current bioload is very minimal and I think the tank can handle quite a bit more

Just for comparison, But I tend to go in the other direction for fish load, I have a 90 gallon and only have 8 fish in it. Now some of mine a a little bigger, but my thinking has always been give everybody plenty of room to swim, and plenty of caves/holes to hide in and be comfortable. We would all love to have every fish we like in our little mini reef systems, but at the end of the day we are agreeing to give these animals a home . And stuffing as many as we can into a relatively small tank is by no means fair to them. Just my 2 cents

 

[JayM]

I would be concerned about having enough biological filtration. I see a lot of plastic decor, and the rocks you're using are very dense and thus not an effective home for beneficial bacteria to colonize and thrive. I would address that before adding any more fish.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

I see from your build thread that this is a brand new tank that has only had fish for two weeks. As your clowns settle in and mature their personalities are likely to change drastically, even if you get away with adding more fish in the short term you're likely to have issues in the long term when they stake out their territory. I would suggest adding an anemone for the clowns to bring out their natural behaviors, I have a few Biocubes with clown pairs and anemones and don't feel like I'm missing out on anything with "only" two fish per tank.

this^^^^ I have 5 fish in a 40 gallon, 2 are clowns and they just discovered the anemone after 10 months, I could get rid of everything else in my tank and just watch my clowns enjoy their nem and I would be very content.

 

[Mizu]

you will have unhappy fish, a bio load too heavy for your tank and a whole slew of issues to come, aggression would likely be low on the list of your concerns.

So my tank is a FOWLR, I don't have any corals. What water parameters would I have to look for in terms of a heavy bioload because I was under the impression it's mainly just Alkalinity and Ammonia? (Along with temp and salinity)

 

[littlefoxx]

So my tank is a FOWLR, I don't have any corals. What water parameters would I have to look for in terms of a heavy bioload because I was under the impression it's mainly just Alkalinity and Ammonia? (Along with temp and salinity)

How long have you been in the hobby? You need to measure pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at minimum. Your tank is very new and youre heading for a crash with the amount of fish you currently have (since your tank has freshwater decorations vs live rock for bio filter). Adding more fish will just speed up the crash. Youre probably going to see a very large ammonia spike with the amount of fish in the tank and how new it is.