Stocking List

[Nolan99]

I am new to the saltwater hobby and have just gotten the Red Sea Max 130 (34 gallon) aquarium. I am planning on having a reef aquarium. I have been suggested to stock 1 inch of fish per every 2 gallons. I also have talked to someone who says that the less bioload that the fish creates, essentially the more of that fish you could add per inch for that fish. He also said that the less food you have to feed those particular fish the more fish you can keep. He showed me a tank at their store which they just have a protein skimmer running on it and they have a six-line wrasse, green mandarin, and a coral beauty in it. He says they don't feed this tank, and the fish all looked healthy. Therefore I have come up with this stock list which is moderately higher than the inch per 2 gallons would recommend and I would like help on any edits on compatibility or size you would suggest. Here it is:
-2 Ocellaris Tank Bred Clownfish
-1 Flame Angelfish (I have heard that they can cause damage to corals but I am willing to take the risk)
-1 Tailspot Blenny
-2 Banggaii Cardinalfish
-1 Green Mandarin (I would wait till have a high population of copepods)
-1 Six Line Wrasse
-1 Yellow Watchman Goby
Any comments would be appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[SeanMonster]

While I've never had a Mandarin, I have read many posts on this forum that would suggest a 34 gallon tank couldn't produce enough pods to sustain one and you'd need to supplement, which is costly. Also, the Six Line Wrasse would get them faster than the Mandarin could. Also, that is a pretty big stock list on a 34 gallon tank. My 90 gallon reef only has 6 fish in it and my 180 gallon reef has 9 fish. Hope this helps.


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[54seaweed]

-2 Ocellaris Tank Bred Clownfish +
-1 Flame Angelfish (I have heard that they can cause damage to corals but I am willing to take the risk) -
-1 Tailspot Blenny -
-2 Banggaii Cardinalfish +
-1 Green Mandarin (I would wait till have a high population of copepods) -
-1 Six Line Wrasse +
-1 Yellow Watchman Goby +
Any comments would be appreciated! Thanks!!

I used plus and minus symbols

In 34g tank and how most small fish grow up to 3 inch I said up too. I would stick to around 6 fish

Flame angel in a 34 would be overly aggressive and would be a tight fit

mandarins are very delicate fish they require a well mature tank with a good population of pods which a 34g can not produce as mandarins can eat from 1000 to 2000 pods a day

hope this helps you some with your choices
Remember don't add to many fish at once maybe 2 every other week

 

[Mebbid]

Inches per gallon is a junk measurement for a tank tbh.

For a tank that size, 4 fish would work, I wouldn't do more than 5. Maybe 6 if you choose all small fish.

As for the specific fish:

The flame angel and mandarin aren't recommended at all for a tank that size. Even if the mandarins are eating prepared foods, they have a tendency to revert to only eating copepods which puts you in a precarious position. Adding a 6 line wrasse on top of that will make the problem worse because they munch on a lot of pods.