Minimum tank size needed

[Reef Tank 2.0]

When you look for a fish that will fit the size tank you have, it always lists the MINIMUM tank size needed.

Do you go by the minimum as it mentions, or do you try and stay well below that to avoid stress and whatever other issues that may come with restricted areas to swim?

example: I see a lot of fish that I would consider, but it says it needs a minimum 125g tank.  I meet the minimum tank required (by 5 gallons), but, to me, that seems to be on the side of caution.  In my mind, that fish would not be happy with the minimum.  So i look elsewhere for another fish that would fit better.

what's your take on this?

[jeblin]

To me, the answer is.....it depends ;-) Some people I know on here keep a pair of Ocellaris Clownfis in a 10 gallon tank and they seem to be as happy as can be. Other sites state a minimum tank size for a single Ocellaris is 30 gallons. It all depends on how much open space they have, how much bio load your system can handle, the size of the fish, the physical size of the tank, etc. It all depends ;-) Some fish want more vertical space, others more horizontal. I kept a blue tang in a 40 gallon long display tank once when it was about a half inch long (tiny sized). It had plenty of wide open space and length for its size, but they can grow up to a foot long so long term, it would have needed a lot longer tank. Once it out grew the 40, I traded it to someone with a much larger tank. So, short answer...it all depends ;-) As with all my posts....just my 2 cents

[mtamorrow]

Same as above!  I have a yellow tang in a 30 long. But he's only about 2". I plan on having a larger tank before he gets to big.


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[Miles]

Same here.... I have a few pairs of clownfish in 10gallon tanks. They are plumbed into my main system so they have more than adequate filtration. They host flower pots that I put in with them and never really move more than 6 inches from the pots. I used to house on of the pairs in a 20L and quickly realized that it was a waste of tank space because they never ventured past the halfway point.

I also have a small yellow tang (approx 2-2.5") in a 20L that has been there for a couple years. It came from a 40gallon that someone was tearing down. I didn' t want to add it to add it to my display tank with larger tangs until it got larger. It expresses no interest in nori but gets super excited about the frozen food that I feed the Tomato Clown that is in the same tank. I'm sure it's growth has probably been stunted because it doesn't eat the algae that it should (it doesn't do a very good job at grazing algae either) but it seems to be in good shape for the shape it's in.   

[growingreefer]

Good to know. I've been dying to get some juvenile tangs and keep them in a 110 but was afraid because of space. Hopefully I can keep some for a couple years, upgrade or trade them!