View Single Post
Unread 09/04/2014, 10:08 PM   #91
JLynn
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 291
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster View Post
Talking about limiting my choices got me to thinking that maybe, now is a good time to discuss the fish I'm considering.

If you've seen my fake mudbank thread, you may have seen my first choice is the Royal Gramma. A perennial favorite in the hobby, I've actually never kept one! But I plan to house much more than one. I'm going to attempt a peaceful, but large 'harem' of around seven, with one large (male) specimen and the rest smaller females. These fish start life as females, the largest of which will turn into a male if "there's not a man around". One of the main reasons I made the fake wall was to hide plastic bottles for 'gramma caves'. They like vertical hardscape and they need plenty of hiding places. With little to no liverock in the tank, I felt it was required.

Another fish I may try the harem trick with is the Cherub Angelfish. I know they can be terrors, and even considering more than one is insane, but they have been bred in captivity this way. Maybe four total fish. Hopefully, they'll direct their attention towards each other more than their tankmates. Anyone else tried this? I'd love to hear from you. Of course, these fish will be one of the last fish I add.

I may add another Angelfish. Probably a Rock Beauty. I know! These fish are excellent at dying. But I wouldn't even try, if I hadn't had some success with other difficult fish, like the Moorish Idol. I think the key to keeping these fish alive and fat, is "Angelfish Formula" frozen food, with marine sponge one of the ingredients. Come to think of it, that may have been the key with the Moorish Idol as well…

I'd love to have a Queen Angel, but I just don't think my tank is long enough. It's five and a half feet long. The queen needs at least six, and eight would be better. As far as looks go, it's my favorite fish. Maybe the next tank!

There are three Caribbean Butterflyfish I'd like to keep. The Foureye, Banded and Reef. Unfortunately, I also want to keep anemones, so unless someone can vouch for any of these as not eating anemones, I probably won't. We'll see though!

The Chalk Bass is another small fish I can keep in a school (around 6). They're kind of 'jewel' fish, like the grammas. They seem kind of boring in the small dealer's tank, Like the Cardinalfish, they just kind of hang around. I wonder if they'd move around more in a larger tank.

I'll get a Caribbean Algae Blenny, if I can find one that's not nippy. Any recommendations?

Also, the Atlantic Blue Tang. I'd love to get a small, yellow phase specimen, and watch it change over time. Can't do more than one of these, unfortunately. It'd be cool to also get a Doctorfish (surgeon), but The Blue Tang wouldn't tolerate it. Maybe if I got two small specimens, I could add them simultaneously. But if I have to choose, the blue wins.

A school of Chromis, any Caribbean species. I like the 'sunshine'. The blues are very nice too. It'll probably come down to what I can find the best deal on.

I may sneak another Basslet or two in, like the Black Cap or Swiss Guard. These are deeper water fish, so I'll have to see if I develop some good shady spots for them to feel comfy. If the plants do well, it should.

Probably the trickiest pick would be Lookdowns. I want small ones, maybe four. One of the reasons for attempting to get a good 'gyre' flow around the tank is for these guys. I know my tank is maybe a little small for them, but I'm hoping with strong waterflow, they'll be busy and happy. I may also do a large school of feeder shrimp to keep them from eating the other fish! I was very much inspired by the video of the gyre/lookdown tank in Atlanta. Google it! But if they don't work out, they're gone.

I may do some Neon Gobies. Unfortunately, these fish prey on zooplankton, besides the cleaning service. Maybe if I get a huge population of plankton first. Come to think of it, maybe all of these fish eat plankton! Refugium!

I'd love some Yellowhead Jawfish too, but they're too timid, I think.

Well that's about it! I think it could be awesome!

I'd love to hear from anyone who's kept any of these fish.
Well, I haven't kept them myself, but I have done research on several of them. First of all, while I agree that lookdowns are very interesting fish, I am concerned about the size of the tank. While reading the Advanced Aquarist article, "Reconsidering the Lookdown", I noticed that they mentioned that seagrass should be kept to the side of the tank in order to give the lookdowns room to swim above it. Now, I don't know about your tank specifically, but the standard height for a 240g is 24". If you account for the DSB, you have more like 16" or 18". That would not be a problem, except that you intend to keep one of the longer species of seagrass, which typically end up at 18" tall. Of course, I assume you will keep it trimmed down somewhat, in order to let us see the lovely mangrove roots in the back corner, but it is something you need to consider carefully, if you haven't already.

Also, the according to Jay Hemdal's book, "Advanced Marine Aquarium Techniques: Guide to Successful Professional Marine Aquarium systems", while small groups of juvenile lookdowns will do fine in anything larger than 125g, small groups of adults need at least 900g ! While I generally feel that minimum tank size recommendations can be safely bent, there is a very large difference between a 900g and a 240g; I think lookdowns are probably similar to wrasse and Moorish Idols in that they need a whole lot more swimming space than their size would suggest. Point being that it would be very unwise to get lookdowns, unless you are planning on adding a 900g FOWLR to your collection sometime soon .

And you mentioned that you were trying to set up a gyre; have you checked out the Maxspect Gyre? It sounds perfect for this kind of tank!

Anyways, about the angelfishes... Well, I agree that a harem of angelfish would be fantastic! While I was researching angelfish recently, I heard several people mention that even when they found a group of dwarf angelfish that would get along, the male angelfish would always end up changing back into females. Nothing has been proven, per say, but the hypothesis is that it was due to the presence of much larger angelfish and tangs within the tank. That may have nothing to do with it at all, but its a thought. There was a thread about keeping fish in groups a while back in the fish forum that you might want to check out. Or just post a question there about whether or not anyone has kept a harem of dwarf angelfish in a community tank and how that worked out for them.

Other than that, I really like your fish choices! Especially the chalk basses- I have always felt that they were vastly under-appreciated. Have you taken a look at the cardinalfish that live in the Caribbean? In a tank this size, you could probably get a nice big school of them going.


JLynn is offline   Reply With Quote