75 g FOWLR---good wet pet?

[WaterSplasher]

I tried this thread in the beginner's forum, but I thought maybe I'd have better luck here since this forum is more about what I'm looking for.

I'm in the planning stages of making my now empty 75 gallon tank into a FOWLR setup. I'm looking for possibly one or two personable and interesting fish that would make a good wet pet.

I used to keep freshwater American cichlids, which are usually 6 to 12 inches in size, very smart, semi-agressive to moderately aggressive, not at all shy, and always busy doing something like digging or redecorating. I'm looking for a saltwater fish comparable to this entertainment value. Not one that will ignore me or run and hide when I come up to the tank.

I was suggested key hole eye tang, niger trigger, or a yellow watchman goby (small guys are ok, too but I'd have to look more at compatibility with more fish in there). I haven't had the benefit of actually seeing many saltwater fish's behavior, so I don't know which ones will hide all the time or which ones like to interact with their human. The 75 gallon will have lots of live rock, a deep sand bed, and a skimmer for filtration. It's your standard 4 foot rectangle all glass style.

Do you agree with the suggestions? Any other fish that fit this behavior? Or even a good site or book that concentrates on behaviors?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[mayo-92]

wrasses are great fish they are always doing something all the time and they look grrreeeaaat lol

[WaterSplasher]

I'm looking at the selection liveaquaria.com has, and yeah the wrasse are incredibly gorgeous. Do you think any particular kind or do they all generally share the same behavior? That banana wrasse is super cool looking as well as that harlequin.

[mayo-92]

i think they are all have the same behaviour but my favourite is the lunare wrasse i made a post about them on this forum check it out

[WaterSplasher]

I read your thread earlier, and it sounds like the lunare is right up my alley. Thanks, dude!

[palabared]

I watched a yellow watchman goby build a fort out of small shells to cover one of the two entrances to his humble adobe hehe. There pretty small but dont take up much space and can allow for more fish to be added too!

[SDhky]

ya go with a banana wrasse, awesome fish! lots of personality

[mayo-92]

have you made a choice on what fish you would like to get would love to know what you picked (*cough* lunare wrase *cough*)
take pictures of the new residnet aswell lol

[WaterSplasher]

Well, nothing is set in stone just yet since I'm still just planning, but the more I read about wrasse, the more I'm convinced they are exactly what I'm looking for.

So yes, it's very possible that I'll end up with some sort of wrasse, maybe a lunare. Unfortunately, it's going to be a while before I can get pictures since I can't set anything up for several more months (the military makes you move around too often). But when I had my freshwater tanks running, I was posting pictures like crazy! :)

Here's some of the wrasse I'm considering:

Thalassoma hardwicke (Hardwicki wrasse)
Cirrhilabrus jordani (Hawaiian Flame wrasse)
Halichoeres melanurus (Pinstripe Wrasse)
Coris gaimard (Red Coris Wrasse)
Thalassoma lutescens (Sunset or Banana Wrasse)
Thalassoma lunare (Lunare Wrasse)

but that's just going off of pictures. I still need to research size, diet, care level, etc.

[FishyMel]

You should definitely get some triggers, they are a definitely a requirement for a FOWLR, I'd recommend for you system a picasso trigger because they don't get that large, are excellent looking, not the most aggressive, and have lots of personality.

A puffer is also a must, there are many options that will work for your situation.

I personally like the harlequin wrasse best because of their blue teeth.

[WaterSplasher]

Blue teeth?! That's awesome! The only pictures I've seen are what Google offers.

Hey, thanks so much for the replies, y'all. It's so nice to have a good starting point instead of getting lost among all the different species. I was looking at books, but most of them are really general and try to cover everything from fish to coral to filtration, etc. all in one book (damn near impossible and raises more questions than answers).

So I'm looking at possibly puffers, triggers, wrasse....this is awesome. Now I can go and get some specific books. I can hardly wait to get this tank going. Y'all have been very helpful.


On a side note, it might be a good idea for me to go check out an aquarium and see these fish in person.....:)

[LukFox]

Here's a nice shot of the blue teeth, and I believe they'll get more blue with age:
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb279/Tikall_Fire/IMG_1614.jpg

Mine is very much a pet, and even lets me touch him :). If you get a harlequin, be sure to get an Australian one. More blue on them and the ones from the Indo-Pacific are often victims of cyanide poisoning.

