Predators galore

saltynay

New Member
Hey I am new to all this marine but have been keeping and breeding all types of fresh for a while now. I am English but currently living and working in Vietnam.
On to the tank:
Its going to be around 7 feet long 1.5' wide, 2.5' tall (150 UK gallon) with a sump of around 2'x1'x.1.5' I haven't got either tanks yet so please input if a change is needed.
I want to keep
Devil Lion fish
(long horned) cow fish
A cat or bamboo shark with a remora (the smaller type that grow 8-10" I forget the name)
A garden or snow flake eel
A lobster
Sea urchins
Nem ????(which one)???? and Maroon clowns
School of sergeant major damsels
Hard Corals ?
School of silversides (food sometimes survives)
Filtration will be a sump and LR
I know the clowns and nem have a slim chance so want to put those in first so that they have the maximum amount of time to settle and become established. Then the lobster and long horn cow fish and sergeant damsels. Next the lion fish and sea urchins and finally the shark and eel.
I can get massive amounts of marine fish to feed my preds very easily and the sea urchins are also dime a dozen. The lobster will be around 8-10" so once its holed up I suspect it can defend itself and if it does go missing I shan't replace it. The damsels will be around 6-7" when placed in the tank so should be large enough to avoid predation.
The corals are going to suffer because of nitrate/nitrites from the messy large preds, correct? I will be doing 5-10% water changes every 1-2 days with real sea water so will this be effective in allowing me to keep them?
 

meowzer

Moderator
Welcome to SWF...I can not comment on some of the species you have listed though...just wanted to say welcome :)
 

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by levinjac http:///forum/thread/381373/predators-galore#post_3321462
how many gallons
(150 UK gallon) It's the third line in the post. Did you read it?

Welcome, Saltynay! I am not experienced with the aggressive fish. I would however recommend not getting a nem and the clowns. Nems require pristine water conditions and I think it will be difficult to achieve this. Some of the fish (perhaps most) are not reef safe, so I would consider going FOWLR and see how everything goes.
 

levinjac

Active Member
ok so know got that LOL but no shark sorry i would not put a shark in and +1 on the coral skip the damsels they are mean maybe a harlkin tuskfish imo eel is ok in a 130 sjark not so much eel will eat clowns and damsels when it gets bigger but you can go with the fish i suggested
 

levinjac

Active Member
150 even better but yes your stock is ok just skip the eel clowns damsels and add 1 more fish to the list like a tang
 

saltynay

New Member
Thanks for the quick responses. So the nem and marroons are out, not even a giant carpet nem would keep them safe or is it the filthy preds that stop it due to water quality? Eels would get stung by the nem surely?
I can make the tank bigger if needed its so hard to find info that states gallons and defines them as UK or US. How much larger would the tank need to be to get that eel in there? Not sure on which eel yet currently tossing between the two.
Sergeant majors are large and aggressive that is why I chose them so that they could hold there own. What schooling fish would go in there?
 

levinjac

Active Member
oh sorry i ment shark and know if you do waterchanges every other day why should you have bad water a carpet should b fine a eel wont get stung like i guess the damsels could go in there if there big but that is all you can get an eel 2 damsels a cowfish and the lionfish thats really it
 

saltynay

New Member
Then how much larger do I need for the shark? why no clowns if they symb with the nem won't that keep them safe?
 

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by saltynay http:///forum/thread/381373/predators-galore#post_3321488
Thanks for the quick responses. So the nem and marroons are out, not even a giant carpet nem would keep them safe or is it the filthy preds that stop it due to water quality? Eels would get stung by the nem surely?
I can make the tank bigger if needed its so hard to find info that states gallons and defines them as UK or US. How much larger would the tank need to be to get that eel in there? Not sure on which eel yet currently tossing between the two.
Sergeant majors are large and aggressive that is why I chose them so that they could hold there own. What schooling fish would go in there?
The nem should be out for sure. The water quality issue would be my main reason. Nems can release toxins into the tank when they die putting your whole tank at risk. There is never a guarantee that clowns will host a nem, so relying on that to keep the clowns safe isn't a good idea. Yes, eels would get stung. Eels have poor eyesight and would probably swim and get stung.
As for size, the bigger the better. With your aggressive stocklist and wanting sharks, I would go as large as you can. This will give your fish more space, which in turn should help with territorial related aggression.
I honestly do not know of any schooling fish that would work in this tank. The only ones I know of are small and would be lunch for any of your fish.
 

saltynay

New Member
I have space abound the issue is keeping things relative this is for a work space so having a 14 foot 3 foot wide, 6 foot tall tank would fit but not be practical.
Water quality would be improved by the water changes every day or 2.
 

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by saltynay http:///forum/thread/381373/predators-galore#post_3321499
I have space abound the issue is keeping things relative this is for a work space so having a 14 foot 3 foot wide, 6 foot tall tank would fit but not be practical.
Water quality would be improved by the water changes every day or 2.
Wouldn't it be easier to do bi-weekly water changes with a larger volume? I could not see myself doing water changes every two days unless it was for the health of my QT. Also, I do not believe anemones match well with sharks in the aquarium setting.
 

meowzer

Moderator
That is why I said I could not comment on your species list.....I just think there are a lot of issues with them
read up on some of what you have listed.....I just do not think they go together
 

saltynay

New Member
The beach is literally 4 metres away from where I am sat and the ocean is 30 metres beyond that. We also take out the boat virtually every day, so to get the boat boys to collect some unpolluted sea water is the simplest job in the world and the easiest as I will put in on a rota system so that everybody including myself has it as there job one day of the week.
So nem and clowns out which is a shame. Everything else is ok no-one has mentioned the lobsters well being.
 

levinjac

Active Member
do not take ocean stuff!! only sand on an offshore place i dunno about the lobster and onesly all i know is eels with aggresive
 

saltynay

New Member
Why no ocean water? I am talking about water just outside a marine protected area so the ailments in the water will be minimal and the fish will all be from neighbouring sites so use to the conditions. I won't be supplied with fish from around the world as Vietnam is one of the countries that supplies the world. the only fish I will be taking from the direct beach I am on will be from the fisherman to use as feeders.
 

meowzer

Moderator
Some people do use ocean water...and as you are saying...from out in the ocean a bit
I have no ocean...LOL...so I can not tell you how it works
 
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