Elizabeth94 Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 My university has a very nice marine biology lab with multiple tanks, but one in particular seems to be overstocked imo anyway.. Since I am a Criminal Justice student, the science professors ignore practically everything I say, and the students are the ones doing maintenance. So, I come here today to see if I am in the wrong. Tank is a 50gal (36x19x20) Fish stocking: 2x Flame Angel Fish 1x Full grown yellow tang 3x yellow tail damsels 1x azure damsel 4x blue green chromis I don't see any snails or clean up crew no matter how long I look at the tank. Filtration (I am not allowed to open the stand and see the sump set up) I assume there is only a heater and skimmer down there though, nothing fancy. This post is not going to be shown to anyone, I just want to see the general views on this. It kind of disappointed me to see how many fish they have added in the past month (over 5). All the other tanks are great, and we breed clownfish and other species here. Not including that we are on the water and have our own hatchery. Am I nuts for thinking this? Not a big deal, but the way the science professors are make me mad. Maybe Ill grab a pic when I have my next forensics lab in that department. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 You should report this to the Tang Police Depending on how well it's maintained I don't think it's excessively overstocked, especially if the damsels and chromis are small. Maybe they intend to rehome some of them when they are larger? Link to comment
SunWyrm Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 That sounds overstocked to me, not just on the tang but the angel pair as well. My coral beauty pair could get pretty vicious to each other at times and that was in an 8' tank (My male was a bully, not all fish are equal but that seems a little on the small side for a pair to me).If the tang is really that big, you'd think it'd be the first to be rehomed, not just recently acquired in the last 5 months. 3' of swim space is no bueno for a tang that large. My only thinking is maybe it's a rescue fish or could just be temporary housing? Link to comment
supernip Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 are the fish fighting or showing any signs of stress? Link to comment
ajmckay Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 IMO that's pretty overstocked... There's probably nothing you can do about it though. My guess is that there's a use it or lose it budget for the tank and a small committee of students decide what it's spent on. Person X wants 2 flames, person Y wants a tang, person Z wants damsels, etc... You mention they are adding a bunch of fish - is this a new tank or has it been established? I'm just wondering because if they're replacing other fish that have died then I think it's pretty obvious there are issues. Not sure what kind of maintenance it gets, but usually department tanks and the like get maintained for a while then neglected if a problem comes up nobody wants to deal with. Now one thing to think about is how long the tank will be set up. It's possible that the tank will only be set up through the semester or maybe the end of the school year and taken down with the fish going to other homes. If this is the case while it is overstocked as long as they can keep the water quality high enough and there aren't significant issues with aggression or fish stress then it may be okay. That being said I have a hard time believing that there won't be issues with fish stress and aggression in that tank. I think that within a month 2 of the chromis, and one of the yellow tail damsels could die (just a guess) - not sure what to think of the yellow tang... Hehe I think you should update this thread weekly - at least then we can gain some information from it. Take a pic each week as well and update the livestock list. Oh, and that's a bummer the science professors act like that to you... I would be pissed - since it's a place for learning. Not much learning goes on if nobody is sharing. Maybe you could ask the name of someone who's involved in the maintenance so you can learn more about the system? Link to comment
Elizabeth94 Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Tank has been up for four years minimum and the tang has been in there since. I forgot to take a picture this week, but it looks like a few fish might be missing. I didn't have much time between classes to sit there and count but it looks like there are at least one or two fish less. Believe it or not the angels seem fine in there, they are always picking at the rocks and keeping busy. The poor tang just swims back and forth toward the front of the tank. One of the problems is they added more rock last year so there is less swimming room for the fish. I have to get a picture. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Tank has been up for four years minimum and the tang has been in there since. I forgot to take a picture this week, but it looks like a few fish might be missing. I didn't have much time between classes to sit there and count but it looks like there are at least one or two fish less. Believe it or not the angels seem fine in there, they are always picking at the rocks and keeping busy. The poor tang just swims back and forth toward the front of the tank. One of the problems is they added more rock last year so there is less swimming room for the fish. I have to get a picture. I can believe that the angels are doing well. I think they do best when there's a ton of rock to pick through - may even keep them occupied enough not to nip at corals too. Link to comment
Elizabeth94 Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Didn't see this guy in there until the other day. Absolutely beautiful swissguard Basslet. Pictures don't do it justice. I did notice that there are less fish in there. So, add this guy to the list and take out a chromis to the stocking of that tank. I guess I should stop complaining that it is overstocked. I am usually a light stocker and these fish seem healthy otherwise. But the tang doesn't look to great. However, he is pretty old too. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Lol that's a Candy Basslet (costs $600-$900) Link to comment
athai32 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 ^+1 on the candy basslet Link to comment
Elizabeth94 Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 I was under the impression that the candy basslets don't have two block spots, and only one on their dorsal fin? Link to comment
athai32 Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I was under the impression that the candy basslets don't have two block spots, and only one on their dorsal fin? Actually you're probably right! must've been fooled by the lighting haha Link to comment
Elizabeth94 Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 I thought the same thing because he was super bright but I think its just a great example of a swissguard Link to comment
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