Overcrowding... what do you think??

[Sol T. Waters]

you know, you could buy the fish w/o being in a package.......but

 

[Mouse]

ooooh, im going to cry.

 

[Mouse]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

My Yellow Tang seems perfectly happy in his 55-gallon reef, and has now for what? five - six years. I wish the tank was longer to give him swimming room. There is not enough algae for him to graze. (okay, there is way too much algae, but not the kind that he eats.)

Typical, everything seems ok, except for the vast ammounts of algie swamping my tank feeding off the excessive nutrient levels in my cess pool. But yea "perfectly" fine otherwise.

The fish you have i might add is probably allready very stunted in its growth and moving it to a bigger tank at such a late stage will probably do nothing to the overall wellbeing and life expectancy of this fish. Its allready broken!!!

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

if i take them back to the store they will likely spend the rest of their lives in an even smaller tank either at the store, or in the tank of whoever buys them. so that leaves me with the question of whether or not to keep them.

Firstly, that would be true working on the assumption that you are infact a martyr of the sea's, and nobody else cares but you. But i dont think your going to get far trying to convince people of that here.

Most of us who consider ourselfs responsible usually make this decision BEFORE - B4 - thats "PRIOR TO PURCHASE", and have a tank built according to their specific needs. You wouldn't run out and buy a wedding ring in the hope of meeting a girl. Peaon!!

 

[whusband]

well i was planning on upgrading to a bigger tank, but after a family tragedy i'm left w/ 10's of thousands dollars of medical bills and can't afford it

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't add those fish all at once. It really will cause you water quality to go off in a 55.

And yes, I do think that is way overcowding, and you wil certainly lose some of those fish.

 

[Anemone]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Sol T. Waters:
<strong>
If anyone has the least bit of confidence that i can make it work then please let me know.

</strong><hr></blockquote>

Sure, it can work - maybe one out of every 100 times. I realize this is a "package" deal - question: does the package still sound good after the mandarin, jawfish, and the flame angel have died?

Maybe it won't be those three, but I predict that if you go through with this purchase, you'll have five fish in your tank within three months. Others may disagree, but that's my guess....

Kevin

 

[esmithiii]

Yes, it will be seriously overcrowded and adding them all at once is a terrible idea.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

well tang police, what if i told you that my friend has a 30 gallon and has a sailfin tang, foxface angel (5-6 inches), and and juvy emperor angel.

Just because he did it doesn't make it right. (Man I sound like my folks! Next I will say something like "if your friend jumped off a building, would you?") Your friend is headed for trouble.

I will say that it sounds like you have made up your mind. I hope not. I think the money you will save on buying the "package deal" will pale in comparison with the replacement cost of all the fish that will inevitably die in your tank.

"understocking" is one of the best things you can do to ensure the health of your tank.

Ernie

 

[jethro]

But it's ok to keep Shamu in a swimming pool.

 

[danmhippo]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by jethro:
<strong>But it's ok to keep Shamu in a swimming pool.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Oh, sure, but you missed the point........They are experts!

 

[ophiuroid]

You have three fish now...

Adding three would instantly double the load on your biological filter....a big risk, and the most that many people would take. Odds are pretty darn good you will get an ammonia spike in there, simply because the bacteria will need some time to multiply in response to the new increase in bioload. You would have a lot of new fish, in a rather small tank (my opinion), stressed by the typical bullying that accompanies going into a new established tank, and having just arrived after shipment (not just to your door, but from capture, to wholesaler, to supplier to you) and then they have to deal with ammonia in the system. Not a great situation. I see little white spots....

Adding 5, therefore, would almost certainly mean trouble.

Keep in mind you may not simply find a few new additions dead. It is Murphy's law that you will find you favorite/oldest/most expensive fish dead. Or you may find everything dead. Decisions such as these should be made by considering the worst case scenario, IMO. That usually makes the answer crystal clear. As others have said, the cost of replacing everything may make it a bad deal.

The golden rule of the hobby is patience. Package deals, unless the contents are split and sent to different tanks, a rarely good deals (at least for the livestock involved).

But the question really is....

If someone in this thread said it would be fine, would you still do it, even with all of the other advice?

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Brittlestars!!
http://home.att.net/~ophiuroid
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[ April 14, 2002: Message edited by: ophiuroid ]</p>

 

[whusband]

neither one of these came out too well, but i think they give a general idea of how big the tangs are relative to the tank. think it's time to take them out, or can it wait??

 

[danmhippo]

I feel the stress of being in a cell........ But unless you can find an appropriate tank to give them away to, they are better off staying in your tank for a while (until you can find a better home for them.............Ever thought about the local public aquarium, zoo, or schools that knows how to take care of them?)

 

[whusband]

Local aquarium - hahaha! i can tell you've never been to Mississippi. Marine tanks around here are almost nonexistent. The local stores (both of them) never have much in stock b/c there is no demand for it. There are probably less than 2 dozen reef keepers in a 100-mile radius from me


My best option would be to see if the LFS could find a buyer for them w/ a suitable tank. Think I’ll try that

 

[whusband]

man... i just called both local stores and they both said they didn't know of any customers who had a tank big enough for them.

 

[danmhippo]

Hey, how about digging yourself a saltwater pond? Some kind of canopy to keep the rain out and heater to keep the water warm in the winter!

Of course, if you can shell out the extra $$'s you might want to consider upgrade your tank....... I guess you are glued to them now!

How often do you shop at those 2 LFS? May I suggest spend more time there and shop there more often, usually they are only willing to do this kind of service for us when we have become a regular big bucks customer.

 

[whusband]

funny. i know what you mean about the local stores. i shop at both of them often. one of them knows me by name. i spend all my birthday, xmas, etc. money there

 

[Mouse]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr> quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by jethro:
But it's ok to keep Shamu in a swimming pool.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, sure, but you missed the point........They are experts!
<hr></blockquote>


I completely disagree, thats why there on their 3rd or 4th Baby Shamu. Because they keep dieing or getting killed by one of the other whales. Man that show makes me sick. And all for the ammusement of a bunch of bathing apes.... eugh!!

 

[danmhippo]

Mouse, The comment was supposed to be sarcastic.

Do they call them Shamu as well at Great Brittan? You guys got Shamu too?

 

[Dawlfandav]

TANG POLICE Hehe. Thats kind of funny. But after seeing the little kole tang in the little 20 gal tank at the LFS I figured my 55 was a much better place for him. After 2 years Im thinking of upgrading to a larger tank so he (or she) will be happy.