How many fish can I put in my 34 gallon Red Sea Max?

Question

How many fish can I put in my 34 gallon Red Sea Max? And will coral and invertabrates count as fish and limit my stock?

Answer 1

As Finatic said, it would depend on the adult size of the fish, but also the activity level and the territorial aggressiveness of the species involved.

I wouldn't suggest more than two clowns (both the same species) in a tank that size. Clowns are territorial fish, and once a pair is established, any others would be harassed to death, especially once they begin to lay eggs. And since clowns are born without a "fixed" gender, and two juveniles added at the same time will become a pair. Nor would all clowns be good choices. You could keep a pair of the smaller species (ocellaris, percula, skunks) but I'd avoid the larger species (maroons, tomatos, cinnamons, Clarkii, sebaes).

Sedentary species like lionfish need less space than active fish like tangs, even though the lionfish might have a larger adult size.

Species that show territorial aggression may limit you to one, or a mated pair of that species, and not allow you to keep anything similar in color, body shape, or a related species to eliminate aggression between the fish. For instance, in your tank, you could only keep one hawkfish, but keep a pair of clowns or cardinalfish. There are a few schooling species (green chromis, scissortail gobies, chalk bass) that might allow you to keep more fish than would be otherwise recommended.

Also consider that if you're keeping live rock, this will cut down on the total water volume in the tank. And although the corals and inverts may not produce as much wastes as the fish, they still produce wastes, use dissolved oxygen, produce carbon dioxide, and make use of the same elements in the seawater, so yes, they do count toward the overall bioload.

I would suggest no more than 2-3 fish in the 3-4 inch range, or 4 of the same size if schooling fish.

Answer 2

Red Sea Max 34 Gallon