How many fish is to much

[zeroeffect]

I'm new to the salt water. Still doing my cycle. The lfs told me I should get 4 blue/green crom fish so we did. we have had them 2 weeks now and they are very healthy and happy they really love to eat.

My question is this I have a 125gal tank with 175pounds of rock.
How many fish can I put in the tank and they stay happy and stay happy?

Im thinking that we will only want 1 or two tang fish and some clowns, perhapes a few others but nothing really big.

We will also be putting soft coral in the tank with perhapes a few hard corals but were not sure about the hard ones yet.

So what is a good number to think about?

Again I can only think of one or two fish that we want. anything else were not sure.

 

[username in use]

A couple of tangs, some clowns and a few other small/medium fish should be no problem in that tank. It's hard to just put a number of fish on a tank because all fish have different requirements and temperments that need to be taken into account when figuring out your stock list. In a 125 you won't want to get any of the really big tangs, like naso's or some of the big dussemieri's or achilles and the likes. There are plenty of tangs though that will be completely happy in your tank.

 

[thelittlereef]

I was always told a inch of fish per. gallon of water. But I always made room for in this for corals.

 

[username in use]

I was always told a inch of fish per. gallon of water. But I always made room for in this for corals.

That doesn't take into account any of the individual fishes requirements.

By that rule I can put 10 - 1" gobies in a 10 gallon tank, or 1 - 10" tang in the same tank. Does that sound right?

Neither of those is a good scenario.

 

[justnmatt79]

I agree with username in use (great handle btw).

You should find one fish you love, that is compatible with your setup, and begin a plan to stock around it. You have a large enough tank to have a lot of options, but you should begin by listing what you want, and cross-checking to see if everything will work together. Some fish can't handle boisterous tankmates (jawfish or firefish), and others pick at corals.

Start by deciding what your overall goal is, and research before you buy. That will help curb any problems before they start.

 

[snorvich]

I'm new to the salt water. Still doing my cycle. The lfs told me I should get 4 blue/green crom fish so we did.

Cycling a tank with fish is a poor option. I would consider using a different LFS which is a bit more knowledgeable. Their job is to sell you fish. Here at RC we try to advise you the proper way of doing things.

 

[small alien]

Again I can only think of one or two fish that we want. anything else were not sure.

What are these one or two fish you want?

 

[small alien]

Duh. Well, I guess you said already. Let's look at your tang and clown options, then. I'm sure people here can give you plenty of good advice.

For clowns, I would recommend tank bread specimens. And I would recommend a pair of ocellaris or ocellaris hybrids. Not too agressive and a nice body shape imo. ORA breads lots of neat ocellaris clowns. Get two tiny ones or one small one and one bigger one and they will likely form a male/female pair.

What tang(s) are you considering?

Go as slow as you can stand. Good luck.

 

[sedor]

A 125 is a great size tank and you might just run out of money before your finished stocking it :lol: Seriously though, if you stick with small, aggressive fish you can put a lot in there. If you are more into larger tangs and the likes, then stick with just a few. You'll know its to much because you won't be able to keep up with your water quality.

 

[zeroeffect]

Tangs I'm looking at Blonde Naso Tang, Blue Hippo Tang. Other fish I'm looking at are clowns not sure witch ones yet. last Blueface Angelfish (A).

I'm sure I will put other smaller fish in the tank if I can but really don't want to over stock it.

 

[zeroeffect]

Cycling a tank with fish is a poor option. I would consider using a different LFS which is a bit more knowledgeable. Their job is to sell you fish. Here at RC we try to advise you the proper way of doing things.

the tank had been up and running two weeks when he told us to add 4 small fish to the tank. Like I said before they are very happy fish from what I can tell.

The lfs guy has 12years under his belt but I don't know if that is good or bad.
But when I ask a question he seems to be giving me good info.

lol that and he is the only good lfs in the area after looking at two others yesterday.

 

[username in use]

Id scratch the naso, they get too big and are major swimmers. The hippo should be alright, just make sure your rockwork leaves some nive open swimming room. The blueface will be dicey if you plan on keeping a reef. If your cool with the possibility of some coral loss than go for it, but that would max you for large fish. Bear in mind that a 125 would be about the absolute minimum size for that fish so it will look big in there and will limit what else you can keep.

 

[zeroeffect]

That's true.

And like I said before I really don't want to over crowd the fish when I get them.

I'm for the most part just checking and looking at what is out there. I don't want anything that's going to be super big and I want lot's of fish at the same time so more than likely I will just have lot's of smaller fish. I really like some of the angels but It looks like most of them can't be paired up.

Oh well I'm learning and taking my time so we will get it all figured out one way or another.
I'm sure after my tank is up and running after the cycle I will have many more questions.

 

[username in use]

You should look at the pygmy angels. Many of them are really beautiful and there are some reef safe ones as well. Also, they are much easier to pair, and even create a male/female/female harem in a tank that size. That might be your best bet for getting multiple angels and not having them look huge in the tank.