Is my tank considered overstocked??

[Andrew Ledo]

I have a 40 gallon FOWLR tank that has been up and running for about a year, no sump or skimmer, approx 20 lbs of rock, 40 lbs of sand (1.5" sandbed) also have 2 Hydor power heads, and 2 AquaClear70 HOB filters.

First question, with my current setup do I need a skimmer?
Because i've read aquarists say it makes a big difference with the water quality and then some say for a tank my size it's not necessary.

Stocking list:
(2) Ocellaris clowns 2.5"
(1) Coral beauty 3"
(1) Yellow coris wrasse 3"

Clean up crew:
(1) Blood/Fire shrimp
(1) Fighting conch
(2) Trochus snails
(6) Nassarius snails

Everyone gets along fine, no aggression whatsoever. I do not plan on adding anymore fish to be honest just want to know if the current stocking is alright?

I feed mysis shrimp daily, nori once a week, and algae wafers for my conch.
I do a 25% water change every 2 wks.

Could I add pom pom crabs? Like 4-5
Id like to get a peaceful crab that won't mess with my clean up crew or fish (NO hermits and NO emerald crabs)

 

[ccombs]

I do not think you are overstocked from what I have seen so far. The way you aqua scape can also dictate what is overstocking so pictures would help but I think you are fine. I am not too familiar with pom pom crabs so I will let someone else field that question.

If you are having success without a skimmer, you do not need one. A skimmer is great because it adds an additional method of export of nutrients. This comes in handy if you forget a water change or some other manual removal method. If you are doing well without one, it would potentially help you out but most likely be a backup and ensure you are getting waste out.

 

[Peach02]

I have a 40 gallon FOWLR tank that has been up and running for about a year, no sump or skimmer, approx 20 lbs of rock, 40 lbs of sand (1.5" sandbed) also have 2 Hydor power heads, and 2 AquaClear70 HOB filters.

First question, with my current setup do I need a skimmer?
Because i've read aquarists say it makes a big difference with the water quality and then some say for a tank my size it's not necessary.

Stocking list:
(2) Ocellaris clowns 2.5"
(1) Coral beauty 3"
(1) Yellow coris wrasse 3"

Clean up crew:
(1) Blood/Fire shrimp
(1) Fighting conch
(2) Trochus snails
(6) Nassarius snails

Everyone gets along fine, no aggression whatsoever. I do not plan on adding anymore fish to be honest just want to know if the current stocking is alright?

I feed mysis shrimp daily, nori once a week, and algae wafers for my conch.
I do a 25% water change every 2 wks.

Could I add pom pom crabs? Like 4-5
Id like to get a peaceful crab that won't mess with my clean up crew or fish (NO hermits and NO emerald crabs)

IMHO it’s not overstocked and the Pom Pom crabs seem okay but I don’t know much about them

 

[Jekyl]

Not overstocked. I'd add more snails and some hermits

 

[Mikedawg]

I have a 40 gallon FOWLR tank that has been up and running for about a year, no sump or skimmer, approx 20 lbs of rock, 40 lbs of sand (1.5" sandbed) also have 2 Hydor power heads, and 2 AquaClear70 HOB filters.

First question, with my current setup do I need a skimmer?
Because i've read aquarists say it makes a big difference with the water quality and then some say for a tank my size it's not necessary.

Stocking list:
(2) Ocellaris clowns 2.5"
(1) Coral beauty 3"
(1) Yellow coris wrasse 3"

Clean up crew:
(1) Blood/Fire shrimp
(1) Fighting conch
(2) Trochus snails
(6) Nassarius snails

Everyone gets along fine, no aggression whatsoever. I do not plan on adding anymore fish to be honest just want to know if the current stocking is alright?

I feed mysis shrimp daily, nori once a week, and algae wafers for my conch.
I do a 25% water change every 2 wks.

Could I add pom pom crabs? Like 4-5
Id like to get a peaceful crab that won't mess with my clean up crew or fish (NO hermits and NO emerald crabs)

I would use water parameter test results to inform your decision about needing a skimmer; what are they btw?

 

[Salty Lemon]

The Pom Pom crabs are relatively peaceful with each other. I'm not certain I would put 4-5 in there. Maybe two and see how it goes. @Jekyl has a good idea about adding snails and hermit crabs. About the skimmer... I had a HOB skimmer on my smaller tank and it really made a difference. Although it was a bit of an eyesore. Between that and my canister filter, we called my tank "Frankenstein" because it had all this stuff hanging out of it.

 

[Andrew Ledo]

The Pom Pom crabs are relatively peaceful with each other. I'm not certain I would put 4-5 in there. Maybe two and see how it goes. @Jekyl has a good idea about adding snails and hermit crabs. About the skimmer... I had a HOB skimmer on my smaller tank and it really made a difference. Although it was a bit of an eyesore. Between that and my canister filter, we called my tank "Frankenstein" because it had all this stuff hanging out of it.

