FarmerTy Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Mark the day, I've finally bowed to the pressures of all my non-reefing friends that always ask me where are the fish in my coral tank. So, I'm relatively new to this game, minus your small gobies and such that have a very small biological footprint but I've been keeping corals since 2004. So, what I want to know from the brain trust at ARC is if you use a phosban reactor or not and your experiences with it. I will probably have a number of tangs, hawkfish, clownfish, and anthias... obviously added slowly. Minus the tangs, I'll put them all in at the same time to avoid fighting. I figure with the sloppy eating and the generous amounts of food needed for livestock (versus coral) that I would need some type of supplementation for removing wastes. I currently have a skimmer and a refugium set up in the sump as part of my waste removal system and the standard 2-week water changes on my 125-gallon tank. Also, I've heard that UV sterilizers can help minimize pests/parasites in a tank system. I have never had to deal with that much since I really never had fish. I saw a good topic on it on ARC about sterilizers the other day. For those that keep a pretty large population in their tanks, do you use a UV sterilizer too? Thanks in advance for any input. -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Ty, Keep in min the ammout you will have to feed your Anthias school per day(minimum of 3) due to their high metabolism! The UV sterilizer will help with any Ich, or parasite outbreak. I don't run one, but everyone I know that does swears by it. Also keep in mind how sensitive tangs are-they are prone to get Ich much easier than other fish. So a UV sterilizer would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have the phosban reactor and the uv sterilizer for my reef. If you have the money to buy both then I would say go for it. Both are not necessary but are really good insurance. With an established refugium the phosban reactor probably isn't as critical. The UV is pretty important to me, ich is a PITA to deal with and a UV light cuts way down on outbreaks of that and algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks Collin. Didn't know that Anthias have such a high metabolism. That might change my potential livestock list. Hydro, I saw your insight into the UV sterilizers on the other discussion, I'm pretty much sold on one since I want to keep tangs. I almost feel like I need a fish mentor to set me straight and to help me figure out my livestock choices. I feel stronger in my knowledge of coral but much handicapped at my knowledge of fish, which is ironic since I studied Marine Biology for 2 years before switching to Ocean and Coastal Resources. Never was really interested in the fish, I was always eyeballing the coral. Haha. -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma13 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I use a UV sterilizer on my FOWLR and not my reef, and a phosban reactor on my reef but not my FOWLR. I will have to say that the only time I have ever had a problem with parasites in my FOWLR was during a short time after I moved when I had not yet hooked the UV sterilizer back up to the tank. As you have probably read, in a reef setup you will have to be somewhat careful of how you plumb the UV sterilizer into the system to avoid killing off some off your pods and will have to shut it off if/when doing plankton feedings for your corals. I used the phosban reactor intermittently on my reef anytime the PO4 got outside of my comfort zones. I would recommend both if you can separate the UV sterilizer plumbing from your refugium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 If you get the right kind of anthias you will be ok. I have 4 lyretail and 3 dispar anthias and they are all doing just great. I've had the lyretail for over a year now and they are growing, I had a female turn male that is about 4" now. Anyway if you put them in QT and teach them to eat flake food before you put them in the tank you are that much better off. I would suggest ordering them and any fish through petco.com, they have a 2 week no hassle guarantee and they have healthy livestock that ships directly from wholesalers. QT is really important, here is what I do. I have a 75 gallon tank that I set it up on the floor that I fill with water from my DT, put in several airstones (lots of air),a sponge filter, a few powerheads, a heater, some LR from my tank, cycle it for at least a week and put in some of the beneficial bacteria. I order 3-5 fish at a time, place the new fish in the QT and cover the tank except for one end. I uncover the next day but never add a light to the tank, seems to stress them out less. Try feeding them a little after a few hours but wait 24 hrs before you really put some food in the tank. Try all kinds of food and see what they like. I keep a close eye on the nitrates and do 50% water changes with water from my DT when they get above 20 ppm. After 2-4 weeks if there is no problems I put them in the DT. The QT gives the fish a chance to settle down, eat a few square meals, and recognize you as the source of food before you put them in the tank. OR if you can buy fish from somone on the club that has had the fish for a while you could most likely skip the QT altogether. Buying fish from someones tank is the best way to go IMO for several reasons. My suggestion for fish is to get exactly what you want, QT them properly, and feed them a varied diet with vitamins and you will be all set. Healthy fish are waaaay hardier when it comes to parasites. Fish are very hard to catch so don't get something that you kinda like. You have waited this long, treat yourself to something nice. I'm learning that its better to have a few really awesome fish than to have several mediocre fish. Its also more pleasant to watch my tank when there are no fish fighting or chasing going on. Some suggestions are purple tang, desjardine sailfin tang, hippo tang, powder blue, mystery wrasse, midas blenny, and anthias. Since you have no tangs in your tank you could eaisly have 2 of different body types without having aggression. Stay away from damsels, reef chromis, 6 line wrasse, and christmas wrasse for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have the phosban reactor and the uv sterilizer for my reef. If you have the money to buy both then I would say go for it. Both are not necessary but are really good insurance. With an established refugium the phosban reactor