Frozen or Live

[rsaylor78]

I have decided that when I can add fish to my tank I will add a Volitan Lion, then a Panther Grouper, then a Niger Trigger, and then a Naso tang all about 2 weeks apart from each other. Would it better to feed them live food or frozen food? And what type of live or frozen should I give them?

 

[stuckinfla]

Is all this going in the 55??

 

[rsaylor78]

yes for now. I still dream of a larger tank. Of course if a larger tank is not possible then I will spread them out over multiple tanks.

 

[dacia]

You might concider getting at least a 180 gallon tank for all those fish, no matter how many days in between adding them. That is a huge bioload that will overload a 55 in no time at all.

 

[rsaylor78]

I've seen it done before in a 55. My bestfriend did it for a few years til he decided to turn hi 55 into a reef. That is where I got the idea. He fed them live stuff like feeder guppies, and brine shrimp, but the cost of that (another tank for holding) would be cost prohibitive at this time. That is why I was looking at possibly going to frozen stuff.

 

[cgpuffers]

Your friend apparently had no idea what he was doing. Feeder Guppies and Brine Shrimp are by no means healthy. Those fish must have been miserable crammed in that 55.

 

[rsaylor78]

Actually they grew quite large and he had to sell them back to the LFS because they outgrew the tank. They were on average about a bit bigger than the size of an average human hand. Id venture to say about 8" in length minus the tail.

 

[rsaylor78]

But that aside I know that he doesn't know everything, and that is why I'm asking the boards opinion.

 

[mbrands]

In my opinion, and it sounds like CGPuffers would agree, you are planning to put waaaay to much into that tank. For the health of your future fish, please reconsider.
Mike

 

[cgpuffers]

The panther Grouper alone will grow atleast 16" long. Its cruel to have a fish until it becomes too big and take it back. Consider this, what if your LFS wont take it back?

 

[rsaylor78]

Ok, one disagreement I can understand, but 2 makes me raise an eybrow. What do you all see as wrong with my setup? How can I change to be best for the fish?

 

[cgpuffers]

The bioload on your tank would be way too massive. Your tank would crash, the fish would die. Go with a larger tank, or get smaller fish. Also do some GOOD research. LET your tank cycle. I cant stress that enough, DO RESEARCH!!!

 

[cgpuffers]

oh, and by the way, the Niger and Lion aren't compatible.

 

[mbrands]

rsaylor,
Thank you for at least reconsidering. The general rule I've heard is 1" of fish per 5 gallons of water. That measurement is the size of the fish as an ADULT! I don't know all my fish that well, but I think a lion gets up to 12" or more and a niger trigger can get to 8" or so. Add in the panther, then the naso tang and you will need more space.
I'm by no means an expert, but I'd suggest spending more time researching the specific fish you'd like to keep. They will like much healthier lives and be easier to care for (less stress/health issues) if kept in a properly sized tank.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[cgpuffers]

Panther-16"
Lion-14"
trigger-20"
Tang-10"

 

[lion_crazz]

I definitely agree with, CG. Maybe you could put the niger and lion into the 55, but definitely not the panther and naso. The panther will outgrow the tank in no time, and the naso needs a lot more room to swim.
That diet you were considering is not healthy at all. Guppies are actually malnutritious, and brine shrimp does not carry any nutritional value unless you feed the brine shrimp some Zoe or Vitamin C supplement that Kent makes.

 

[rsaylor78]

Apparently my last post did not go through. in a nutshell It said that if the 1"/5 gallons theory was correct then I was wrong because I was going by the fresh water theory of 1"/gallon, but I have seen a Niger and a Volitan Lion in the same 55 with no problems.
I knew that the Naso would outgrow the tank, but before he does I was planning on having a 100+ aquarium for the fish, or a 55 for him alone. What would you all suggest for a beautiful, active, colorful 55 tank?

 

[rsaylor78]

Sorry, but the post that didn't go through also said that in my research I realized that freshwater fish are not a good source of food for Saltwater fish. That is why I'm asking live or frozen, and if live is better what do you all recommend?

 

[lion_crazz]

They are not a good source of nutrition, plus, they carry a lot of fats and lipids, as much as 2-5 times as much lipid content as saltwater fish obtain in the ocean.
Frozen is better overall, but there are some people like myself who prefer to feed live food. I feed my banggai cradinal, gobies, and blennies live black worms and brine shrimp, however, my puffer and lion both get frozen because they are bigger fish. However, I use Kent Zoe on all my food, thus it enhances the food with more vitamins and minerals. If you are not going to do this for your worms or shrimp, you might as well not even bother feeding live and stick to frozen.

 

[rsaylor78]

I can agree that in the 6 months I lived with my friend who had a 55 FOWLR I preffered to watch them eat live food. Something about the chase and kill thrilled me. I'll have to research Kent Zoe and see not only what it is, but how to apply it to my food. If it helps, then I will use it. My only real concern is the health and quality of my fish. I'm not about to spend all this money, time, and effort to have them die off. I want to be able to say ....my fish are xx years old, and are in great health beacuse of xxx.