Live Rock and Aggressive Fish

[Turkish]

I was initially going to put some aggressive fish, Trigger, Puffer, etc. in my tank with just cc substrate and mechanical filtration. After reading much of this forum I'm considering adding ls and lr.

So far the only fish I have is a Trigger. I've had him about two weeks and he's doing good. (Man does he eat!)

My question(s) is: Are these types of fish ok to have with lr? Will they kill it?

Also, if I order the lr/ls online and then want to add it to my tank, what is the best method? I would like to preserve the health of my Trigger....

Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I've never had lr/ls before. It's my understanding that it doesn't require any expensive lighting. Right now I'm just using a basic Corallife bulb. (I have no interest in ever having coral in this tank, I love the aggresive fish.)

 

[steve-s]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com

The fish would be fine with the rock but I would suggest either getting dry base rock or cheap live base rock that is not encrusted with life. Most aggressive non reef fish will eat pretty much anything that they can in that regard. The rock would also not need any special lighting unless you are interested in cultivating the coralline. If so you might need to consider something other than NO. It needs no special light consideration for the bacteria.

The easiest way to add LR to an existing tank is to cure it seperately. >>This article<< should help with that. If using just dry base rock, simpley rinse it in RO water and aquascape as needed. No real need to do anything else. LS IMO is a complete waste of money unless coming from an established tank or loaded with critters from a reliable source. Wet bagged sand will just lighten your wallet. You can scoop out the CC and place it in mesh bags or new nylon stockings about the size of a softball and bury them in the new dry sand added. It will have an abundance of bacteria and seed the sandbed in no time. If you want to seed the tank with coralline and fauna (critters), I would suggest adding a few pounds of >>Garf Grunge<<.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dralarms]

Steve-s,

I gotta ask, if I take my cc out of my other tank, put in the "play sand" ( I know it's sicila sand). and put the bags of cc in the tank will it still seed? Or do I need to go buy another bag of "reef sand" at my lfs? TIA

 

[steve-s]

Steve-s,

I gotta ask, if I take my cc out of my other tank, put in the "play sand" ( I know it's sicila sand). and put the bags of cc in the tank will it still seed? Or do I need to go buy another bag of "reef sand" at my lfs? TIA

Seeding with the CC will work just fine for bacteria. If you have LR or had previously seeded the CC with "critters", they will be transfered as well. No extra anything needed. The most you might see is a slight diatom bloom which would be normal with the addition of new sand no matter it's composition.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dralarms]

Ok, thanks. Then I can use the sand insted of the cc in my empty 26 gal, Cool that means I don't have to put cc in and then in a few weeks take it back out.

 

[AgeOfEgos]

I want to make sure I understand you

I have a 150 gal tank that is about finished on a cycle. It has about 40-50 pounds of lr now with no life of anysort on it. My plan was to buy some liverock from the lfs to seed the other rock. My tank has in it currently:

One humu humu(about six inches long)
3 Damsels

What do you suggest? From the sounds of it...you are saying the humu would simply nip any new, established lr to death so to speak. I would like to seed my other rock, as to help with filtration...but how would I go about that given the trigger? Thanks

Ryan

 

[steve-s]

Re: I want to make sure I understand you

What do you suggest? From the sounds of it...you are saying the humu would simply nip any new, established lr to death so to speak. I would like to seed my other rock, as to help with filtration...but how would I go about that given the trigger?

You can still add the LR from an alternate source and/or also see if the LFS will sell you some of their sand from an established coral only tank. Just be sure when you pick out the rock it does not have encrusting corals as the trigger will eat them in no time. Triggers may still nip at the rock itself but should not destroy it. For the most part it will be trying to file down/sharpen it's beak. Feeding clams, mussles and small oysters live in the shell will also help with that.

Sorry Turkish. I hope this thread has not been hijacked. I think these questions relate to yours so I have not split them off.

Cheers
Steve

 

[contactpsb]

Another hijacker

Funny, I came to the board this morning planning to ask such a similar question and the first post on the board was right on my topic so I figured I'd just post here too.

