Self supporting fish

[Ram_Puppy]

Josh, a couple things...

1) nothing says your sand has to be in the tank - copepods will breed and get fired into the main system from a remote sand bed just as easily as from one in the tank... since I know you would rather have a bare bottom. ;)

2) If the sand is going in the tank, how about a goby/pistol combo?

3) pygmy angel will graze on your rocks all day long... and as long as you have a nice amount of coral it should spread it's attention out enough not to matter.

If you grew OGO in your fuge, you could feed a tang by just ripping ogo out of the fuge and tossing it into the display.

oh, and one of my favorite fish, maybe you can get one or two...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1156&N=0

[reeferRob]

What can I say, I love bare bottoms. :D

Good call on the pygmy, I love those fish.

So far I've got:
Mandarin
Harptail Blenny
Lawnmower Blenny
Pygmy Angel

...and I'll check into that Flashlight.

I've got a nice one (pygmy/cherub that is) for $10, about 1-3/4 to 2"

[reeferRob]

:lol :o the tank isn't up yet! oops well I've had it this long .... :lol

[reeferRob]

nope no coral or cam nipping (course I don't have a clam) but it doesn't like new tangs for some reason. I have a sailfin and a yellow and he didn't mess with them but every new one I put in he chased to death?

[Ram_Puppy]

ok, kind of off the wall suggestion josh... but how about some mollies?

you want self supporting, I can't think of a better way to get a small living tidbit in the tank than have mollies popping out babies like mad. your fish would love them. yummy.

[Ram_Puppy]

oooh, yes, potters angels are absolutely one of the most beautiful imho.

Mollies: Wetwebmedia says to raise the SG by .01 or .02 an hour... so.. your looking at 12 to 24 hours essentially.
personally, since I detest staying up so long, and could not bring myself to let a siphon on my tank run unatended for that long, I would take a few breaks and do it over the course of 3 days.

I have a little 1 gallon tank running one of those azoo palm filters on it that would keep them alive just fine during the transition.

[dfowlks]

Ed at Wolf reef has a flashlight fish in his store. I saw it on Saturday.

[Ram_Puppy]

from what i read they are a pod predator, so they would probably be counter productive to the mandarin.

the flashlight fish comes out, turns on his cheeks, and then the pods swim towards the light... yummy!

agree on the mollies Josh, but i think the only thing they might decimate is algae. I think as long as you keep a breeding pair in your fuge you could gurantee a perpetual supply for the lion.

[Ram_Puppy]

the only thing i can think of that might be a hurdle in that scenario josh is the mouth of the lion, which tends to fit around pretty much all the pretty fish too. :)

dwarfs are usually more in tune to small inverts like shrimp than they are to fish... and either limits some pretty cool invertebrate life. and in all honesty, as long as you don't overdo it, I expect your clowns would be efficient enough predators to keep the molly fry in check.

maybe you could compromise, and keep a dwarf in your 40, and just net the excess mollies if they occur and throw them in there. ;)

[Ram_Puppy]

yes, they can... I actually saw a female popping them out while at cb pets once, and if i remember right, richard said the generation born to salt water was more vibrant and active than ones that are born in fresh water to fresh water... i think also the black molly gets some blue spots in salt water but I can't remember that for sure.

oh, and you know I will give that anemone a great home.

I wonder if a power head pointing right at his rock would convince him to move. I truly think that either that anemone is just getting used to the clowns, or the female is noe of those that likes to nip her anemone...

[Ram_Puppy]

LOL

i wonder if the reason he's been hiding is not so much the clowns pestering him but maybe that he is relishing a nice tasty peppermint flavored dinner? :)

[Ram_Puppy]

if memory serves, the RBTA is capable of catching shrimp.. unless the peppermint is just plain immune to the RBTA's toxin (which i would tend to doubt since they come from two different oceans) i have to think it is capable.

heck, if it did nab a peppermint and you haven't been feeding it, it may just decide that after that tasty meal it's time to split. that would be awesome becasue that is a gorgeous rbta.

[Ram_Puppy]

i have never felt a sticky anemone unless it was engaging a feeding response, and i have touched a few RBTa's, both clones and wild caught.

[Ram_Puppy]

you just don't taste good enough for him to stick you with his nematocysts josh. :)

[Ram_Puppy]

well, I always fed mine little shrimps from a bag it sucked them down with relish... i never did stuff as small as a mysis.

[thedude]

Why not buy an Eheim autofeeder and just put it on the tank?

IMHO, most fish (and corals for that matter) need some kind of food put into the tank.

[Ram_Puppy]

If I need a ton of nutrients in the tank I'll just put some sand in the bottom.


LOL

seriously josh, you gotta put more into the tank than light. there is no way to achieve a self sustaining eco system on that scale, there are to many forces working against you...

what i think your probably looking for is a vastly reduced feeding regimin.

[Ram_Puppy]

noting crazy about adding a carbon source to your water... whether vodka is the right choice... well i don't know... coral booster from cb pets works fine for me.