Thanks for your reply! I planned on adding some dwarf blue leg hermits but I read they will go after my snails and really don't want to put a bunch of empty shells in my tank and hope for the best. How many more snails should I add? Between my fighting conch and my Nassarius snails my sandbed is always pearly white.

 

[Andrew Ledo]

Not overstocked. I'd add more snails and some hermits

Thanks for the reply! I do like blue leg hermits but I read they will devour my snails and I don't want that, I'm especially fond of my fighting conch because he's a work horse and I'd hate for some hermits to gang up on him (not sure if they do that or not lol I've never had hermits)

 

[Salty Lemon]

Thanks for your reply! I planned on adding some dwarf blue leg hermits but I read they will go after my snails and really don't want to put a bunch of empty shells in my tank and hope for the best. How many more snails should I add? Between my fighting conch and my Nassarius snails my sandbed is always pearly white.

If you have clean sand, I wouldn't worry too much so long as your tank has been up for as long as you said. You could probably add a diamond goby or jawfish. They are fun to watch and stay to the bottom of the tank. Yes... hermits can jump a snail if there aren't enough larger shells to move into as they grow -- and if they don't have enough food.

 

[Jskinn27]

Would also agree not overstocked. Especially if your levels are all good

 

[Andrew Ledo]

If you have clean sand, I wouldn't worry too much so long as your tank has been up for as long as you said. You could probably add a diamond goby or jawfish. They are fun to watch and stay to the bottom of the tank. Yes... hermits can jump a snail if there aren't enough larger shells to move into as they grow -- and if they don't have enough food.

I'll probably pass on the hermits then and just add more snails! I'm not worried about losing a snail every now and then but if the hermits took out my conch I'd be disappointed, he really helped with the diatom bloom I had a couple months ago. The yellow head jawfish is really neat, are they peaceful? I had to give a Royal Gramma away because it was way too territorial and stressed out his tankmates, funny thing was you'd only get to see him when he was wrecking havoc (not a fan of hiding fish) right now all my fish get along in harmony and I'd like to keep it that way, I'm very skeptical to add my last fish but I've narrowed it down to either a Firefish or a Tailspot Blenny, may consider a yellow head jawfish but haven't done enough research on them yet. Any suggestions out of those?

 

[408Dartfish]

I don’t think your tank is overstocked. I have hermits with my conches and they don’t get bothered.

 

[Andrew Ledo]

I don’t think your tank is overstocked. I have hermits with my conches and they don’t get bothered.

Thank you for your reply! Do you happen to have the blue leg hermits or the scarlett hermits?? And approximately how many hermits would you recommend for a 40 gallon

 

[408Dartfish]

Thank you for your reply! Do you happen to have the blue leg hermits or the scarlett hermits?? And approximately how many hermits would you recommend for a 40 gallon

I’ve got blue, scarlet and a few orange. I keep my cleanup crew kinda small, I’d start with about 10 and see how that goes.

 

[Salty Lemon]

I'll probably pass on the hermits then and just add more snails! I'm not worried about losing a snail every now and then but if the hermits took out my conch I'd be disappointed, he really helped with the diatom bloom I had a couple months ago. The yellow head jawfish is really neat, are they peaceful? I had to give a Royal Gramma away because it was way too territorial and stressed out his tankmates, funny thing was you'd only get to see him when he was wrecking havoc (not a fan of hiding fish) right now all my fish get along in harmony and I'd like to keep it that way, I'm very skeptical to add my last fish but I've narrowed it down to either a Firefish or a Tailspot Blenny, may consider a yellow head jawfish but haven't done enough research on them yet. Any suggestions out of those?

Everything you listed are peaceful species in the tank. This one really depends on you. The firefish will hang out in the middle/top of the tank. The blenny will hang out on the rocks and in crevices and the jawfish will build a burrow/burrows in the sand. If you have a jawfish, you need to make certain you have enough sand for him on the bottom. I've heard of people using PVC tubing and covering it with the sand if they don't have a deep bed. I've never tried it. When I set up my first tank I used this chart from Blue Zoo aquatics. It came in handy: https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/compatibility_chart.html . Also, Liveaquaria will say right on their website if fish are reef safe or not and what the minimum size tank you need for your fish should be: https://www.liveaquaria.com/ For example: It says that you don't want to put an Emperor Angel in a 30 gallon nano tank. And of course, you can always ask here. I can't speak on everyone's behalf on this forum, but the animals that get the most attention in the tank from my family and friends, are the ones who have jobs, or do something interesting. I have a $175 Purple Tang in my tank, but the guy that the world loves when they come over, is the Diamond Goby that I picked up for $14. He is busy and constantly moving sand and rock around to make his environment perfect. People love him.

 

[408Dartfish]

If you do get a jawfish make sure you have a lid. I had a blackcap jawfish which was awesome, jump out on me at night when I left my kid cracked after feeding.