I have a 55gal tank with a volitan lionfish, dogface puffer, and panther grouper. They are all about 1 1/2 yrs old and in good health. The tank they came in (I bought it from someone else a couple months ago) had nothing in it but 2 small LR (maybe 20lbs?)

After reading the board and finding out how much LR is recommended, I decided that wanted to move these guys into my empty 75gal tank to give them more room and build a better environment for them. So I purchased 125lbs of LR from a LFS (no critters and only maybe a couple dime sized purple splotches on it). The tank was cycled with cocktail shrimp and we waited out the spikes and according to the LFS who tested my water yesterday it was finally cycled and ready to roll. So I moved my guys over to the new tank last night.

Other than being a little freaked out by the move they seem fine. My lionfish puts on quite a tantrum when he's upset - stares at the back of the tank and ignores me completely, won't even look at food, etc for several days but I've seen it before so I'm not worried... and the grouper is hiding out behind/between rocks which is normal for him as well. The puffer seems totally unphased, ate like a pig about 30min after putting him in the tank. So I am hoping all is well. But I am wondering if there is anything else I can put in there to brighten things up a bit. I know I have to avoid coral because of the puffer. But with all the rock the fish just seem to blend into the background and it's not as much fun to watch anymore

Also I know these fish are predators, but is there another fish that anyone would recommend to liven things up in there? Or do you think it's best that I leave well enough alone?

 

[Turkish]

steve-s, thanks for all the information. No worries about the hi-jack. Still all relevant info. I've really learned a ton by reading through the archives here. Truly a wealth of info.

So, like I said I have this Bursa Trigger. My first fish in about 5 years. (I had a major disaster a while back and decided to take a break from the hobby, I'm just now getting back into it.) For filtration I am using only a Penguin 330. Sure it has "bio-wheels" and all but I'm searching for filtration that will ultimately be more permanent.

What are your recomendations? Wet-dry with sump and PS built into it? Stick with the Penguin and add hang-on PS? Some lr?

I would like to add a couple more fish but need to get the basic set-up complete before I do.

Any suggestions are welcome, and thanks for the information.

OT: This Trigger has been eating like a fiend. As if it's being starved or something. I thought you were only supposed to feed sw fish at most once a day or even every other day. This guy has been eating several times a day. Do Trig's eat more frequently than other SW fish? Will this make him grow faster? Will he explode if I keep feeding him like this?

 

[steve-s]

Re: Another hijacker

Also I know these fish are predators, but is there another fish that anyone would recommend to liven things up in there? Or do you think it's best that I leave well enough alone?

With the fish you have I would not suggest anymore additions. In all likelyhood you will be transfering everything to the 75 gal soon which is what I would have done from the get go. I think you will find that with these fish, upgrading to a 150 gal would be in their best interest. As it stands now, your 55 gal is overstocked.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

What are your recomendations? Wet-dry with sump and PS built into it? Stick with the Penguin and add hang-on PS? Some lr?

The amount and type of filtration would really depend on the size of the tank and what future fish you will be adding later on. Triggers and most other aggressive type fish are typically messy eaters so I would not skimp. LR is always a good choice for added filtration and as I said needs no special care. The wet/dry would work but I think you would have alot less hassle and less work with a plain sump, protein skimmer and if your up to it a refugium. The combined effort of each piece will greatly cut down on daily maintenace and allow you to enjoy your tank.

OT: This Trigger has been eating like a fiend. As if it's being starved or something. I thought you were only supposed to feed sw fish at most once a day or even every other day. This guy has been eating several times a day. Do Trig's eat more frequently than other SW fish? Will this make him grow faster? Will he explode if I keep feeding him like this?

Most fish will eat until there is nothing left. As long as you feed them they will eat. Triggers are no different than any other SW fish in general. You can easily feed every other day. I would just suggest varying the fair and try and sneek in some vitamin soaked foods occationally as well as some live inshell mollusks.

Cheers
Steve