Here it is.. insert your two cents!!

[fishin family]

Our 125g is up and running! Got the replacement trim put on, glass tops, reef and actinic lights, crushed coral, about 80 lbs of live rock to start with. (One of our LFS guys is in FL as we speak hand-picking some more nice rock for us! We'll probably get another 50 lbs from him.) For filtration, we've got an Amiracle 2000 Wet/Dry with protein skimmer. We started out with 4 damsels two weeks ago, then added our Panther Grouper (5"), and Koran Angel (4"). (Tank had cycled for 3 1/2 weeks before adding any fish.) Now we have added a Black Volitan Lion (3") and Snowflake Eel (8"). In a few more weeks, we plan to add a Clown Trigger to finish it off. We'd like to keep him small at first, about 3". We're absolutely thrilled with the tank and the fish right now, just looking for some opinions or ideas for improvement!! Thanks!
Ohhh!! BTW.. any ideas on a clean up crew that will survive a night with a Clown Trigger would be greatly appreciated!
[ August 18, 2001: Message edited by: Fishin Family ]

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says.......
Well, please don't rush adding the fish. It sounds like you are adding them rapidly and you don't want to do that because it can cause stress or disease breakout especially with a Koran Angel. They can catch diseases like all angels, very quickly. They also need extremely good water quality which is hard to get in an aggressive tank with as many messy eaters like the fish you have. Also, with the trigger, you could be crowding this tank. Think about this for a second. You're adding a very aggressive fish that gets up to 10 inches with a Grouper which gets up to 10 inches, a lionfish which gets up to 10 inches, a 10 inch Angel, and a 2 and a half foot eel. You are adding way too much to that tank. I wouldn't attempot it. Or you will have to get rid of the trigger eventually. Because that Trigger could easily destroy the angel and lionfish. Just my opinion, but you could be asking for trouble with that trigger. Especially with the size of the other fish. You will have to get rid of a fish eventually. And there is no chance in the world that any inverts would survive that tank.

 

[grouperhead]

slow down, i know how excited yall are, ive been through that stage as well. heres my .02, take the angel back, he needs a whole lot of different stuff than agressive fish need. if you take him back youll have an eel, grouper, and lion. lets see the grouper will get very large, i have seen some that push 18". the snowflake can get 2.5-3' but dont take up very much space. the lion can get to the size of a football. you could MAYBE get away with the clown, but it would be pushing it. if you have to have a trigger, go with a smaller one like a picasso. most say that panthers need larger than a 125, but it should be ok in there. bo

 

[fishin family]

Hey, Lionfish! Thanks for the reply
But.. Please do not assume that we will keep these fish in this tank when or until they reach full size. We already have plans underway to set up a 300. We've researched the fish compatability and sizes, and know that they will get fairly large. Also, we don't plan on adding the Clown Trigger for quite some time, and are hoping to get a very small one. In any case, we were thinking that we had at least a year or two before the fish started to get too big. We've read that Lions grow fairly slow, and the eel is still a baby. Are we that far off?
Oh, and by the way, the Panther Grouper and Koran Angel are fish that we've had for awhile and transferred to the larger tank.
[ August 19, 2001: Message edited by: Fishin Family ]

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
Sounds like you're just about on track but that Angel just isn't a good idea. I'll tell you a good fish to get instead of him. Try a Harelquin Tusk. I guaruntee you that you will enjoy this fish more than the angel and he fits in with the other fish. Awesome fish with a great personality. Other than that you are doing good. Very glad to hear about you eventually getting a 300. Sounds good. Let me know how everything works out.

 

[mark-24]

Also, just because a compatability chart says that they are ok together means (for the most part) they won't eat eachother, it doesnt mean that all fish will live a long happy life, no. All it tells you is that that fish wont be another's dinner.
-Mark

 

[fishin family]

Ok guys, we'll take the angel out. It was bought before we thought of setting up this tank, and I think Lionfish is right.. we could pick another fish that would fit in better, and maybe be even cooler than the angel. I've seen a pic of a Harlequin Tusk before somewhere, but don't really know much about them. Are they active? What do they eat? (I tried to search them last night, but came up with nothing.) Thanks for the help, all!

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
Well, they are rather active but it takes them a little time to really adjust to a new tank but other than that they are extremely active and entertaining. They eat basically what all aggressive fish eat. They require a varied diet mainly consisting of small, meaty foods such as: silversides, krill, shrimp, and squid. I feed that combo to all my aggressive fish. They are relatively hardy but they usually pose no problem to other fish and they are quite disease resistant. They are worth looking into for a new fish.

 

[dlight692000]

lionfish convinced me to get one a little while back, and he has turned out to be my favorite fish, he is real fun to watch, and dont bother anyone, but at the same time he can hold his own against my clown trigger

 

[fishin family]

OK... now any ideas on a clean up crew that can survive in this tank?

 

[mr . salty]

How about that CC substrate???Wouldn't a deep sand bed be better in a tank with all those messy eaters in it????Any thoughts??????????

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
Well, first off, there is virtually no little cleaning critters that would survive in that tank. However, you could try Trochus snails as they are gigantic but the likely outcome will be that the trigger would break the shell and eat him. Shrimp and crabs are easy for those fish to pick off so basically you will have to do the cleaning for the tank. Get a magnetic algea scraper. They work great for large tanks. I usually only recommend a deep sand bed for reef tank, Salty. This is primarily because the trigger will deplete the sand bed because he burrows in there and virtually annhialates the sand bad. I usually recommend crushed coral for aggressive set-ups because it is much easier to syphon. Without a cleaning crew your sand will have plenty of crud in it and it has to be syphoned regularly. I think I know the point you were trying to make but with a trigger and tusk, it is just better to go with the CC. You could use live sand, though. It can be syphoned although it can be more difficult as you pick up a lot of sand. But live sand can be done. But there is no way with the trigger and tusk to establish a good deep sand bed.