probably isn't as critical. The UV is pretty important to me, ich is a PITA to deal with and a UV light cuts way down on outbreaks of that and algae. +1 The phosban reactor might not be needed at first but if you start getting phosphates from feeding it's good to have it already. Regarding tangs if someone asked me to put half a dozen small yellow tangs in a 55 I wouldn't think twice about it. But from my experiences in larger tanks I'd rather not put multiples of the same species (Naso's don't seem to get territorial like other tangs but in a 125 plan on having to remove it at some point as it grows). In a 55 I can fairly easily pull out an aggressive tang or one that's not eating well or not maintaining good body weight. In bigger reef tanks especially if you've got multiple Zebrasoma sp. and it may take 4-5 years but WHEN you get personality issues it's going to be a real hassle to remove someone. One experience I had a few years ago in a 330 gal I had a Sailfin, Purple and 3 Yellow's, one day the Purple decided to take out two of the Yellows and it took less than 4 hours for the Purple to slice up and kill the two Yellows. It was quite happy swimming around with the other Yellow and Sailfin though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Timfish what tangs do you think are the least aggressive? My purple, black, and hippo tang are super laid back. I've seen aggressive behavior from yellows, convict, scopas, and sailfins. I think that powder blues are pretty easy going as long as there isn't another similiar body type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Timfish what tangs do you think are the least aggressive? My purple, black, and hippo tang are super laid back. I've seen aggressive behavior from yellows, convict, scopas, and sailfins. I think that powder blues are pretty easy going as long as there isn't another similiar body type. My purple and Kole tang are ultra laid back, though my previous purple was mean (of course he was at least 2x bigger than any other fish). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Thanks for the fish insights everyone. My list is getting more and more specific about what I'm thinking of getting. Hydro, your tank was the one that inspired me to do the anthias. I've heard powder blues are hard to keep alive in smaller tanks (if you could call 125 small). Have you had any experience with them prior to the one you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Timfish what tangs do you think are the least aggressive? My purple, black, and hippo tang are super laid back. I've seen aggressive behavior from yellows, convict, scopas, and sailfins. I think that powder blues are pretty easy going as long as there isn't another similiar body type. Naso's seem to be be the least territorial. I don't know the life cycle of tangs but I've had issues develop that required removing an individual in groups of yellow tangs that have been together realatively problem free for as long as 5-6 years. I've also seen what appears to be pairing off of a Purple and Yellow and then they get real territorial towards other tangs. It's my suspicion and I want to emphasize it's just a suspicion these fish are reaching sexual maturity and in the confines of a tank are pairing off. It's my understanding in the wild they are school or group spawners so obviously someone will have to do a lot of research before this suspicion could be confirmed. There are a lot of tangs I haven't kept yet or kept for very long but if someone is planning on keeping their fish for a long time and doesn't have a really really big tank I would advise not having more than one per species and maybe one per genus (this still lets you have 3-5 in a 150 - 200 gal). I like Powder Blues but they are delicate and I don't think I've kept one for more than a couple of years which compared to 14 or 16 years for Purple, Yellow and Sailfins isn't very good. Hippo's can be real hardy once acclimated but are real scittish at first. Tristan Lougher, "What Fish, A buyer's Guide to Marine Fish" talks about keeping schools of juvinile Hippos together and I wonder if that might be a better way to acclimate them. Hippo's are now also available as "tank raised", these aren't the same as captive raised but post larval that have been collected and raised for a time before selling and in "theory" should be better than wild caught. Meanest tang I've ever seen is a Sohal, beautiful fish though. And of course there are going to be fish out there who will get along fine just to spite me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Any of the zebrasoma tangs (sailfin, yellow, purple are some) are going to be the most aggressive. I have a large sailfin that almost killed my Niger trigger, my flame angel, and my Red fin bristletooth. He isn't mean...it'd just HIS tank and when fish are introduced he let's them know. They're all best buds now. But keep that in mind. Also avoid similar body types or they will fight. As far as Anthias goes, I've seen most lyretail take flake...still need to feed 3-5 times a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I feed my anthias 2 times a day during the week and once a day on the weekends and they are all fat and happy. All of them eat flakes too. The dispar are the coolest, they hide alot though. I got them from aqua dome. I bought 6, I wanted 3 and Don Duncan wanted 3, all 6 made it. Thought this would be a good time to show the new guys off . They are very hard to take good pics of, constantly in motion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Out of curiosity I threw in some new life spectrum pellets...they ate em. I think that its monkey see monkey do, so as long as one eats them they all eat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 That is awesome...it good to hear with 2 times a day they keep their color. Anthias are my favorite schooling fishand those dispar Anthias are very pretty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I have a large sailfin . . . He isn't mean...it'd just HIS tank and when fish are introduced he let's them know . . . As far as Anthias goes, I've seen most lyretail take flake...still need to feed 3-5 times a day. Had to laugh! They DO get possessive. One my oldest fish is a large Sailfin that tries to chase people away from his tank. I've kept Disbar, Tricolor and Lyretail Anthias for years with pellets mixed with powdered krill in an autofeeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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