Opinions of overpopulation?

Hello,

I have a 72 FOWLR tank with a sump holding 25 additional gallons. I wanted to get everyones opinion on the current status of the population of this tank. I am currently working on plans of upgrading to a new tank between 125 and 210, I havent decided yet. Until then though, I want to know my limits. My current setup is like this:

8 inch Volitan Lion
5 inch Marine Betta
3 inch Purple Tang
3 inch Powder Blue Tang
2 inch Flame Angel
4 inch Red General Starfish
2 inch hermit
11 various sized snails.

Now, I understand these fish will get bigger and like I said I do plan on upgrading in the next 8 months probably, but how does it look now. They all seem to have enough room and their own place in the rockwork. So what do you think?

 

Well lets see. I suppose that you should not plan to add any other fish to the tank. The Marine betta is probably hiding a lot, thus not taking up much room. Most of the others are pretty active swimmers. I think they would be happy in a 210...but 125 is good also. Lets just say that I have seen much worse overstocking than this. You do not have that much to worry about at this point in time. Like you said they are still growing, and hopefully by the time they need it, you will have a larger tank ready.

 

Keep a close on water params - things can go sideways quick in a heavily populated tank.

I am no one to talk - expect I have one of the highest "fish inch"/tank size around.

I compensate by doing a 20% water change per week - never had any problems.

;D

 

i used to work at a store and the owner used to tell me for a problem free tank just have 5 gal for every inch of fish

looks like you have 21 inches of fish

125 or 210 would do great

 

That rule of thumb is so general though bro... I was told that too, but you have to think about the swimming habits of the fish, tangs need lots and lots of room for swimming and foraging. I have never seen lions do more then just sit their really, but they do need more then enough room to turn around in the tank. I would be more concerned about that beta eating the inverts.

back to the 1" of fish per 5g of water... Think of like gobies and other fish who burrow under the reef, and wait for food to pass by, they dont need 5g of space, more like 1g . It all depends on the habits of your fish.


but back to the original post... I would do a 180g, make some rock pillars so there is plenty of open room for swimming and foraging. The bigger the fish get, the more they pollute the water and substrate, so siphoning out the substrate is a must to keep the nitrogen cycle in check. Also have some serious chemical filtration.

 

I have said this before, and as Brian stated, the idea of inches of fish per gallon of tank is overrated and really holds no significance.
Different types of fish require different needs within a confined closed system! Based on their natural habitat, many fish require more room due to foraging/feeding needs as well as temperment/territoriality! Plus the fact that bigger fish deficate more so and in larger amounts, you have to take this into consideration when talking about water parameters and your filtration scheme to ensure you don't disturb the water quality>nitrates, nitrites and ammonia as well as phosphates levels!
Intense skimming for example will need to be addressed and established to ensure proper removal of waste by defication and respiration for overall success of your water and fish health!