How many fish in an RSM 130?

[TheSilverSurfer]

Decided on starting this post to see what peoples thoughts are on how many fish can be kept in a RSM 130 reef tank. I have read that some people say 2 - 3 fish maximum, where other people get away with up to 10 fish and still have 0 levels!!

Surely as long as levels are kept at the very minimum what are your thoughts on how many fish and what type of fish can be kept in ta 130 litre tank?

I myself have four fish .. 2 clowns, 1 midas blenny and 1 Orchid Dottyback, along with 2 cleaners and a Peppermint. I would like to add in the future a small goby and then finally a Mandarin. As I work from home I can tend to the tank frequently but be that as it may I am unsure on adding more bio load.

Be interesting to hear thoughts on this.

 

[reefjeff]

i can t answer on how many fishes, but i m like ya fraser, have 4 fishes at the moment but don t plant on adding any for a moment, will see later along the way....here s my .02cents
peace
jeff

 

[Oakhouse]

Cant really answer on 130 as we have a 250.. at the moment we have three in that, plan (at the moment!) is to only add another 3 or 4, but you never know what will happen! lol

 

[nz1989reefer]

Decided on starting this post to see what peoples thoughts are on how many fish can be kept in a RSM 130 reef tank. I have read that some people say 2 - 3 fish maximum, where other people get away with up to 10 fish and still have 0 levels!!

IMHO, keeping levels at "0" is only half the consideration. You also really need to have a good think about territory issues.
Fighting for territory --> stress --> fish illness (--> death).

But if you are able to keep levels at "0", and plan to introduce highly peaceful and non-territorial fish that don't demand a lot of swimming space, I really don't see a problem with it...

Edit: need to think about oxygen levels too! If you see signs of breathing distress, you should stop adding fish

 

[proenca]

like everyone said : territory is key, as well matureness of the tank.

a mature tank can support a nice fish population. being a small tank, dont expect to have a big "buffer" as a large tank.

hence, you need to really space the introduction of fishes - recommended 1 month minimum, so your live rock and bacteria have time to adjust.

Terry's tank here ( a 130 ) has a VERY HEAVY fish population for a 130 : flame angel, a trigger fish !, a tang, couple of gobies, couple of clownfish etc etc..

But then again he has a stable tank for at least a couple of years and still he has been adding the fish slowly.

Others have minimum fish population.

Really depends.

Water changes are a must. Get ready for it - if you want to have a decent fish population that is something you can't avoid.

Then upgrading the skimmer is recommended although non necessary, so you have better efficency on the skimming and oxigenating the water more.

Live rock must be well populated and mature, as well being in decent quantity : 5lbs of live aint going to cut it.

So definitly is possible and doable, just takes a bit of time and have to do it slowly.

For example : my tank is new ( less than 2 months ) and I have a pair of Perculas and now added a Mandarin and I'm seeing some algae due to the increase feeding ( with Madarins you have to heavy feed so they get some food ) - even still I added to big Nassarius population and couple of cleaner shrimps to eat left overs - which they do marvellously, I'm seeing some algae build up.

So now wont be a nice time to introduce another fish in my tank. Have to wait until the tank balances out.

Following these rules and everything is possible.

 

[Micromax]

This is just MY opinion from my experiences, double or even triple think about every fish you add because catching them in a well stocked reef tank is the worst exp aside from a tank crash . that being said just a few rules well help you make a great choice on how many and what types . first , what will the adult size of the fish be .. many of the fish we buy are very small compared to there adult size. they can and do out grow tanks. second , what do they eat , thos that eat pods can starve if more then one is put in a small tank. and even one can be sickly if there is to few rocks and hiding places for the pods. aswell some fish need special foods , sizes types etc also some fish need to eat alot more often,( tangs ) the more food and types = higher bio load = more water changes etc. third and final , many fish in a large environment act very differnt then in a crowed small tank. that is one of the reasons you will hear mixed info on how a type of fish acts.. this is by no means all you could consider but its a good start in MY exp. great question btw

 

[Reefmack]

Gonçalo - a tang is one fish I haven't added LOL!

It really does involve doing the research on types of territory the fish will inhabit, compatibility with other types you have, dissimilar coloration and body shapes to avoid aggression, adding most aggressive last, adding one or two at a time, and having a well seasoned tank with a good bacteria population established, good filtration and chemical media, and a highly efficient skimmer. And hoping the fish have read the book on how they are supposed to behave.

 

[nz1989reefer]

On the topic of stocking, how much bioload and "territory-load" do you guys think dartfish gobies require? I've been looking at the red firefish, purple firefish, and scissortail dartfish. I really like all 3!
Would a scissortail dartfish and firefish get along well in a 130D?

 

[TheSilverSurfer]

Good reading everyone and it is interesting when talking about territorial ... my 3rd fish was a Midas Blenny and my fourth fish is a Orchid Dottyback. They seem quite well behaved but occasionally they have a chase, presumably from a) being similar in body shape and b) both like the same area of the tank lol. As I have two clowns I don't see the harm in adding a small goby of some sort in the future and being a bottom dweller it will have the run of the substrate and not interfere too much with the other fish.
I agree compatibility is an issue so am glad I have been doing research on what type of fish get on with others, the fact they all eat similarly and they are different colours so as not to 'antagonise' each other. )

 

[proenca]

Gonçalo - a tang is one fish I haven't added LOL!

YET.....

yet Terry. Yet is the operative keyword in that sentence

Naso tang perhaps ? If we take into account your share of lunacy ? :happywalk

 

[Reefmack]

I'd come close to a small tang a few times, most recently a small sailfin. But the tendency of tangs to develop ich has always had me change my mind. I try to get fish that have a background of being hardy and not disease prone. So far, I've been lucky.

 

[dmyers557]

I good general rule of thumb I was told is to keep the max length of your total fish at your gallon capacity. EXAMPLE: If you have a 34 gallon RSM, you should keep a maximum of 34 inches in fully grown size fishes. So if you have a 1 inch goby that can get 4 inches long, that fish counts as 4 inches, not 1 inch. Just what I heard, but sounds reasonable to me. More importantly, if all your levels are constantly at 0, you are good to go.

 

[cabolick]

My 130 D isn't ready for fish yet, but I have decided that there would be a 4 fish limit. With that being said, I started looking at fish that were in the tanks of LFS and decided that I would try to pick the smallest fish that they had or just have them order them for me. After searching thru books I already own and doing reasearch on the net I decided what fish I would put in my tank. My kids are ready to name there fish but it may be a while before we are ready for them.

Thanks,
Chris B