My Tank (of Rulebreakings)

[Lynden]

I would have posted this in the "member's aquariums" thread but it's not done yet. Still need to get more corals.

33 gallon lit with 175 watt metal halide, plus 110 watts power compact actinic. Puffer, molly are to be moved within the month. Big system to be set up within a few months, so don't worry about the fish being overcrowded. They tend to stay out of eachother's way, anyways.

--Fish--
-Amblyeleotris steinitzi (Banded Shrimp Goby)
-Tetraodon fluviatilis (Leopard Puffer)
-Dascyllus trimaculatus (Domino)
-Premnas biaculeatus (Maroon Anemonefish)
-Poecilia sphenops/latipinna/velifera (Marble Molly)
-Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Lagoon Trigger)
-3 baby Gymnothorax tile ("Freshwater" Morays)


--Cnidarians--
-Capnella sp. (Kenya Tree Coral)
-Zoanthus sp. 'Orange Spot'
-Protopalythoa sp. 'Green'
-Briareum? sp. 'Green' (Starburst Polyps)
-Xenia sp. (Thin bar/encrusting)
-Lobophyllia sp. 'Deep Purple'
-Sarcophyton sp.
-Euphyllia divisa
-Caulastrea
-Sinularia flexibilis
-Entemacea quadricolor

--Misc. Invertebrates--
-3 Lysmata wurdemanni
-4 Calcinus sp. (Zebra Hermits)
<4 Nassarius sp. (Whelks)
-2 Turbo sp. (Turbo Snails)

....plus Halimeda and Chaetomorpha. Guys, try your best to ignore the fact that I cannot add 'purple coralline algae' to this list... I'm sure Ski will remember the time when I managed to kill my live rock.

Kenya trees. My favourite so far.

There are three of these shrimp, two of which are pale, constantly pregnant and hiding in the rocks. It is in fact a rarity when I can find all three of them at once, but the big red guy is usually visible.

Encrusting xenia, got this when it was a tiny sliver. Shoved it into a crevice in the live rock, forgot about it for a while... until I noticed it was triple it's old size. It's now easily a dozen times it's old size, but reached a set back in the form of a "reef safe" damselfish decided he didn't like it... he has sinced changed his mind, and most of the polyps are back to normal.

This Chaeto has made all the difference. I used to have a major cyano problem, even before I added all the preds and overstocked the tank, but since I added this stuff the cyano had come back less and less each day, and now it's barely even noticeable. I would recommend this to anyone.

These were the best I could get of the morays, but these pics do show that they ARE REAL... haha.

I love those palys... have at least doubled in number in a few months. $24 well spent.

Most of my corals were had for FREE... not the least of which, this enormous sarcophyton.

My trigger... being camera shy (the one object he doesn't rush out to look at), but this picture proves, as with the morays, that he IS REAL and not a figment of my imagination, haha.

Damn fish and their ability to move...
The puffer tried to steal food from the nem and got stung. He's been poorly for the last few days, but I think he'll pull through.

Full tank.

Hope you all enjoyed. You may have noticed the elastic bands; since I get most of my corals as free frags locally ( ), or just not like the rock they're attached to when they arrive, I often end up tying them down for a while. The yellow sinularia has just recently been released.

Lastly, a big thanks to Gord (a local reefer) for all those corals, and the nem. This tank still blows compared to yours.

 

[QuotheRaven]

Great pics Lynden, an inspiration

 

[chrissaysyes]

Great pics Lynden, an inspiration

 

[sophos9]

Nice pics... What circulation have you got going on?

 

[Lynden]

Great pics Lynden, an inspiration

Great pics Lynden, an inspiration

Thanks, I thought it would be a nice change in tune.

Nice pics... What circulation have you got going on?

Thanks... two Seio M620 provide most of the flow. I didn't buy them for this tank but had them lying around collecting dust when I set it up.

 

[1entra]

Decent tank with fabalous pics. Keep up the good work lynden

 

[n3ont3tra]

Hey Lynden... Nice tank! What are the dimensions?

 

[andywg]

Needs a Frog

Seriously though, it looks good dude. Going on CFC's experience with G. tile once the morays get near the two foot mark, keep an eye on temperature. It would seem that once the temp gets high (spring summer perhaps?) the G. tile become restless and full of eggs. If they do get restless it may be possible to induce spawning by lowering the salinity, but this is an untried theory. Best bet appears to be keeping the temp below 29.

