Newbie is my tank overstocked?

[marie]

I personally am a fan of damsels (after all, clown fish are damsels) just as long as a person is aware that they are aggressive and should be the last fish added.
They are tough, hardy, cheap and colourful who could ask for anything more

[vicltruong]

yeah I added the 3 strip damsel last he is getting chased by the blue damsel. but he keeps going back to the rock. The 1.5" clown is the boss but he doesn't do anything and the 1" clown just follows him around. it's interesting watching the territory battle.

I'm planning a predator tank next want a trigger, puffer, box fish, and cow fish. and maybe these damsel will go in there after they get bigger. What size of a tank minimum do you guys and girls think I need?

[Marlin65]

First thing you will have problems with on an overstocked tank is algae usually hair. Just make sure you do your water changes regularly, and some of the other suggestions posted would help your tank that much more.
Box/Cow fish release toxin when they die and can wipe out your hole tank just food for thought. I would think 75-90 min for the Trigger/Puffer combo depending on what kind.

[mike31154]

I currently have 7 fish in my 75 gal. At the most I had 10 but the 3 blue/green chromis have all been picked off. So I guess in a way my tank has established its stocking level by attrition. I have no plans to add any more fish to this tank. Mind you, most of my fish are considerably larger than one or two inches. Among them is one Blue Devil Damsel and although he's caused some grief in the course of the past couple of years, I have no plans to remove him from the community. He's a striking electric blue colour which is one of the reasons I prefer to live and let live. He pretty much is outmuscled by most of the other inhabitants anyway and is in no position to cause any dire harm to the other fishes in the tank.

That's my experience and although I've never tried to run a 10 gal (I got the 75 used and that's how I started) I suspect that in the near future you're going to have some issues with those four fish in your system. The two clowns are probably going to be okay but I'd recommend you at least see about removing one of the other Damselfish. They're all nice and small now and apparently getting along, but every one of those guys is very territorial and in the limited space they are afforded now, with few hiding spaces for night time safety, that is going to cause stress and trouble in the future if not already. So even if the water parameters are pristine and other people apparently overstock their tanks and it's ok, that doesn't do anything for the well being of your fish. Yes one or two fish in a tank looks sparse, but the consequences of overstocking will become apparent in a short time or maybe a little longer, but it's pretty likely there will be consequences. Anyhow, best of luck and keep reading up/researching the hobby. I'd say a 20 or 30 gal would be a better solution if you wish to keep a few more fish.

[ponokareefer]

I've been running a 9 gallon tank with 2 clowns, and a goby/pistol pair, and even with weekly 1 gallon water changes, using purigen, and a refugium, the hair algae is beginning to get bad in the tank. It won't be much longer, and I'm going to have to get the clowns out of the tank, as it just won't maintain the way it is. It has been a slow process of getting worse and worse, but I knew when I put the clowns in the system that it probably wouldn't be long term. Good luck with your system.

[WuHT]

Damsels arn't all that bad.

I have an azure damsel (one of the first fish in the tank) getting handled by a purple firefish (the last fish in the tank) ..and this is a 150 gallon aquarium