[WaterSplasher]

Whoa, that's an incredible fish! He looks like he's been eating a blue popsicle. Haha! And thanks for the location tip, I didn't know about the poisoning thing.

[TriniStylez]

I LOVE my Harlequin Tusk!!! So much personality and just gorgeous. Unfortunately, when I bought mine, I had no idea about the differences between Australian and Indo-Pacific Tusks...I got an Indo Pacific just based on price alone. My LFS had both and while the Australian was a bit brighter, it was very minimal. Both of them were quite mature too (8 inches), not real young and not going to change color too much anymore, so I went with the $40 fish instead of the $200 fish!

I would also recommend a Puffer, although your limited a bit with a 75G. My Puffer has the most personality of any fish I have ever had. He is a few years old now and like a puppy. I think a Dogface MIGHT work in a 75G if its not too heavily stocked but research that. They still get close to a foot. I think more like 10 inches though. Messy fish.

Have you decided on filtration yet? One thing I just changed was a sandbed to barebottom and its been the best thing I have done for the FOWLR tank so far...My tank just has too many big messy fish and with barebottom I have been able to keep the tank very, very clean, add flow lower in the tank because there are no sandstorms, siphon out old food or detrius easily, ect. The water quality has been incredible since changing over. Just something to consider. I am currently putting in some black "cutting board" sheets to cover the bottom glass and make the set up look nicer.

Last suggestion, depending on what kind of set up you stock, would be a small moray eel like a snowflake. My guy is incredible to watch feed and explore the tank. Again, do your research but they are a really cool addition to a FOWLR tank.

Good luck!

[WaterSplasher]

I've looked at some of the puffers, and it seems that it might be best not to cram a big guy in there, so I was looking at either a spotted or a valentini. But I'm not sure about them either since they are about 4 or 5 inches as adults. I'll have to really research some more on puffers to see if I can find one suitable. I do know they can be messy, and I would rather have the volume of water to help dilute that mess rather than have him mess up the water quality.

I'm still undecided about filtration since I'm still learning. It's nothing like freshwater, so I'm clueless right now about my options. So a bare bottom has made your life easier? I'll have to look into that. I'm all about easier maintenance. I'm really good about water changes, too. I had a delicate freshwater species that required 10% water changes twice a week. That was a headache, but very rewarding.

I'm only looking to put maybe two fish in my tank since they will need plenty of room to themselves. I figure with no more than two, at least they can each claim half the tank to themselves and don't have to look at each other if they don't want to.

I do like the eels, too, but I wasn't sure if they would be compatible, and I heard they can be shy and hide a lot. They're ok with bare bottom tanks, then?

[TriniStylez]

My eel has been ok. I dont think it is ideal with barebottom but he seems fine. I think he will like it a bit more once the board is down. I was totally against BB at first because I thought it looked terrible compared to sand...that was until I went to a friends house and saw his BB with black StarBoard. It looked incredible! And the flow and cleanliness of the tank was amazing too. So I was sold.

I think eels are really cool though. They do stay in the rocks most of the time but always with their heads sticking out, so you do see them all the time. Mine is not shy at all, always coming out and swimming around but he is an exception I think.

As for puffers, I own quite a few. Mostly brackish and fresh water species though. They are my favorite fish. I do have a Valentini Puffer as well as the much larger Stars and Stripes. The Valentini would be more than happy in a 75G. Most people keep them in smaller tanks than that with success (not saying its ideal though). I used to keep mine in a 65G and he was great.

Anyways, sounds like your doing your research which is great to hear!

[AquaKnight]

A piscasso trigger, harlequin tusk, and dogface or valentini puffer would be awesome for 75. They all have really good personatilties, are compatable and share very similar diets. My mom's piscasso and dogface are best of friends and constantly hang out together.

[WaterSplasher]

hey, are puffers and wrasse slow growing like the triggers? Any clue on the lifespans of any of these?

I'm surprised to find it so difficult to find this information on the internet. There's tons more info on freshwater fish than there is on saltwater. Bad enough as it is, I'm barely finding adult sizes (which is contradictory).

[crazinezz978]

75 with a lunare wrasse, a picasso trigger and a porcupine puffer is my vote :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4973012991587550653&q=puffy%21+buddies&total=20&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

well, thats a 55g though, would look even better in a 75