too many fish for a 130g tank?

[nitr8]

The following is a list that I've put together of all the fish that I want to stock my tank with. Problem is I like a lot of fish so I think I may have went a little over board but a lot of them are blennys and dart fish (smaller fish). Let me know if you think this is too many fish or if you see any compatibility issues. My main concerns are for the 3 tangs.

2x Helfrich's Firefish (small)
3x Firefish (small)
Yasha Goby w/Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp (ex. small)
3x Catalina Coby (ex. small)
Twin Spot Goby (small)
Orange Spotted Lawn Mower Blenny (small)
Tail Spot Blenny (small)
Caribbean Salfin Blenny (small)
Blue Spot Jaw Fish (small)
Borbonious Anthias (medium)
Fathead Sunburst Anthias (small)
Purple Tang (large)
Desjardini Salfin Tang (large)
Black Tang (large)

and later on after the the tank has matured I'll be adding a
Red Mandarin Dragonet (small)

Total: 20 fish

 

[shrkbait]

I would be more worried on all your bottom dwellers having homes. The Blue Spot Jaw Fish will not stay in one spot. Mine burrowed a different rock nightly. My goby has only ever moved twice. I guess get the ones that wander first and hope they settle, otherwise the big bad wolf will be blowing a lot of other homes down.

 

[beckbrass]

That's a lot of fish. I have heard of blennies not getting along with like blennies.Purple tang and black tang could be a bad idea. Purples are not the nicest fish and with similar body types it could be bad.

 

[JayM]

purple tangs are very aggressive fish. I think your overall count is too high.

What are the dimensions of your 130g tank? Tangs need swimming room. a sailfin should probably have a 5 or 6 foot tank at least.

 

[lisa foster]

I have three gobyies in my 125 without isue I would probably not add 5 . I havve 1 that hangs to the left side one on the right and one in the middle. I would steer clear of a purple tabg they are very aggressive. Is a 130 gallon 6 feet long? I have a small yellow tang and a small sail fin and they constantly swim back and fourth . I would alo add stock slowly if you throw that large of a stocklist you will have problems. I only have a lawnmower blenny o I don'tknow how they get along wih other blennies

 

[nitr8]

The tank is 36x36x24

 

[lisa foster]

I think for those tangs they need 5-6 feet to swim back and forth.

 

[frank180reef]

I think I would be worried about ick, with the overloading

 

[nickyblase]

2x Helfrich's Firefish (small) - Should be fine, but cover the tank - they're jumpers
3x Firefish (small) - same as above
Yasha Goby w/Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp (ex. small) - should be fine
3x Catalina Coby (ex. small) - these fish need to live in cooler temp waters. More suited to a specimen tank
Twin Spot Goby (small) - same as other gobies. These can be pretty big sand stirrers from what I've experienced
Orange Spotted Lawn Mower Blenny (small) - should be fine, but I would only keep one other blenny in the tank that is of a different size/shape
Tail Spot Blenny (small) see above
Caribbean Salfin Blenny (small) - see Lawnmower Blenny
Blue Spot Jaw Fish (small) - need to be very careful with these - they do not have a good track record of surviving in captivity. I would recommend against it, especially in a new tank
Borbonious Anthias (medium) - should be fine
Fathead Sunburst Anthias (small) - should be fine
Purple Tang (large) - I wouldn't recommend, like mentioned above, they can be on the mean side
Desjardini Salfin Tang (large) - definitely NOT suited for a 3ft tank
Black Tang (large) - They can be cool, but still not sure it's a good idea to put in a 3 ft tank - that's not a lot of swimming room for avid swimmers like these.

and later on after the the tank has matured I'll be adding a
Red Mandarin Dragonet (small)

I'd recommend starting slow and adding only a couple fish at a time. A tank 3 feet in length should be (IMHO) for fish who don't need a lot of swimming space.

A few species that are a little easier to keep (and can be bred in captivity) are good ideas - such as Ocellaris Clowns or Banggai Cardinals.

Hope this helps

 

[kevinpratt823]

Too many, even without the Tangs. Not sure how long you've been in the hobby, but here's somethig I learned from my first tank:
Take your time adding fish, if you haven't been in this all that long, then you ARE going to come across new fish at stores etc. that you just HAVE to have because they are really cool. If your tank is overstocked already then the shopping's over.

 

[lisa foster]

Also with the lawnmower blenny they can aggravate clams. Mine willpick the algae off the shell and be nipping the mantle at the same time. If you want clams you might want to stay away. They do have very comical behavior and are always out in the open. The gobies tend to stay in their borrow.

 

[JayM]

The tank is 36x36x24

that is a tang no-no

 

[nitr8]

Updated list

I've taken a few things posted into account and altered the list. Here it is:

Helfrich's Firefish
3x Purple firefish
3x Firefish

Red Mandarin Dragonet
Yasha Goby w/Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp

Orange Spotted Lawn Mower Blenny
Black Sailfin Blenny

Blue Spot Jaw Fish

Borbonious Anthias
Fathead Sunburst Anthias
3x Yellow Spotted Anthias

Black Tang

Total: 18

 

[nitr8]

Is it better to keep firefish in trios or pairs?

 

[nitr8]

that is a tang no-no

Is that because of the water volume being 130g or the length of the tank being 36'' or both?

 

[Rick C]

Is that because of the water volume being 130g or the length of the tank being 36'' or both?

the length of the tank being 36''.

 

[lisa foster]

Also wait 8 -12 months before adding a mandarin unless it i one of the ora ones that eat frozen. My mandarin took 7 months before he ate frozen. I waited a year before I added him.You will not have enough copepod population to support his needs. Start with something hardy like clown fish. New tanks tend to lose some fish and a black tang is an expensive fish to lose.

 

[nitr8]

Also wait 8 -12 months before adding a mandarin unless it i one of the ora ones that eat frozen. My mandarin took 7 months before he ate frozen. I waited a year before I added him.You will not have enough copepod population to support his needs. Start with something hardy like clown fish. New tanks tend to lose some fish and a black tang is an expensive fish to lose.

typically what I've done in the past is add two to three fish every month following the cycle. The mandarin and tang will be the last two fish to be added. As far as the mandarin goes I always buy copepods for a new tank that populate into the thousands fairly quickly.

 

[delta]

that is a tang no-no

The tang police have arrived on the scene

That said way too many fish. Patients and take your time. You need to add something and see how it goes, let the tank mini cycle, then ad something else

 

[Cjtabares]

that is a tang no-no

I would have to disagree. I know I have not been around here as long as you but when I was looking into the 36"x36"x27" tank this thing is huge. I would think if you do your research there are some nice tangs you can keep in that tank. I would just stay away from some of the big tangs and some of the really active tangs. The Yellow tang i had swam more in and out of my rock work then straight up and down the tank.