Tank Raised Fish?

wonderland

Member
I have been do a whole lot of on-line browsing trying to determine my final fish-list (wish-list, lol ) for my new 150 gallon. I am going to build a softie reef... I would rather have a lot of small, very colorful fish, than a few large ones....
My question is about tank-raised fish. Some of the fish I want are listed as incompatible with some other fish and each-other. But in the aquaculture tanks (and in the LFS) they have these fish together in numbers. Presumably because they were raised in large groups they are more docile than wild-caught? So would they also be more docile and apt to get along in my tank? One example is tank fulls of mixed Dottybacks and Pseudo's pictured on an aquaculturists website.......
Also, a lot is said about the mortality rate of very small hippo tangs being purchased. But what about the tank-raised ones? I have seen some of those for sale too...... If they were raised in captivity then feeding shouldn't be an issue right?
 

bang guy

Moderator
I can only speculate but most fish get along fine as juveniles. Putting incompatible species together could go great for a year and then you'll start developing agression in the tank and it will no longer be the peaceful hunk of ocean you visioned.
Hippo Tangs die often because they are open water swimmers and people think that a 1" or 2" Hippo doesn't need to swim more than a few feet at a time. Well, they do.
I've never seen any feeding issues with Hippo Tangs. They seem to eat anything you put in the water.
 

wonderland

Member
I can see that. The Hippo Tang is rated for a 150 gallon tank though, and I will be designing my reef so that the fish can swim all the way around the front and back, and not just the front. So hopefully it will be fine. The literature I read here on this forum on the "fish to avoid" list, cited the real concern for small Hippo's was their failure to eat. I guess I am safe with a tank-raised one.
What about Anthias? Sooo many people say that they are fabulous for a big reef. But I have also heard that they are very hard to keep alive. I am a stay-at-home Mom, so feeding them several times a day would not be a problem.... but is that the extent of the issues with them??
I really am going above and beyond on filtration and such, I don't think maintaining my water parameters is going to be an issue at all. But I really don't want to drop a ton of money on fish that are doomed from the start because of what they are.....
 

btldreef

Moderator
I've had issues with very small Blue Hippos eating. Be very careful when a LFS tells you a tang is tank raised, the majority of them are not and it's just a new sales tactic that many are using. Make sure you see them eating at the store, and try to get them to feed more than one variety of food. With tangs, and most herbivores I ask the LFS to feed algae sheets AND mysis. I don't care whether or not the fish eats brine, which is what most LFS's will feed to show the fish is eating. I want to know that it's going to accept something more nutritious and not slowly wither away.
As for Anthias, a big issue is their eating. The other big thing is how they are collected. Many of them are doomed from the beginning because they're collected with cyanide. I will not buy an anthias that just came into a store. Try to always get all females as well. Females will develop a pecking order and one will eventually become male. It's been my experience that females that change to male are hardier than males.
 

wonderland

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/390421/tank-raised-fish#post_3457549
I've had issues with very small Blue Hippos eating. Be very careful when a LFS tells you a tang is tank raised, the majority of them are not and it's just a new sales tactic that many are using. Make sure you see them eating at the store, and try to get them to feed more than one variety of food. With tangs, and most herbivores I ask the LFS to feed algae sheets AND mysis. I don't care whether or not the fish eats brine, which is what most LFS's will feed to show the fish is eating. I want to know that it's going to accept something more nutritious and not slowly wither away.
As for Anthias, a big issue is their eating. The other big thing is how they are collected. Many of them are doomed from the beginning because they're collected with cyanide. I will not buy an anthias that just came into a s,ore. Try to always get all females as well. Females will develop a pecking order and one will eventually become male. It's been my experience that females that change to male are hardier than males.
I was going to order the fish online, **Please don't post competitors here**
has a few of the fish I want that are tank raised. Such as the Black Percula Clown, The Fridmani Pseudo, and the Hippo Tangs....
Should I believe they ARE in fact tank raised?
 

btldreef

Moderator
I would be skeptical about the tangs. Most tangs are not captive raised because they can't be captive bred.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Tank bred and tank raised are not the same thing though. Generally, the Tangs that are tank raised were captured from the ocean as larvae or just post larval and raised in a captive environment.
 

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///t/390421/tank-raised-fish#post_3457654
Tank bred and tank raised are not the same thing though. Generally, the Tangs that are tank raised were captured from the ocean as larvae or just post larval and raised in a captive environment.
Agreed. I happen to have a Naso that I'm positive is captive raised because I watched the facility raise it. That being said, most LFS's aren't getting tank raised tangs. There aren't as many available in the hobby as it sometimes seems. I've seen a lot of stores labeling them tank raised when they're not, just because that's the way the hobby is steering and what will drive a higher price. I'm very skeptical when I see "tank raised" on certain fish like tangs and angels still.
 
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