Mermaid Tank

[t316]

This is awesome

But don't kill fish to do it. Fill it half full of water (model displacement), leave the live fish out of the photo. With your expertise, I'm sure you can use a cut out photo of a few tangs hanging, or stategically placed in the tank, for the photo. Then empty the whole deal, clean it from top to bottom, then start your reef tank.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity....Go for it

 

[calvertbill]

1. I don't put living things at unreasonable risk (except people, and there are plenty of them to waste). I still move my pain-in-the-butt damsel from tank to tank trying to find a combination of fishes she won't try to bully (right now she's with a large pair of Clarkiis and a snowflake and the only problem with that arrangement is when the female Clarkii feeds Krill to her purple carpet...the damsel and the snowflake can smell the Krill and want to do battle for it).
2. I did mention that i wanted to do this (if I do it) after the tank has cycled but before I added the inverts and most fishes, having just a couple of fish for contrasting color.

 

[saltn00b]

without getting into the morals on this, some thoughts on the mechanics of it all:
a) the top of your tank is similar to a eurobracing, with acrylic over the whole thing whith just small openings across it. this will make getting in and out very difficult, and possibly even dangerous.
b) you have a sand bottom, it will not take much at all for the mermaid to kick this up and cloud up your tank.
c) how will she breathe? Snuba? scuba? airline? vinyl tubing? snorkel? the semi enclosed top could be a hazard here too.
d) Live rock. how much do you plan on having here? many types of LR are either wholly or partially made up of razorsharp coral skeletons. the starlett can get sliced and diced with one simple slip.
e) fish. i think you mentioned yellow tangs. they will hide in fear and not swim around like she is swimming in a reef. if not, and they get bold, they can attack her with tail spines. they dont call them surgeon fish for no reason.

 

[ophiura]

Well, obviously public aquaria put people in tanks all the time. Big concern obviously would be displacement of water if you are not prepared for it, and it is true that the fish may not come out, and it may be easy to stir things up and make the water cloudy. So in some ways it sounds neat, but be prepared for it to not work well (eg photoshopping may be a better way to get the picture you think you will get).
I would get her a snorkel (and weight belt) so she can be in there awhile and maybe get the fish calm, but so long as she doesn't move around much. That will freak the fish out. She has to move very slowly and calmly - for the fish and water clarity. And yes, the tank may get scratched for sure. Frankly, I would get someone from a local aquarium to do this, as there is the potential for panic. Diving in tanks is actually kind of a special type of diving in general..it can be more claustrophobic and there is more room for trouble than you think.

 

[t316]

Can we get some pics/video on this when you do

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by T316
Can we get some pics/video on this when you do

I dunno if this will me work safe.