 

[STD]

nice looking tank

 

[shibby]

looks awesome!


never knew picasso triggers could live in a reef set up, everyone i asked said no major coral munchers, hence why im soon to be returning mine ...

 

[STD]

looks awesome!


never knew picasso triggers could live in a reef set up, everyone i asked said no major coral munchers, hence why im soon to be returning mine ...

Picassos don't eat corals

Not safe with shrimp, crabs, urchins, snails or brittle stars tho but OK when small

 

[Lynden]

Decent tank with fabalous pics. Keep up the good work lynden

Thanks. Wait 'till it gets more corals... soft corals can be stocked densely, so I will be able to create a thickly "forested" aqua scape.

Hey Lynden... Nice tank! What are the dimensions?

36'' by 12'' by 17''.

Needs a Frog

Seriously though, it looks good dude. Going on CFC's experience with G. tile once the morays get near the two foot mark, keep an eye on temperature. It would seem that once the temp gets high (spring summer perhaps?) the G. tile become restless and full of eggs. If they do get restless it may be possible to induce spawning by lowering the salinity, but this is an untried theory. Best bet appears to be keeping the temp below 29.

It does need a frog, don't remind me... I will be setting up a twenty gallon tank with a ten gallon sump (the last two nano tanks I used) and a frogfish would make an excellent addition to it. I was wondering, though, are there any fish that would be safe with a frog but also small enough for a twenty (U.S.) gallon tank? I was thinking perhaps a second frog (risky) or a fish that behaves in a similar manner... feasible?

If the morays were to spawn, is there any way I would be able to feed the leptocephali? Would be interesting even just to have the mature fish spawn.

nice looking tank

Thanks.

looks awesome!


never knew picasso triggers could live in a reef set up, everyone i asked said no major coral munchers, hence why im soon to be returning mine ...

As STD said they are not major coral crunchers, though full grown adults may gnaw the tips of Acropora. Mine probably ate one of my whelks but other than that he is nothing less than a model citizen. The adults are quite capable of eating all types of crustaceans (even lobsters and hermit crabs may be attacked [not usually successfully], though the tables will be turned if either is larger than the trigger), and many classes of echinoderms. I would not return yours if I were you; triggers rock.

 

[andywg]

It does need a frog, don't remind me... I will be setting up a twenty gallon tank with a ten gallon sump (the last two nano tanks I used) and a frogfish would make an excellent addition to it. I was wondering, though, are there any fish that would be safe with a frog but also small enough for a twenty (U.S.) gallon tank? I was thinking perhaps a second frog (risky) or a fish that behaves in a similar manner... feasible?

The only fish I have seen with any appreciable success is other frogs, though it depends on the species. Frogs with less of an appetite (such as A. maculatus and which stay small seem ok with frogs of a similar size. Histrio histrio and the A. striatus group are not considered good candidates for mixing fish as they are noted for cannibalism (one H. histrio was found with 13 conspecifics in its stomach).

I would not expect many other smaller fish to survive, though in theory a dwarf moray (if one ever saw one) could be ok. It is the old problem that most fish too large to be eaten will eat/pick at the frog, though in a 20 gallon it will be hard to find a fish that won't fit in a frogfish's mouth.

End result, consider another frogfish. If the worst comes to the worst, you can always divide the tank with egg crate. That way you can check out aggression between the fish.

If the morays were to spawn, is there any way I would be able to feed the leptocephali? Would be interesting even just to have the mature fish spawn.

I have no idea. The information is based on CFC dissecting a moray after he had to euthanise one. He found it to be full of eggs IIRC. There should be a thread by him in the brackish section.

 

[Redstratplayer1]

 

[Lynden]

Thanks.

End result, consider another frogfish. If the worst comes to the worst, you can always divide the tank with egg crate. That way you can check out aggression between the fish.

I think this may be my route; I can't help but conjure images of a muraenid being slurped up like spaghetti by a frog. Of course the website I order most of my livestock from sells these as "assorted angler"; will tell them to send two that are similar. Is decor especially important with these fish? I haven't many larger pieces of rock left, but I do have rubble, and could pull a few rocks from the 33 if I wanted to.

Thanks for the info. It's a shame I'm not rich as I could then afford this guy (Rhinopias aphanes, according to them), who is on sale for $200.